On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:45:30 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch
wrote:

On Jun 24, 2:37*pm, Wayne.B wrote:
On Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:16:38 -0700 (PDT), Frogwatch

wrote:
I suspect that open/low transom with a cabin without bridgedeck is a
really bad idea because once you got significant water in the cabin,
you're a goner.

Absolutely right. *

Some sort of sturdy cabin closure is also a good idea, perhaps like
the drop boards in a sailboat companionway, with sliding bolts to hold
them in place. * You might be able to survive a capsize with something
like that.

David Pascoe:

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/sinking.htm

Does not like either scuppers or low/no transoms. He prefers
duplicate battery systems and large multiple bilge pumps.

Pascoe is always an interesting read. Some of his advice is
controversial because it defies conventional wisdom. He has looked
at a lot of boats however, and investigated a lot of sinkings. His
comments about bilge pumps, hoses and fittings seem spot on to me, as
well as his advice to keep the water out of the boat in the first
place. If a boat takes a wave over a low transom for some reason it
can capsize within seconds because it will lose stability.