pod for tiki 26

[paul anderson]

hello everybody,i know this topic has been covered ad nauseam,but i still have to wonder about ocean crossing without a shelter on the deck in foul weather.entrepid souls have done it and maybe i just need to htfu.i am not interested in something that will mean rejigging everything to add something that is not at all suitable to the design.my intentions are to sail in the pacific from oz and then who knows.

[Andrés]

If you only need shelter, I think a spray dodger is a better option. A pod in a Tiki 26 gives you a very small cockpit and I think is more comfortable without it.

[kim whitmyre]

Andres is on to something. . .The main concern I have is rigging: get your jib sheet system well setup for sailing, and then see if you have room for a pod under the sheets. I have a sunbrella dodger on Vaea, and the jib sheets just clear the rear support bar for it. Being able to properly trim the sails takes precedence in my view. Here is an old shot of me sitting under the dodger:

That said, the best executed pod imho is Meira's:

[paul anderson]

well thankyou fellas great pics and i see now that a solid pod is a lot more windage and does restrict sail and space.i like both of your bimini/spray dodger set ups. it looks to be the way i will go as i am sure this can be extended to cover the whole deck while at anchor to form a more covered area.

[Georges Moutoussamy]

Bonjour tout le monde.
For long distance voyage, the problem is weight! I myself, will make something like Andres spray dogger. The badweather cuddy by Wharram is not very simple.

[Simon Rainger.]

I'm thinking about the hight of a pod roof. The unreefed mainsail swings about a meter above the deck when tacking but I'm wondering if it would be possible to have a roof with a gentle slope upwards so the mainsail would brush across it. It would be nice to have another couple of feet hight when sitting at the helm. It's ok ducking as the sail swings across on but being hunched under a low roof all the time doesn't sound like much fun.

[paul anderson]

Simon,I have now completely rejected the idea of a pod,after building the cockpit I came to the conclusion that the extra weight and windage could not justify the building of a pod.I am now playing with the idea of a canvas/tent material tarp to keep off the sun.Suppose four poles in the corners of the cockpit to spread a tarp across,something easy to erect and take down.Kims Bimini is another good idea,but can be hell on the old wallet.Maybe using poly pipes to form a dome like structure may have some merits.

cheers paul.

[Simon Rainger.]

Thanks Paul. Making shade is the least of my concernns up here in the northern hemisphere as the end of our summer approaches. It's keeping dry and warm is what I am worried about. I'm thinking of having a windscreen slopping back from the base of the mast reaching a hight of about 5 foot. I know that's wind resistance but it wouldnt be a sharp slope. I really want to keep sailing this winter and the design im thinking about would be collapseable with bits of ply and Perspex slotting together and boltied into a permanent framework of posts. I'm thinking of it as a sort of tent/prefab with a hard structure which can be taken down. I'm also thinking of having the part of the roof above the tiller on hinges so it could be folded to the side making it possible to stand up.

[paul anderson]

Ah,yes Simon,the Northern hemisphere winter is a different kettle of fish.Yes I could envision a ply/canvas collapsible type structure,almost on the same lines of construction techniques as those German canvas kayaks my mate had as a kid?

[Simon Rainger.]

Well I'm still at the drawing board stage but I'm planing on building a permanent framework of posts that I can slot pices of ply and Perspex into. As far as I can tell from at the pictures of the pods iv seen they are low enough to look over the top and dont go all the way back to cover the helm. What I'm thinking of is one that is long and high enough to shelter the person at the helm. That would mean the mainsail would have to flop over a roof which becomes higher in the middle. I worried that it may not be able to get over the bump in the middle and become trapped when trying to tack. I'm not planning anny rapid increases in height but still and I think the wind suddenly hitting the sail from the opposite direction when turning into the wind during a tack does lift up the bottom of the sail as the wind hits it in the middle.

[Simon Rainger.]

As far as I can tell from your photo Kim Whitmyre, your pod is above the tiller which is where I wan to put mine. The unreefed mainsail passes 90 cm above the deck of my tiki 26 which doesn't leave much sitting room underneath in a pod. dont mind ducking but having to crouch underneath a pod all the time wouldnt be much fun. I'm thinking if I can have a gentle increase in height the main, not having a boom, will be able to slip over a pod. Is that how yours works and what youve done?

[NeilR]

An old thread but still very relevant today.

See Sea People mag issue 33 from 1997 for a nice solution from Oz.