5086 H116

PART  ONE

The deserted Sonoran coast, during hurricane season.

HURRICANE SEASON is upon us and we have decided, since sailing to the northeastern sector of the Sea of Cortez, that we will remain here until the end of October. The further north we sail, the less likely the chance that a hurricane will catch up with us - at least,  from an historical perspective.

Since arriving three months ago at the industrial, gritty seaport of Guaymas, Sonora, we have split our time between cruising the deserted Sonoran coast, and working on a couple of projects we've been wanting to do for a long time, one of which being a new, aluminum hard dodger.

We have come to love Guaymas, but it can be a difficult place to reside at this time of year. It's certainly not for everyone. We sometimes get the impression that it's not for anyone. The heat index has been well above 100 degrees F, virtually every day for the past 2 to 3 months. And it won't let up until mid-October.

The Mexican navy has a motto:  Fast boats, God and country.

Cliff jumping at a nearby cove
provides some hot-weather
relief for the locals.

Guaymas is a serious industrial port and home to a large, commercial shrimping fleet. It is decidedly non-tourist oriented. And that may be an understatement. It's dirty, loud, beautiful, haphazard, polluted, chaotic, compelling, discordant, military, festive, relaxed, good-natured, safe, heavily decayed and colorful, vibrant, left in a state of constant disrepair, wonderfully friendly, steeped in traditional values, occasionally infested with rats and roaches and crickets, yet rather charming in its strange way. Guaymas is authentic, it has no facade to strip away. It is very, well, Mexican. 

Guano rock at Chencho anchorage.

Algodones islet, sky darkens before a chubasco blows through.

The weather, this time of year, in the northern Sea has been, persistently, extremely hot, humid and prone to thunderstorms and lightning strikes. On occasion, at night, the lightning flashes are rapid fire, stroboscopic and blinding. They light up the Sea. They are so bright that they actually trigger our solar panel controller, fooling it into thinking that the sun is out for a brief second or two. Sometimes, depending upon on how far away the storm cell is, lightning may be accompanied by extreme, deafening clashes of thunder -  the intensity of the sound waves vibrating the surface of the water, on a still night. 

Chubasco gets closer, winds will increase
 from 5 knots to 50 knots in a matter of seconds.

Next day, remnant high-wind clouds pass by and tell us
 that breezy conditions will follow within the next 24 hours.

Another natural phenomenon associated with thunderstorm activity is the quick arrival and departure of unpredictable, intense squall activity, known in this area as a 'chubasco'. We've on a number of occasions been anchored out on a calm night and experienced the rapid onset of 50-knot gusts lasting for as long as three hours, before moving off to the north, or the northwest, with their associated storm cells.

Grain ship works the Guaymas industrial port.
Big boomer clouds in backdrop on a hot, humid day
signal the onset of thunder and lightning, a few hours away.

Virtually no cruising boats that enter the harbor here, stay long. They come here to haul out their boats, put them on the hard, at the dusty, 'marina seca' - dry dock, and then escape the oppressive heat as quickly as they can. But for us, it was just what we were looking for, notwithstanding the infestation du jour. So we settled in, the entire bay to ourselves, with the exception, of course, of the Mexican navy, and the fishing fleet, and the oil tankers, and the grain ships, and the always-in-a-hurry pangueros, and the ever-unpredictable chubascos. 

Ships at work through the steamy night at
Guaymas harbor, where we we are anchored, 100-yards away.

And that's when we got to work, in earnest, on our little metal project. It was scorching hot, it was dripping wet, it was the beginning of hurricane season. And for us, industrial Guaymas came into its own. 

An excursion, 75 nautical miles to the north of Guaymas, we are anchored
 at Las Cocinas, far removed from the grit of Guaymas harbor.

Anchored off Bahia San Pedro, Isla San Pedro lay some seven miles due west.

***

PART TWO

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION.

Thirty years ago I was sitting in a large, MIT lecture hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Buckminster 'Bucky' Fuller was giving as it were, his final talk in a series of public lectures - he had died shortly thereafter. Bucky's mathematical concepts yielded no-nonsense, minimalist structures of extreme strength and natural beauty. Characteristics that were hallmarks of Fuller's engineering prowess. 

