On 4/26/08 7:20 PM, "montgomery_boats-request@mailman.xmission.com" <montgomery_boats-request@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Subject: M_Boats: Hatches Hi Joe,
I was puzzled by that as well, however, I'm sure one of the reasons would become apparent if you were motoring or sailing in chop and nosed into a swell. Water over the bow would keep the hatch down in it's current configuration (if it was to come unlatched or left open) , but not so much if it opened forward. Imagine the water intake in such a situation. Yikes! On vessels with more foredeck between the bow and a forward hatch, it's probably not so much of an issue. Come to think of it, I believe the Chris Craft 32' that I owned many years ago had a rear facing hatch as well...hmmm. My "unlearned, non-sailboat designing" opinion. Michael Ray