When I looked at the Baycruiser 23 at the Southampton Boat show, I was taken with the way its spray hood was held open. On my boat, there are webbing straps stitched to the edge of the hood, which are threaded through a deck fitting and back through a buckle. A fiddle to fit, and the hood was very wobbly, however tightly you pulled the strap. On the BC 23, the straps hook directly to the frame, and pull it much tighter. Matt Newland said it was how they do all the hoods now.
After some thought, I decided that it would be even better not to use webbing at all, but use a simple rope tackle, with a jam cleat to hold it all up. This can simply be hooked onto a deck eye when you want to raise it, and you can pul lit really taught. I have just finished installing this and it works really well. Only seconds to hook on and pull up, and the hood is very rigid in use. A really good alteration.
The fitting also means I can have the hood raised but the sides folded back, which I have often wanted to do, but couldn't as the sides held the hood up.
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