In Greenland's harsh, remote environment, Fuller's modular geodesic structures provided the ultimate solution for protection of military radar installations against the brutal forces of nature. Easily transported by air, to remote locations, and assembled on site, small, prefabricated, geodesic panels were fastened together to form a large-scale array - a multifaceted dome. These structures were quick to assemble - or disassemble -light weight, and characteristically robust. Geodesic domes were constructed for equipment and personnel at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Scientific Research Station, too. They worked in remote, harsh environments. 

Buckminster Fuller, an extraordinary engineer probably best known for his novel geodesic structures. But, to me, his poetic trademark:  form follows function,  is what separated him from the pack.

Anna's new aluminum dodger, aft view.

Anna gets a new hard dodger

Today, we put Fuller's concept to work: we had decided to build a new hard dodger for Anna, our Tayana 37 cutter. A hard dodger, on an ocean-going sailing vessel should, by necessity, be strong and protective. It serves as  a semi-enclosed superstructure, a shelter over a portion of the cockpit. Ideally, providing relief from the raw elements, including: strong winds, sea-spray, breaking waves, rain, snow, ice, and overexposure to the sun. 

From a concept, to a simple sketch, through a series of computer-modeled 3D revisions, and finally on to a  through-bolted addition to Anna's cockpit,  form had clearly evolved from  function. Fuller had been absolutely correct.

Considerations

We had withstood enough gale-force winds and large seas to know that a certain degree of comfort and security, while standing watch in an open cockpit, makes life a lot easier when conditions fall apart, on a long passage. We had the protection of an aging, soft (fabric) dodger, but never really felt that it would hold up if it took a direct hit from the crest of a large wave, let alone the full impact of a heavy breaker. We had reinforced the framework with over-sized, stainless steel tubing, but in reality, our soft dodger was only as resilient as the twenty-year-old Sunbrella fabric (the weak  link), which covered its frame. We no longer wanted an umbrella for protection in a storm. What we did want, was an aerodynamic suit of armor that would blend in with Anna's classic lines. 

We had a few structural materials in mind, for the construction of our new hard dodger: wood, fiberglass, steel, aluminum. We also had a few restrictions to consider:  availability of materials in a country where direct access to certain products or materials was limited, nonexistent, or very difficult to import at a reasonable cost. Additionally, we didn't have access to a clean, shaded workshop where we could conveniently fabricate the structure. It was the brutally-hot summer (hurricane) season, in Mexico. We were anchored out and living on the boat, in industrial, Guaymas harbor, Sonora, Mexico. 

Algodones sand dunes, 15 nautical miles north of industrial Guaymas.

Bahia San Pedro, 15 nautical miles further north.

It's hard to believe that there are unpolluted waters
just off the entrance channel to Guaymas harbor.

What we did have, however, was limited access to the nearby government docks and attached boatyard facility, which could provide us with 240V electrical power for welding, if need be. Additionally, we were 250 highway miles to the south of the U.S. border. If obtaining the right materials proved impossible in Mexico, we could make a run to the U.S. border town of Nogales, Arizona to pick up the materials we needed and then return to Guaymas, materials in tow.

After considering the various options, we concluded that the only material with a high strength to weight ratio; the ability to withstand the corrosive effects of constant salt-water exposure; the stamina to withstand the potential of a direct strike by a breaking wave; and the promise of no additional routine maintenance over its lifetime (i.e., sanding, painting, varnishing, or polishing) was 5000-series marine-grade, high-strength, structural aluminum alloy. 

In fact, painting (or powder coating) 5000-series aluminum alloy is a rather involved, expensive, multi-step cosmetic application. Unnecessary. We thought it better to simply allow the surface to naturally patina. Take on a subdued, gray tone, over time. This naturally occurring magnesium patina is in fact innate to 5000-series aluminum, a protective surface layer that is highly resistant to the corrosive effects of saltwater. 

The surface of aluminum plate can be polished - to either bring back a bright luster, or to remove a scratch. 3M Scotch-Brite pads or wheels, will do the job nicely. After a while, the aluminum will re-patina, coating itself with another protective magnesium layer if left untreated. In other words, it will self maintain. 

Anna's 3D computer model of an aluminum, hard-dodger prototype.

