We wanted to have some protection from sun and wind while at dock or on the anchor, and the existing dodger and bimini just did not have the coverage we needed. I’ve seen many cockpit enclosures that look like they work well for extreme weather conditions, but we wanted something simpler and more versatile. So we decided to use various kinds of tarps instead.
For shade, we used inexpensive drop cloths in various sizes. Most did not have solid gromets, so we added some reinforcing patches and put gromets in the corners and along the sides. For wind, we used 20mil clear tarps that already had nice strong gromets.
We used nylon line from Home Depot, and cut it with a hotknife, then attached using bowlines to the corners and center sides.
Now we can grab whichever one we need and quickly tie it in place. If the sun is off to one side, no problem, just move the tarp over a bit. Same for wind, just pick a size, and tie it up where it will provide the coverage needed.
To provide spot coverage, we bought two golf umbrellas that can clamp on anywhere and articulate to fill almost any gap in the tarp/dodger/bimini coverage.
These, along with the portable fans, make even the hottest day comfy in the cockpit.
