Visibility clear ahead

On a night passage one of my biggest dislikes is peering forward through wobbly, opaque plastic windows, having to stick my head out into the elements every few minutes to try and pacify my increasing paranoia: ‘Where the hell is that Fl.G.2s?’ or ‘Is that red light moving off the port bow?’

I found myself looking longingly at the hard-top and cockpit windscreen designs by Hallberg-Rassy, Najad and even the occasional Bavaria thinking: maybe I could make something to fit my mid 1980s three-quarter tonner.

I looked at aftermarket examples on the Internet and frankly nothing really looked like it would work on my boat to meet my exact requirements, which were as follows:

■ Standing at the helm I need to be able to see the bow

■ The windscreen needs to extend well aft of the coachroof to deflect water running down the windward sidedeck

■ There has to be enough clearance for the main winch handles, good access to clutches