From a sketch to reality

Our computer model was created with SketchUp (www.sketchup.com),  Google's (managed by Trimble) 3D modelling program - both SketchUp and our initial aluminum dodger 3D model are available as a free download.  SketchUp gave us the ability to accurately represent our prototype design. It gave us the opportunity to 'fly around it', rotate the orientation, observing it from different perspectives. We could easily change the dimensions, or shape, of any individual component within our design. We could scale-up or -down the entire model. We could, for example, design a round porthole, or a rectangular porthole, and then view the field-of-vision for either design, by rotating the the dodger on its axis and looking at the view as seen from behind the dodger.  It was easy to make pragmatic design decisions, such as:  Which porthole shape gave the best field-of-vision for forward viewing? Which worked well for port- or starboard-side viewing? How high did the aft end of the dodger need to be for easy access to the companionway?  How much pitch did the roof need for shedding water effectively? How much pitch for aerodynamic efficiency? How much slope did the side panels require for following the existing lines of the deck, house and cockpit? How large could the forward portholes be and still take the force of a direct wave strike? Would we be better off with four, small, sturdy rectangular portholes with rounded corners, or four round portholes with perhaps, slightly more structural strength, but also, 25% less field-of-vision? Could we simplify the fabrication by designing a solid, one-piece curved roof, or a one-piece front or side panel, or did a multi-faceted design, requiring more welds increase the complexity factor, but strengthen the overall design? 

Aft-starboard view of aluminum-dodger prototype.

The choices were many, but in our opinion, the trade offs were negligible. We did have more welded seams required to join the smaller-sized panels (a logistic requirement) but overall structural integrity probably increased somewhat when those smaller panels were joined - they began to assume a somewhat geodesic relationship - as they moved away from the world of right angles, and more toward the world of geometric curves. 

Aft-port view of aluminum-dodger prototype.

Once we had the design parameters locked in we drew the hard dodger to scale, then calculated the total area of the materials we would need, in square feet, or in linear feet (depending on whether it was aluminum plate, pipe, or flat bar). The next step was to find out how the distributors sold the material (size of sheets and lengths of pipe and flat bar). Then we could determine the minimal amount of material to order to complete the project. 

Logistics would play a significant role in our decision-making process. While we needed to make the dodger simple to fabricate, and strong enough to withstand the elements, we also needed to make the dodger modular. The individual components (i.e.,  front panels, roof panels, side panels, handles, and so forth) would be fabricated from large sheets of structural aluminum alloy, which were pre-cut into smaller, more manageable sizes for both transporting the materials to the work site, and handling the materials once on site - it appeared that form was determined to follow function.

Specifications

The most important consideration when choosing aluminum plate, tubing, or flat bar is the specification of the appropriate grade and temper. For exterior applications in a saltwater marine environment, 5000-series aluminum alloy, which contains the highest percentage of magnesium, is well-suited for its: high resistance to salt-water corrosion, strength, flexibility, and excellent welding properties.

The aerospace industry tends to use 6000-series aluminum alloy. The 6061 alloy is extremely strong, due to the nature of its specific alloy content (e.g., it uses less magnesium), but it is more susceptible to saltwater corrosion and surface pitting. It is preferred where welding is not required. Since aircraft are riveted and not exposed, significantly, to salt-water, 6061 aluminum is an appropriate choice. But on a boat, 5086 aluminum is a better choice.

On many sailboats, the extruded aluminum masts and booms are often fabricated of high-strength, anodized or painted, 6061 T6 aluminum alloy. It will hold up very well in a marine environment because of its protective, anodized or painted surface layer. But for non anodized (or painted) hull or superstructure applications, 5000-series structural aluminum alloy allows for fabrication without the additional requirement of protective surface coatings. This translates to less expense, less maintenance, and easier repairs if necessary, down the road. In addition, 5000-series aluminum is weldable using standard shipyard techniques, employed worldwide.

Within the 5000-series alloys there are various grades and tempers, each with a specific set of properties that make it suitable for a specific application. The two most frequently specified aluminum alloys, used in boat construction, are 5083 and 5086. 5086 is widely available in N. America. 5083 is gaining popularity worldwide and now available in many countries. We chose 5086 because it has proven itself over time, and because it was readily available from a network of wholesale distributors located in our part of the world - not necessarily local ( i.e., Mexico) but rather, close by, across the U.S. border, just a few hundred miles away.

After generating a scaled, 3D computer model of the aluminum dodger that we had in mind, we were able to accurately determine the dimensional area required for the aluminum plate, and the lengths required for the pipe and flat-bar components. For the panels we chose 1/4 inch 5086 H116 aluminum plate, for its strength to weight ratio. For the pipe we specified 1/2 inch ID 5086 H32 schedule 40, for both strength and comfort - it would be used for strengthening the open (aft end) of the dodger roof, but also for the hand holds, steps, and chafe guards on the exposed, aft edges of the dodger. We specified 1/4 inch x 1 1/2 inch 5086 H111 flat bar for the roof racks that would provide a platform for our, RAM-mount, angle-adjustable solar panels.

