The entrance to the interior of Issuma is through the doghouse. You can sit in the doghouse, look around in all directions, and maintain a watch if the weather conditions are nasty outside.

The doghouse is made of stainless steel angle, welded to the cabintop. The windows are 12mm (1/2") clear polycarbonate (Lexan), and the top is 25mm (1") plywood.

The dark grey stuff is styrofoam insulation that covers all the stainless steel. There is a thin film of plastic covering the windows which is also for insulation (the plastic film is only there in winter).

There is a brown (varnished) wooden handhold near the bottom of the picture.

On the starboard side is the ship's plant, Rover, and my mobile phone. There is much better cellular reception in the doghouse (away from the steel hull) than down below, so this is where the phone lives when in places with weak cellular signals.