"Funny how we fret about this stuff now, when over the last two years, I've spent much more time sitting or motoring on glass calm water than fighting too much wind." I can relate. I like your boat name, Howard. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Howard Audsley" <haudsley@tranquility.net> To: <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Friday, January 17, 2003 6:50 PM Subject: Cockpit locker closure This is the same system Thomas setup on the former Osprey (later Blue Feather Grace, and now Audasea), before his current Osprey. It works just as he describes it and doesn't require an additional lock. Normally, I just use it to secure the hatch at the dock and when the boat was left on the storage lot, but it would make sense to use it in rough weather. From now on, I will. One would also want to have the forward hatch closed and locked too. In Murray's situation, I can only imagine how exciting it would have been had the boat gone over far enough to toss them both out, but not far enough so that she couldn¹t right herself and she sailed on without them. One can almost see the need for a harness and a sturdy clip point if you were going to venture out far enough you couldn¹t swim to shore if rough weather caught you. Funny how we fret about this stuff now, when over the last two years, I've spent much more time sitting or motoring on glass calm water than fighting too much wind. But the motto of the Boy Scout is "be prepared". Howard M17, #278 Audasea