Outstanding Achievement Award | Canvas Innovations | Holland, Mich.

This project won a 2013 MFA Outstanding Achievement Award in the sailboat dodgers and complete category. It included a dodger, bimini top and filler panel, along with a new stainless frame. We had just two weeks to complete it. The customer wouldn’t give us the contract without a written guarantee. The husband and wife were new to having boat tops and needed a lot of explanation with all the design options before and during the project. Although we were the highest estimate, they we comfortable with all the expertise and time we took to help them design the tops.

The bimini had to be tall enough for the wife to stand under but they didn’t want the dodger to be too tall for esthetic reasons. They wanted the dodger to have a clear line of view so we had to design the side curtains larger without any zipper joints on the corners. We made a forward-facing frame with front stanchions and a side grabrail to support the rear facing bar. The rear bimini frame had horizontal supports and stern stanchions to keep the winch handle free to move in full circles. Lastly, they wanted an option to stay completely out of the sun, so we fabricated a filler panel between the dodger and bimini. When calculating the heights for the dodger and bimini, it was crucial to factor in where the boom swung past as to not hit the filler panel.

We hit the deadline one day early and they told us it was worth the extra money they paid.