Hi, I live in Gananoque Ontario and am a boater. My wife and I own a Limestone 24 powerboat. It was designed by Mark Ellis (designer of the Nonsuch and Niagara sailboats built by Hinterhoeller) and built in 1987 by George Hinterhoeller.

I have extensive sailboat racing and simple sailing experience on monohull and multihull boats up to 90ft and have sailed all my life. I really enjoy watching your videos. Please keep them coming! They are funny (when they need to be) and highly informative.

I note, from a recent clip I watched, that you have Lewmar hatches on your boat. Specifically, I watched as you complained about a leaking hatch seal on a hatch mounted vertically on the inside of one of the hulls.

Were you able to have that problem properly resolved? I hope so and also hope that you did not glue it shut.

Here’s why…

I used to run Lewmar Marine here in Canada. I sold earlier models of those same hatches for exactly the same installation to several multihull builders in Canada.

In one instance, two were installed in exactly the same locations as your leaking hatch.

Late one afternoon the cat, a 50ft John Shuttleworth design was being pushed very hard in large swells and high winds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence north of PEI. Suddenly, while the 4 crew were on deck trying to reduce sail to slow down the boat, it dug its bows into the backside of a large wave. The following wave lifted the boat vertical and it was then pitch-poled upside down. All crew were on deck and thus thrown into the rigging and the ocean. Two were injured quite badly (I know all 4), one only slightly and the skipped was uninjured.

The skipper opened the “escape hatches” in both hulls. Two injured crew were put in one hull and the third injured crew was placed in the other hull hull. The skipper then went into the hull with the two crew. The hatches were closed and they waited for rescue.

They survived the night and in the morning, thanks to a freighter who came upon the overturned boat at dusk (about 2 hours after the accident) and the RCC based in Summerside PEI the crew was rescued.

All four were rescued.

The cat was righted, towed to shore and then motored back to Hamilton Ontario. It was repaired and we sailed it later that year.

Why am I telling you this???? They survived because the hatches opened from the outside and they could get inside the upturned hulls.

That’s why I hope you got the leaks repaired and did not seal the hatch shut.

I still have some contacts at Lewmar. If you did not get the issue resolved I may be able to help you.

Good luck, have fun and keep the videos coming!!!

Sandy Currie
Gananoque, Ontario
613.532.5000
[email protected]

What happen to the last clip of ur video? Hopefully ur okay guys! Keep safe😇

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