Although I agree with the function being more important than the form in a boat, one has to be cautious in making assumptions about seaworthyness. Gary said "I cannot understand why engine room doors/hatches are so often placed virtually on the transom (witness last year's loss of the brand new sportfisherman enroute to some Florida boat show when the professional delivery crew had engine trouble and left the door open only to be pooped by a wave and quickly sunk, with loss of all hands)." I believe that he was refering to a loss of a Carolina 35 sportfisher, which is a quite traditional boat. The boat was new and a ceramic shaft/boot failed, allowing ingress of large amounts of water into the engine room. It is not clear what happened next, but the engine room hatch (which was not on the transom, but was in the floor in the foreward part of the cockpit and the rise to the steering station, was opened, and a wave apparently swamped the boat. There were a number of errors, but not necessarilly that of boat design. Bob Austin