Northern Sea of Cortez - a heavy cloud layer refracts the setting sun.

Logistics

When we first drew up some plans for the aluminum dodger we happened to be located on the southern end of the Baja Peninsula, in the Sea of Cortez - in the vicinity of La Paz. And it became clear, after some research, that we wouldn't be able to source the materials we wanted, anywhere in Mexico; it simply wasn't available. We could obtain 4000-series or 6000-series aluminum alloy, but unfortunately, not the 5000-series. That left us with two options: a) import the materials and essentially double or triple the costs and time frame of the project (because of excessive, Customs importation fees, unfathomable red tape, and hefty international freight charges), or b) sail Anna to the mainland side of the Sea of Cortez, more specifically, Guaymas, Sonora (about 300 nautical miles to the north and east of La Paz), and then rent a car there, drive across to the border town of Nogales, Arizona (some 250 highway-miles north of Guaymas), pick up the materials that we would have shipped to a warehouse in Nogales, and then drive the freight back to the boat, ourselves. 

We opted for the latter, 'plan b'. It wasn't a difficult decision. After all, we had previously experienced the absurdity of trying to send or receive small, international parcels between Mexico and the U.S. Customs will hang up anything going in or out of Mexico if it isn't simple, 1st-class, flat mail - it could take weeks, possibly longer, for a shipment to reach its destination. The best and least expensive way to move something across the Mexican-U.S. border, is simply to bring it over yourself, if at all possible. So that's what we would do. But like many things...it's often easier said, than done.

We needed to tweak the logistical parameters. That is, reduce the size of the manufacturer's incredibly large, aluminum plates, and extra-long lengths of pipe and flat bar. The plates were sold in panels 8 feet wide x 20 feet long. The pipe and flat bar were sold in 20-foot lengths. To fit into the cargo compartment of our rented Nissan Sentra, we would require the distributor to cut the panels down in size, so that the widest dimension on the aluminum plate was no more than 36 inches, and the lengths no more than 48 inches (we measured the width of the Sentra's cargo hold at 37 inches, the length to be more than 48 inches, and the depth of the cargo hold greater than 7 inches). 

This translated into the following order specifications:

• (2) pieces 5086 H116 aluminum plate, 1/4 inch X 48 inches x 144 inches; to be cut before shipping into (8) equal pieces @ 36 inches x 48 inches
• (3) pieces 5086 H32 aluminum pipe, Schedule 40  1/2 inch ID x 20 feet; to be cut before shipping into (12) equal pieces @ 5 feet
• (1) piece 5086 H111 aluminum flat bar, 1/4 inch x 1 1/2 inch x 20 feet; to be cut before shipping into (4) equal pieces @ 5 feet

This was packaged into a skid that was 5 feet x 5 feet x 7 inches, of Class 60 aluminum, weighing 445 pounds. 

We had the aluminum distributor cut the large plates, long pipes, and flat bar to our specs (at no additional cost) and then package them onto a wooden skid. They arranged for the freight to be trucked from their facility, in Los Angeles, California, to a warehouse of our choice in Nogales, Arizona (the closest border town, four hours and a straight-shot, rental-car drive away, from Guaymas harbor). The freight charges for the skid were $175 USD and the warehouse in Nogales charged us $8 USD to accept and store the skid until we drove up to get it. Cheap, considering the alternative.

We backed the compact Sentra into the ginormous truck bay at the warehouse, unpacked the skid and slipped all the pieces into the cargo hold of the Sentra. It fit like a glove. The pre-cut 36-inch x 48-inch aluminum panels slipped into the cargo hold and on through the fold-down back seat. Nice, when something (for a change) works as planned.

Unless you have access to a flatbed truck and a shop with a fork lift, the manufacturer's uncut aluminum plates will be too large - too unwieldy - and too heavy (167 pounds per sheet) to handle by yourself. So, we designed the dodger to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle -  smaller, more manageable component pieces. This would require more welded seams, but with a MIG welder, welding the extra seams would go relatively quickly, at least compared to using a TIG welder.

