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My two just completed self righting hulls have three large water inlet holes in the deck. While this does speed up filling of the flood chamber, are they really essential? Some drill holes in the deck while others drill holes in the side of the hull to assist speedy ingress of water. Obviously the more holes the quicker the chamber fills and flips the boat. This feature may be important for racing applications, however, I do not forsee such activity.
I know that several holes are needed on the underside of the hull at the most forward point of the chamber to allow air to escape. Personally, I feel that when the boat flips upside down then water will enter the large exit hole in the transom and air escape through the forward holes in the underside of the hull. The process may be a few seconds slower than if the deck was festooned with inlet holes, but for sporting purposes are all those additional deck holes really necessary?
Many converted boats have a lot of deck inlet holes but these boats seem to be primarily European boats used for racing where less time spent upside down is a racing advantage.
I know that several holes are needed on the underside of the hull at the most forward point of the chamber to allow air to escape. Personally, I feel that when the boat flips upside down then water will enter the large exit hole in the transom and air escape through the forward holes in the underside of the hull. The process may be a few seconds slower than if the deck was festooned with inlet holes, but for sporting purposes are all those additional deck holes really necessary?
Many converted boats have a lot of deck inlet holes but these boats seem to be primarily European boats used for racing where less time spent upside down is a racing advantage.
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