Cat A ocean standard need full revision

[lustyd]

We are only now seeing large bonded hull windows quite close to the waterline on monohulls. Small bonded windows have been around for a while.
Only time will tell if this is a good idea or not.
I can imagine in a storm a thousand miles from land that it might be possible to stop water flooding your boat, given a small aperture. You can carry storm boards made for the job. I can't imagine how you would do the same on a large opening close to the water in 4 or 5m metre seas

At some point you’re going to have to put the goalposts down so we have something to aim at.
Small windows have not been falling out en mass so why would large ones be any less safe? We still don’t have evidence that they are unsafe after 16 pages of rambling hyperbole, just some examples of windows failing after uncertain life and maintenance and decades of use.
The ones in the video on the 25+ year old Beneteau clearly had the UV protection worn away by fenders and nobody thought to replace it. That’s negligence and not something regs can sort out.

I didn’t see you acknowledge what I said about chainplates.

 

[Supertramp]

We are only now seeing large bonded hull windows quite close to the waterline on monohulls. Small bonded windows have been around for a while.
Only time will tell if this is a good idea or not.
I can imagine in a storm a thousand miles from land that it might be possible to stop water flooding your boat, given a small aperture. You can carry storm boards made for the job. I can't imagine how you would do the same on a large opening close to the water in 4 or 5m metre seas

As with many features you could find a way to reduce the risk. Such as internal storm boards. Sirius reinforce the apertures to reduce flexing. When I bought Supertramp one of the first additions I made was a washboard to raise the companionway lip in rough seas. But that puts us back in the realm of owners specifying and modifying their boats. I get the impression that there are "good" and "bad" hull windows differing in size, position and construction.

Your concern is that many people don't see a risk, and many others never encounter the conditions which test it, until they do. I would sail to the Caribbean in Supertramp, but I might not want to come back!

 

[Lucky Duck]

Write up about hull windows in the entry for the “blue water cruiser” Allures Horizon 47

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