Construction

5000-series aluminum plate has excellent welding properties. A standard TIG or MIG welder can be used to join the seams. Either technique will work very well. TIG welding is somewhat more sophisticated, but it is also significantly more time consuming than MIG welding. For our purposes, MIG welding was perhaps a better choice: it is more forgiving than TIG welding, and much faster if fabricating a design with more than just a couple of panels to join - an important economic detail. Since MIG welders are portable, they can be transported to a shipyard and plugged into 240V power.

A wooden (door skin) template should be used to trace the patterns onto the aluminum panels. But it's a good idea, once the aluminum cutouts are completed, to tack weld the seams of the individual sections, in place, right on the boat. That's where it's useful to have a shipyard nearby where you can pull into their 'travel lift' bay or onto their dock and plug into 240V shore power, to complete the spot welding. It only takes a few, on-site hours. Afterwards, the spot-welded dodger can be lifted off the boat, in one piece, and MIG welded at the shop, or in the yard. It's better to complete the welding off the boat, as hot sparks can fly and leave burn marks where they land.

While TIG welding 'fuses' perfectly cut seams together, MIG welding, 'fills in' to join the seams. So, if component pieces aren't perfectly even on the edges to be welded, a MIG weld can compensate somewhat, by filling in the gap. If using a metal shop with crude facilities - and when I say crude, I'm talking about using a 'cable spool' sitting upon an uneven dirt floor, for a workbench. Or making long, straight cuts, by hand, using a portable, electric circular saw, on rickety sawhorses. Or using an electric jigsaw to cut out a clean, 14-inch hole in 1/4 inch aluminum plate, instead of using a stable drill press with a hole cutter. Or, for that matter, using a 240V welding machine, outdoors, with exposed wiring and a short-circuiting power box. In much of Mexico, crude imperfection is an art form. It is what it is. And so a MIG welder, was the de facto tool of choice. 

We double-welded the seams, that is, we welded on both the outside surface of the dodger and the underside, or inside surface, in order to fill in any gaps in the seams due to the angles at which the panels were joined. This added extra strength to the welds. Additionally, we welded schedule-40 aluminum pipe to the curved, aft edges of the dodger, and to the aft end of the roof for both chafe protection and strength. 1/2 inch ID schedule 40 pipe is strong (thick-walled); it provided us with handholds that felt comfortable and substantial.

When we added the rack for the solar panels we tied it into the set of handles running fore and aft on the port and starboard sides of the top of the roof. Welding (tying in) all the pipes and panels and flat bar components strengthened the overall structure, it added rigidity.

We opted for four rectangular portholes with well-rounded corners, on the forward panels, which provided an excellent field-of-view. And also added two round portholes on the side panels for greater peripheral vision. We positioned handholds on the side panels, top of roof (port and starboard sides) and on the aft end of the roof. A step-handhold combination was placed on the outside of the side panels for easier access to the dodger roof or boom. 

We also opted for removable 3/8 inch Plexiglas panels to cover the portholes for ocean crossings (the panels are gasketed and through-bolted with over-sized holes in the Plexiglas for expansion and contraction). We didn't use plate glass because we wanted the option to have our portholes completely open, without any dogged, window frames obstructing the area underneath the dodger (i.e., over the companionway), or even partially blocking the breeze, in climates that were oppressively hot.  

We did, however, want the ability to easily screen the sun or block the rain when anchored out or coastal cruising, and so we welded-on a piece of round pipe with a slit cut into it (same pipe we used for the hand holds and steps) just above the portholes, to provide a track for a curtain of strong, nylon-mesh screening.

Mesh screening slides through a track - a slit in the pipe -
making it simple and fast to cover all the portholes at once.

This would let air through, even if it completely covered the porthole. The mesh screening blocks 95% of the sun's rays and provides some shading relief on a blazing-hot day. We also had a curtain of clear vinyl sewn within a border of sturdy, weather- and UV-resistant material - basically, an inexpensive Sunbrella knockoff - to provide protection in rainy weather. These curtains can be attached and removed, simply and quickly, by sliding them through the slot in the aluminum pipe. They may also be rolled up, in place, and tied off for convenience.

Anna's hard dodger with the
rain screen installed in track.

Sun-screen mesh shades the cockpit,
yet lets a breeze through the portholes.

