Big Cat Doors

A lot of catamarans have these huge sliding glass doors that open the back of the bridge deck onto the aft cockpit area. It is a big selling point; in fact SeaWind folds the doors up completely into a hard top Bimini, effectively removing the wall altogether.

I'm beginning to cool to the whole idea. In the first place it means there is a large portion of inside area that cannot contain any counter space (a chronic shortfall in boats of all kinds). Such a design also means that any supplemental heating / cooling of the interior space is going to be that much more difficult, though of course open ventilation is wonderful. Mostly though, I wonder just how tough those big panes of Plexiglas would be if one was running before the wind in gusts of 40+? How much water, rain and following seas, will they keep out?

I may never be a true "blue water" sailor but my inclinations are moving toward boats that seem to be designed for less than ideal conditions. A big glass wall that opens the entire interior of the boat to whatever the ocean can gin up would not seem to fit that description. That is one of the reasons why I really like the Gunboat and Chris White designed catamarans. (Now if I could just come up with $1,000,000 and change I could buy one.)