Building a dodger frame

T

Tom Hickman

Active member
Good evening to all. I am looking for information on building a dodger frame for my boat. I have a Havoc 1553 timber boat. I had a traditional blind on the boat but it has become a pain to put up and down by myself. I primarily hunt alone and decided to put a dodger on the boat. It is my only choice, I've tried to sell or trade my rig for a sneakbox with no luck. So I've decided to just keep her and put a dodger on. The width on the deck is 53". Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
 
Tim, your welcome to stop over and see how I added mine, and Brian Garman around the corner from me has done a couple too. Conduit and conduit bender work well. I built a frame, but did not have a bender to use.
 
Some very good posts on this site concerning building jigs for conduit bending. I believe Steve Sanford posted some way back.
 
Tim~

Somewhere in this L-O-N-G post (toward the end) tells how I made my new dodger for RED-LEG - I used conduit:

http://www.duckboats.net/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=280955;do=post_view;search_string=Sneakbox%20Renovation#p280955

Also, here is how I bend conduit for my gunning coffins (photos in Gallery 5):

https://stevenjaysanford.com/sanford-gunning-box/

Conduit is cheap and easy but not especially rugged. Pros use s/s or aluminum (see SailRite, for example). One friend uses 1/2-inch galvanized pipe.

In this post I used SailRite aluminum stock and associated fittings. The tubing had much more springback than I plannned for:

http://www.duckboats.net/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=290030;do=post_view;search_string=spa#p290030

In any event, I recommend making a jig. It can just be blocks of wood screwed to your bench or floor or a piece of plywood. Or you could bend it around a water-filled metal garbage can or propane tank of whatever has the right radius.

On the other hand, I have never tried a conduit bender. I'll bet a lot of electricians could put your dodger bow right on the money first time out.

Hope this helps,

SJS
 
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