To Leave the Hatch Open or Not Open? That is the Question!

One thing I deliberate over constantly is, should I leave my bedroom hatch open or not. Should I leave the top hatch open, side hatch, head (toilet) hatch? Some of you may wonder why deliberate over such a mundane issue. Of course when it is hot you want to keep as cool as possible because it certainly can get stifling hot in a cramped boat when it is 30° Celsius outside. The danger is there is water all around us and I have been in the washroom on more than one occasion when a fresh blast of salt water came in through the side hatch to douse me with some seawater. When traveling at a good speed, this splash of water through the 1 foot by 8 inch window can still come in with such force and quantity as to require one to either change clothes or stand out in the cockpit to dry off the saltwater in the sun.

Some nights as the waves are gently crashing around us I’m nervous as my bedroom is at the front of the boat only a few feet from the mesh trampoline at the bow. Sometimes large waves do crash up on the front and drench the sails and entire front section of the boat. I have watched while sleeping below the closed hatch as water douses us from above the sealed porthole.

So now that the weather is heating up I deliberate over if I should open or not open each hatch. I’m dying of humid heat if I don’t but I’m also running the risk of a saltwater bath if I don’t. Last night the seas were fairly calm and so I felt confident that I could leave it open, but with each wave splash I was alert and assessing whether or not to close the hatch. Finally I felt asleep knowing that if I felt a splash, I could always close the hatch then… perhaps too late.

7:10 pm PDT, Lat: 06° 10.626′ N, Long: 125° 31.057′ W, Course 193° T, Speed: 7.2 K, Wind: NE `18.2 K, Swell: NE 1′, Cloud Cover: 20%, Barometer: 1006 hPa, Temp: 28°C