Rigid dodger

[Nicholas Koligiannis]

Hi to all:

The following posting is about a rigid dodger which was designed and constructed by Mats Wik, owner of Taifun, Ballad #911. Mats left Sweden 8 years ago, found his way down to the Med via the canals and has been cruising the eastern Med ever since. He built his dodger before leaving Sweden. He's a person with exceptional lamination skills and Taifun is the most modified Ballad I've come across. Although some of his modifications have actually detracted from the boat's original beauty--and that's putting it mildly--all of them are very practical. We constantly bounce ideas off one another and our boats share some modifications. A dodger is an almost-must in the Aegean because the short, steep seas combined with the boat's low freeboard can make the Ballad a very wet boat. Although 99% of all boats here have canvas dodgers--and most of them are superbly made--a rigid dodger never needs replacing and can withstand some nasty waves. Plus it offers a safe spot to mount navigation instruments, like Mats has done with his.

Nicholas

[dahlke]

Very interesting! Having a rigid dodger seems very practical. Looks like he did a very nice job. I would love to see images of the other customizations you mention