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By Tom Davison
From Flicka Friends Vol. 5, # 3
When approaching Richard Shepherd's Flicka, one of the first things you notice is the dodger, bimini and side/aft curtain enclosure. It completely surrounds the cockpit of s/v BEN MAIN, JR., adding another room to the Flicka.
DODGER
The first piece of the system is the dodger, which extends from mid-point of the hatch cover back past the companionway and to the winches located along the coamings.
There are five windows in the dodger, allowing good visibility. The various sheets and control lines are fed through the base of the dodger to cleats and camlocks located on the cabin roof. The center of the dodger can be opened to allow ventilation.
Richard had one suggestion about the purchase of a dodger. Leaving the cockpit and going forward requires passing the corner at the aft edge of the bimini. He felt that this was the most dangerous aspect of the trip to the bow. He recommended the addition of stainless steel handles along the aft edge and side supports of the dodger.
BIMINI
The second piece of this enclosure connects to the dodger's after edge with a zipper and a flap eliminates water flow. There are three rectangular windows on the bimini, allowing sail trim to be checked without opening a side curtain.
The aft end of the bimini is located over the stern rail. since this is a gaff rig, there are no complications with the aft rigging stay since the running backstays are placed just forward of the coamings.
For marconi rigged Flickas, the aft stay will present a problem for the aft bimini cross-bar. Either the wire must pass through the bimini, or the bimini must be angled forward along the back stay.
SIDE CURTAINS
The port and starboard side of the Flicka are enclosed using two large curtains with large areas of clear vinyl. There are snaps along the edge which allow closing the curtain without using the zippers. Another set of snaps allow you to fold the curtain aft to leave the door open. One nice touch is the small cutouts next to the cleats that allow the docklines to be used without damaging the fabric over time. There are two small flaps that close the small opening
AFT CURTAINS
The back of BEN MAIN, JR. is enclosed using two curtains which are divided along the centerline of the boat. Again, there are large vinyl windows allow for good vision and are contoured along the shape of the bimini. There is an open area along the base of both curtains, allowing room for the tiller. Again, there is a flap that encloses the area around the tiller and rudder to prevent airflow. Again, for the marconi Flickas out there, the shorter boom would create a problem for the traveler.
While serveral windows have been replaced, the enclosure is still in service. It was built about ten years ago by Bill Buchbinder. He suggested that you seek out a good local canvas worker to build your dodger, bimini and enclosure. He said there isn't anything better than one product built just for your particular Flicka.
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