Some people do go overboard with dodgers and the like which affect sailing performance and quite often make the yacht look dog ugly.
However, when sailing in the tropics, unless you are prepared to cover your self from head to toe with clothing or smother yourself with cooking fat (Sunblock) you really need some shade or you will have an early and terrible death from skin cancer.
If the main sheet is well forward in the cockpit (traveller on the bridge deck) and the boom not too low, I think a folding bimini top that will tie back onto the backstay is acceptable from a performance and aesthetic perspective.
Spend a few days on a boat without a dodger and they become more important than cold beer. Day sailors can live without them but not passage makers.
The shade sail at anchor is fine. When I'm in the cockpit I am down low enough that my eyes are just above the rear of the cabin. I spend a fair amount of time in the cabin sitting on the steps or at the chart table when traveling. Check the horizon every now and then. Wind/sunburn is a major problem for me these days.
I went and checked this boat out yesterday. Didn't sail on it but just a look in its pen. It's well built with lots of fruit. One thing that stands out is that it's mast is well forward . The boom is long! All the way yo the stern giving it an enormous main sail with what seems a relatively small jib. Do you reckon this geometry is a function of the bilge keel or just designed for light wind tropical cruising?
