Consider what happens if your rig falls down over your hatch(es). Ideally hatches / doors should open inwards. Naval craft always do. And they are watertight. And they will have the hull divided into a number of watertight compartments….why not same fir offshore boats
"Ideally hatches / doors should open inwards. Naval craft always do." Don't know what naval craft you've seen, but in quarter of a century of service from patrol boats to aircraft carriers, I can't recall ever seeing a single hatch / door that opened inwards. *ALWAYS OUTWARDS.* That way, the pressure of a wave breaking on deck keeps the hatch closed and watertight, not trying to push it open.
I think most serious offshore boats do compartmentation now. A very good idea. would take some serious work to get our boat to that level. Our boat is pretty inside but very open.
@@dominicbuckley8309 so you are half way out of a door (very heavy) and a wave hits it and smashes it shut, trapping you…ouch! That is why they open inwards. They are designed to be strong enough with hinges and catches to suit.
@@markthomasson5077 Or, if we take your design, you are half way out of a door and a wave hits it , OPENING the door and allowing vast amounts of seawater in, risking the life of everybody on board. It'll still be a big ouch, cos you'll get beaten up by the rest of the crew who are angry cos all their kit is wet and they've just had to spent half an hour pumping the boat out. Seriously, it's in the ship construction regulations, section 8 para 3 "Every hinged exterior door shall be hinged on the forward side and open *outwards* ."
Important video. Thanks. When I bought my boat the dinghy sat, upright, right on top of the escape hatch over the forward head. You might be able to force the V bow out of the way to get out.... I piled up and tied down all the foam pieces that used to keep it nice and flat on the fore deck. Now the bow points up allowing the head hatch to open enough to climb out. I hadn't even thought about it until I happened to see another documentary on the tragic dive boat fire off near by Santa Cruz Island. Coming back in earlier I saw both local BoatUS boats towing in some boats. I then saw those same two boats in the documentary. This is why I lifted my dinghy bow. Another thought I had. Well two. First, almost every manual I have on my boat including the one I have for the boat are vague and useless. (B&G flies this flag to this day. I figured it was part of their business model. You know sell you the kit, and then sell you actual instructions... Nope. They just DGAS.) The layouts of fire extinguishers, thru hulls, tank positions, etc.. for my boat are these schematic diagrams that are so terrible none are even complete. At a glance you can't even be sure which diagram you are looking at. They show two water tanks and two fuel tanks. Which is the main diesel isn't even labeled. So my second thought is: I really need to make my own layouts, make them bold, clear, colorful - print them and laminate them. Give my friends something to look through while I'm burning breakfast.
Hi, that is an important point. Safety features are useless unless everybody knows where they are. On the sailing course we did when we started- they put emphasis on the second a new person boards the vessel, a tour around all the safety points is done before anything else. FIre extinguishers, escapes, how the life raft deploys , first aid, how to mayday on the VHF etc. Much to the dismay of our friends thinking the first thing would be a beer.
Not an issue. Our forward hatch over our V-Saloon is hexagonal and does not open far enough to act as an escape hatch. As for a secondary escape route other than the companionway... well, our boat also has a butterfly hatch over the galley in the center of the boat... the issue there is my 5'3" in 60+ year old wife would never be able to make it our of either overhead hatch... so my plan is (1) a mounted self initiating fire suppression system in the engine bay and (2) multiple fire extinguishers close to hand WITH (3) smoke rated breathing masks to give us a figthting chance in the case of an engine fire. But I can guarantee out 13'10" dingy will be lashed down on the foredeck over the hexagonal hatch when we go off shore. May I ask... where do you plan for your dingy will be stored during offshore passages?? On the davits? Trailing on a line?? For safety's sake, during off shore passages storing the dingy on the bow is and has been a proven safe and standard procedure for many years. V/R CJ&JD Blackwell SV Rocinante =/|)= currently Hampton, VA
Hi, thanks for commenting. And I do appreciate some boats don't have any forward exit hatches. I also appreciate some people prefer a lashed dinghy ready to go as it is also their liferaft and that is also a consideration. Our dinghy is lashed as shown in the video. Its a nesting dinghy with one part on the foredeck , one part over the butterfly hatch midship (we can't reach or fit out of the butterfly hatch). The forward hatch still opens in this setup. Its not possible on every boat. I agree with the fire safety as well (we have another basic video on what we have done in that regard). Thanks for weighing in with your thought and setup. Ben
Consider what happens if your rig falls down over your hatch(es).
Ideally hatches / doors should open inwards. Naval craft always do. And they are watertight. And they will have the hull divided into a number of watertight compartments….why not same fir offshore boats
"Ideally hatches / doors should open inwards. Naval craft always do." Don't know what naval craft you've seen, but in quarter of a century of service from patrol boats to aircraft carriers, I can't recall ever seeing a single hatch / door that opened inwards. *ALWAYS OUTWARDS.* That way, the pressure of a wave breaking on deck keeps the hatch closed and watertight, not trying to push it open.
