<Bob wrote: Can either of these types of boats, and similar voyaging boats handle a knockdown and recover. How about a barrel roll.> Good question Bob, I suspect the answer is no unless Neptune is looking after you. I have been rolled and pitchpoled in sailboats. It really is a bad day at see and very messy. Being pitchpoled is much worse than rolled. Rolling is a gentle but persistent heeling that never stops. The issue to deal with in a roll is water intrusion thru doors, window, vents. Pitchpoling is a sudden lifting of the stern that ends abruptly with a slam upside down on the face of the sea. The sudden deceleration of the slam loosens everything in the boat to move from the bottom to the top. I seriously doubt that the engines, tanks and other heavy items inside can withstand being inverter and then stopped when the top of the boat slams the water. The issue to deal with here is chaos. Think of the impact when you do a bellyflop. Then think of 20, 30 or 50 tons of boat impacting the water upside down in this same fashion. Awesome forces involved and well beyond the design ability of motor mounts and other tiedowns. So we're back to making sure we don't allow the boat get into this situation. Weather forecasting skills, heavy weather tactics and proper boat preparations all can contribute to avoiding the "ultimate test" of a boats structure. Trying to make a "lifeboat or surfboat" out of our passagemakers just isn't an option, IMHO. Swan Song certainly isn't a watertight door, window and hull opening boat. OTH we do have a decent righting moment and stability. Would be survive a roll or pitchpole? Nope. Not even with Neptune and all his helpers along side. Do we go to seas ? Yup. Are we crazy? Maybe a little. As always YMMV. Dave & Nancy Swan Song Roughwater 58 Caribbean Cruise '07