Marine Fabricator May/June 2023 - 38

Shop Talk Exterior
ENCLOSURE STYLE CHOICES
W
hen quoting a price to customers for an enclosure, I ask them two
questions: How much coverage or protection do you want? How are
you going to use the boat? Depending on the answer, I will direct them to
one of these three popular styles. There are many other styles and many other
versions of these three enclosures, but these are the most common.
Phone booth enclosure
This is the smallest style of enclosure
with the least amount of protection.
I like to call it a glorified windshield.
It typically consists of three panels.
It's a front center panel and two
side panels that wrap around the
four vertical support poles of the
T-top, but it also can be designed
to install inside the support poles.
It blocks the wind for the captain
and maybe one other passenger.
It also can block some water spray
depending on where you are
standing, but I would not count
on it keeping you completely dry.
This enclosure is usually used
year-round and is rarely taken off
the boat. Sometimes we will even
uninstall the factory windshield to
make visibility better, and the boat
will have a cleaner look.
Phone booth with wings
This style consists of the phone booth
enclosure but with additional wings
that attach to the aft edge of the enclosure
or the aft two vertical support
poles of the T-top and then extend out
to the gunwale of the boat. Because
the wings are installed more aft of
the boat, they are much closer to the
captain at the helm. This provides
much more protection from the water
spray that comes back into the boat.
Although this style provides better protection
than the phone booth alone, it
still does not have a lot of room for very
many passengers to be protected. This
is designed to keep two to three passengers
protected at best. The wings
of this enclosure are sometimes not
needed and will be taken off the boat,
but the phone booth part is usually left
on the boat permanently.
" These challenges are
what make center console
enclosures fun for me and why
I love doing them so much. "
Full five-piece enclosure
The full five-piece enclosure is the
best bang for your buck. It consists of
a front center panel, two wings that
shoot out to the gunwales, and then
two additional panels that connect to
the wings and extend down the sides
to the aft edge of the T-top. This style
can keep six or more crew members
comfortable, dry and out of the wind.
This is designed so that the side panels
can roll up and the wings can fold
into the console, creating an open
feel when the enclosure is not needed.
When bad weather hits, customers can
quickly roll down and swing out panes
for protection. I find that some people
leave this enclosure on year-round
because of its functionality of being
able to roll up and swing in out of the
way. I also find others will take everything
off but leave the front center panel on.
38 Marine Fabricator | May/June 2023
Marine Fabricator May/June 2023

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