Hi and thank you for reading. This is a follow-on to my earlier question - but about making the cockpit safe for open ocean.
I am close to purchasing a '83 Hunter 34 and I am compiling a list of safety requirements to make the boat safe for a passage over the Columbia Bar (mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon - The graveyard of the Pacific). Has anyone modified their cockpit seats for open water? Namely - has anyone built-in, or glassed-in watertight compartments under their cockpit seats in case you experience a knockdown?
I am considering adding bulkheads with watertight inspection doors into the back of the boat I am considering buying. Having sailed on the Great Lakes in gale force and higher winds with steep seas the need to prevent water flooding into the cabin is a front of mind concern for me. I know I might need to relocate some gear like the batteries etc. to do this. So I am curious to see if anyone has walked this path before me?
How have you sealed the cockpits seat with gaskets (replacing the dumb little rubber bumpers)?
What did you add for a locking mechanism to keep the lids closed and secure?
Has anyone added sea scuppers through the transom to supplement the cockpit drains? What did you use?
I ask as I ultimately want to sail the inside passage to Alaska from Oregon - so there will also be many miles at sea with no protection from wind and waves that start over near Japan. Thanks in advance for your help.
SAM
I am close to purchasing a '83 Hunter 34 and I am compiling a list of safety requirements to make the boat safe for a passage over the Columbia Bar (mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon - The graveyard of the Pacific). Has anyone modified their cockpit seats for open water? Namely - has anyone built-in, or glassed-in watertight compartments under their cockpit seats in case you experience a knockdown?
I am considering adding bulkheads with watertight inspection doors into the back of the boat I am considering buying. Having sailed on the Great Lakes in gale force and higher winds with steep seas the need to prevent water flooding into the cabin is a front of mind concern for me. I know I might need to relocate some gear like the batteries etc. to do this. So I am curious to see if anyone has walked this path before me?
How have you sealed the cockpits seat with gaskets (replacing the dumb little rubber bumpers)?
What did you add for a locking mechanism to keep the lids closed and secure?
Has anyone added sea scuppers through the transom to supplement the cockpit drains? What did you use?
I ask as I ultimately want to sail the inside passage to Alaska from Oregon - so there will also be many miles at sea with no protection from wind and waves that start over near Japan. Thanks in advance for your help.
SAM