We thought about using 1/2 inch Armaflex insulation on the inside surfaces of the dodger, to shield against the potential of coming in contact with a hot metallic surface on the underside of the dodger. But after installing the dodger and living with it in 100-degree F weather, during the summer season, in hot, hot Mexico, it was clear to us that the surface heat was not an issue that required insulation. We were surprised by this. But as it turned out, the solar panels sitting above the aluminum dodger shaded the surface of the roof.

Cat, in her hot-weather formal ware, a blue Speedo. 

On a metal boat we would have welded the dodger to the deck. Since Anna's hull is not metal we used eight substantial through-bolts, around the base of the dodger to tie it into strong points on the perimeter. The ability to easily remove the through-bolts makes removal of the engine possible, if necessary, without cutting the dodger away from the deck, as the engine is located directly beneath the companionway steps, which the dodger effectively protects.

Aluminum dodger is through-bolted ,
in eight locations, to strong points on deck.

Cost Efficiency

We were able to keep the project costs for materials and fabrication very low. By designing the structure ourselves, and making both a 3D computer model and, a small-scale cardboard mock-up, we could show exactly what we had in mind when it came time to communicate technical details, or concepts, where even a small language barrier can lead to misunderstandings and lost time  - a model can speak for itself, convey a concept, break down a language barrier, put a smile on a guy's face.

Since we made the design modular, we could buy the materials in bulk, at wholesale prices, then have the over-sized pieces pre-cut into smaller, more manageable sizes - before they are shipped from the manufacturing facility or distributor. That makes a difference when it comes time to pickup and deliver a skid of materials. The smaller the skid, the more practical and easy it is to handle.

Additionally, loading the materials into the trunk of a compact-sized rental car is unlikely to set off red flags at border crossings with Customs inspections. We were able to eliminate expensive  importation fees and international freight charges by driving the materials across the border, along with some of our other personal possessions. 

In industrial and gritty Guaymas, we were allowed to use a shipyard's travel lift bay and 240V shore power connection for a few hours, during a non-busy time of year, at no charge. It was so incredibly hot and humid, slow and deserted, during the summer months in Guaymas that it wasn't much of a problem to schedule time to work on a project at the yard, or take up some unused dock space for a short period of time, if we needed it. People were very relaxed about scheduling or rules and regulations or business as usual. After all, we were in Mexico, where anything is possible. In Seattle, or San Francisco, anything is possible as well, only it costs about $100 an hour to make it so. 

We found a skilled aluminum welder (soldador de aluminio, roughly translated: aluminum solderer) with a crude shop near the waterfront. He had no experience working on sailboats, but that was okay, we did, and we knew what we wanted. Welders in Guaymas work on old, rusting, shrimpers and the occasional industrial job, or cracked frame on a school bus. But for the most part he was game to help us out with his funky MIG welder. We later found an upholstery shop (tapiceria) off a dirt road with sinkholes that you could disappear into, but he had one, well-oiled, industrial-strength sewing machine and some strange-colored thread and a little free time on his hands to make up some sun screens and rain screens for us, based on some dimensions we gave him, which he scribbled out on a scrap of his wall - where he kept all his other important,  and not so important, notes and phone numbers and sketches and doodles. He tracked down the fabric we had in mind, ordered it for us, and it arrived a few days later at his shop.

Labor costs in Guaymas are inexpensive, by U.S. standards. Our total cost for metal fabrication (cutting and welding) was $600 USD. Add to that the wholesale materials cost for the 5086 marine-grade aluminum, at $1,350 USD. We could not have completed this project in the U.S. The costs would have been prohibitive, quadrupled, at least.

At night, the cockpit is lit by a red LED, while the underside
of the aluminum dodger reflects light from the galley, below.

We didn't care if the welding job on our 5086 H116 aluminum dodger hadn't looked computer-numerically-controlled seamless. Or if scratches and scars were left behind in the grinding and cutting and welding process. Or if the metallic surfaces were left unpolished, crude. Or that the final product didn't look as if it rolled off of an assembly line. It was, painstakingly, handmade and it looked it. It wasn't fancy or slick or 'yachtie'. It was purposeful, it had clean lines, and it was built like a light-weight tank - to our specs. 

Anna, after installation of aluminum dodger, in Guaymas.

We could clean up the metal surfaces later, with abrasive 3M Scotch-Brite, and admire the rough, tough, double welds on all the seams, and know who put them there, on the dirt floor of a crude shop, on an out-of-the-way side street in Guaymas, Mexico.

                   form follows function

                  --Richard 'Bucky' Buckminster Fuller, 1895-1983