Are Windows Really a Good Idea in Hulls?
8 April 2026 · 8 min · 766 views
Man with white hair and beard sits in car
What this video covers
Hull windows weaken structural integrity and leak chronically — Pete's position, prompted by a viewer question, is that fewer is better and offshore sailors should consider glassing them over entirely.▶ 7:43 Patrick Lane, Pete's crewmate on a recent Cape Horn passage, owned a Bavaria 40 whose forward-cabin hull windows leaked persistently despite repeated re-caulking and re-sealing, soaking the V-berth bunk.▶ 1:10 Pete's own offshore experience reinforces the risk: aboard a 47-foot Alden ketch named Robin Hood in 1981, a single wave drove through one open oval bronze portlight — roughly 12 inches by 3–4 inches — with enough hydraulic force to blow the head door nearly off its hinges and flood the nav station with an estimated 100-plus gallons.▶ 5:24 Pre-departure Lexan polycarbonate storm covers over the main saloon windows prevented far worse damage.▶ 5:51 Pete notes that stoved-in windows occur most often on the leeward side, where the boat's weight presses into the water.▶ 6:37 He also recounts Alaska Eagle — originally Royal Huisman-built as Flyer, winner of the 1977–78 Whitbread — which carried a Lexan inspection window in the hull bottom to check for kelp on the prop shaft, a feature that required extensive Coast Guard approval.▶ 2:24 On his own boat Aqualibra, Pete has sealed all main-saloon opening ports.▶ 7:04 Naval architects include hull windows to sell boats, not to improve them.▶ 0:47
Boats in this video
More from Lucky Pete Sailing AQUALIBRA
From Lucky Pete Sailing AQUALIBRA — see the channel’s boat, crew, and every analysed video.