I think most serious offshore boats do compartmentation now. A very good idea. would take some serious work to get our boat to that level. Our boat is pretty inside but very open.
@@theincompetentcrew well….there is rather a large one, tragically, at the bottom of the sea off Sicily
@@dominicbuckley8309 so you are half way out of a door (very heavy) and a wave hits it and smashes it shut, trapping you…ouch! That is why they open inwards. They are designed to be strong enough with hinges and catches to suit.
@@markthomasson5077 Or, if we take your design, you are half way out of a door and a wave hits it , OPENING the door and allowing vast amounts of seawater in, risking the life of everybody on board. It'll still be a big ouch, cos you'll get beaten up by the rest of the crew who are angry cos all their kit is wet and they've just had to spent half an hour pumping the boat out.
Seriously, it's in the ship construction regulations, section 8 para 3 "Every hinged exterior door shall be hinged on the forward side and open *outwards* ."
Often overlooked is sometimes you have to escape from an enraged crewmate as quickly as possible
True, I have dived both in and out the forward hatch to escape Karli. Ben
😂😂😂
Precious cargo. ❤
Thanks for keeping things safe
😁 we do what we can
Important video. Thanks. When I bought my boat the dinghy sat, upright, right on top of the escape hatch over the forward head. You might be able to force the V bow out of the way to get out.... I piled up and tied down all the foam pieces that used to keep it nice and flat on the fore deck. Now the bow points up allowing the head hatch to open enough to climb out.
I hadn't even thought about it until I happened to see another documentary on the tragic dive boat fire off near by Santa Cruz Island. Coming back in earlier I saw both local BoatUS boats towing in some boats. I then saw those same two boats in the documentary. This is why I lifted my dinghy bow.
Another thought I had. Well two.
First, almost every manual I have on my boat including the one I have for the boat are vague and useless. (B&G flies this flag to this day. I figured it was part of their business model. You know sell you the kit, and then sell you actual instructions... Nope. They just DGAS.)
The layouts of fire extinguishers, thru hulls, tank positions, etc.. for my boat are these schematic diagrams that are so terrible none are even complete. At a glance you can't even be sure which diagram you are looking at. They show two water tanks and two fuel tanks. Which is the main diesel isn't even labeled.
So my second thought is: I really need to make my own layouts, make them bold, clear, colorful - print them and laminate them. Give my friends something to look through while I'm burning breakfast.
Hi, that is an important point. Safety features are useless unless everybody knows where they are. On the sailing course we did when we started- they put emphasis on the second a new person boards the vessel, a tour around all the safety points is done before anything else. FIre extinguishers, escapes, how the life raft deploys , first aid, how to mayday on the VHF etc. Much to the dismay of our friends thinking the first thing would be a beer.
Safety first 👌
Always!
Thank you Fabio 🫶
My pleasure!
Sensible 👌
My dinghy is square on the foredeck before the mast to have the front hatches free to open at any time
Great! Is your dinghy a one man lift or two? It is surprising how many boats lash the dinghy over the front hatches.
Not an issue. Our forward hatch over our V-Saloon is hexagonal and does not open far enough to act as an escape hatch.
As for a secondary escape route other than the companionway... well, our boat also has a butterfly hatch over the galley in the center of the boat... the issue there is my 5'3" in 60+ year old wife would never be able to make it our of either overhead hatch... so my plan is (1) a mounted self initiating fire suppression system in the engine bay and (2) multiple fire extinguishers close to hand WITH (3) smoke rated breathing masks to give us a figthting chance in the case of an engine fire.
But I can guarantee out 13'10" dingy will be lashed down on the foredeck over the hexagonal hatch when we go off shore.
May I ask... where do you plan for your dingy will be stored during offshore passages?? On the davits? Trailing on a line??
For safety's sake, during off shore passages storing the dingy on the bow is and has been a proven safe and standard procedure for many years.
V/R
CJ&JD Blackwell
SV Rocinante =/|)=
currently Hampton, VA
Hi, thanks for commenting. And I do appreciate some boats don't have any forward exit hatches. I also appreciate some people prefer a lashed dinghy ready to go as it is also their liferaft and that is also a consideration. Our dinghy is lashed as shown in the video. Its a nesting dinghy with one part on the foredeck , one part over the butterfly hatch midship (we can't reach or fit out of the butterfly hatch). The forward hatch still opens in this setup. Its not possible on every boat. I agree with the fire safety as well (we have another basic video on what we have done in that regard).
Thanks for weighing in with your thought and setup.
Ben
We don't cover the hatch.. dinghy belongs midship!
We cut our dinghy in half to get it mid ship :)
@theincompetentcrew ahh there you go. Our dinghy is our life boat so can't cut it, but it fits just fine under the boom even so :)
Hmmmm… Google auto correct!🤬 (“PROS and cons!”)