Is this feature negligent?

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The negligence is on the part of the skipper who does not restow it

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OK accepting that that is only the secure stowage area I still say its crap design.If thats a 6 person raft you would end up with a hernia and a slipped disc getting that out of there.

i cant imagine anyone who would religiously struggle to get that out of there everytime they leave the marina.
 
Agree entirely. Should be mounted on top of the after deck. If the owner was worried about it being pinched a couple of hinged stainless steel security straps with padlocks, removed when at sea, will solve that. The best use for aft "toy cupboards" like this is to stow an inflated or part deflated rubber dubby when at sea. I saw one on an American yacht with a drop down ramp and motorised winch for stowage once that I thought excellent. Not for a life raft though! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
I dont think you have quite understood the designers idea....
98.3% of the time the boat will be in harbour/marina etc and the idea of a liferaft is superflous.
So you can safely stash it there.
On the 1.7% of the time you will need it it should be stored on the cabin roof so it gets in the way of the kicker, or washes off into the sea never to be seen again.
 
If it is power operated only then that makes it ridiculous - but opening in seas would not be too much of a problem if it is sealed - there is not much volume to flood and anyway by the time you are ready to deploy the liferaft a little bit of flooding is the least of your problems.
 
From the pics
1. It looks like it's powered hydraulically so I wouldn't be to concerned about it coming undone at sea.

2. The model seems to be a 52.5 - big boat.

3. The locker seems to be well sealed from other parts of the boat so even if the door did break loose I still wouldn't be worried because the locker is above the waterline and would "self -drain" - you'd loose everything that was in it but what the hell.

3. We've all got big stern lockers even on boats half that size and most L/rafts invariably get placed at the bottom.

The downsides that I can see are

1. The top access hatch is way to small for that sized locker.

2. When you moor up in a marina you'll have to leave X feet of extra space behind you so that you can open the dam thing!

Personally I would buy a boat with that designed stern but equally I wouldn't be worried by being on one in a blow.

Peter.
 
The locker sure looks to me like it is intended to stow an inflatable tender. I wonder why all the fuss about stowing a liferaft there. A liferaft should be stowed in the most suitable location not necessarily determined by the boat manufacturer.
I think it is a great innovation for landing platform and inflatable stowage.

Incidentally I looked at the robi Knox Johnstons Velux 5oceans solo racers in Fremantle on Mon morning. I noticed one of the boats had an open window (too big for a port hole you could crawl out of it) in the transom just inches above the water line. They obviously trust the window and the seal 'cos Souther ocean would surely test the window seal. if not already then the little jaunt around Cape Horn (they leave Sun morning for west coast USA) will surely test it. olewill
 
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