Beware the Open Hatch

Last August, Sailor Cherry, an enthusiastic participant in last year’s Delta Doo Dah, walked through the shower deck hatch (a 7"x13" rectangle) of her Serendipity 43 Hooked and did some extensive damage to her right leg and knee. "It became quite the ‘don’t do this’ story on our dock," she wrote.

"It was 100% my mistake. While showering that morning I flipped the hatch all the way open instead of just partially (as it’s generally kept for ventilation). Well, I forgot to fix that. Later that afternoon I went on deck to adjust the sunshade. I lowered it (it’s hoisted on a halyard) and laid it out flat on the white flush deck covering the hatches with the white fabric. While stepping off the forward hatch my right leg stepped down, disappearing into the opened shower hatch while the rest of me was still on deck. In my defense, the tinted glass hatch looks like a dark rectangle whether it’s opened or closed, so I must have thought it was shut/normal-looking when I was laying out the large sunshade, which has to be hoisted just forward of the hatches."

"The hematoma is from the hatch’s hardware breaking my fall — no broken bones, thank goodness. I wish someone had filmed it because it was probably hilarious to watch, like something out of America’s Funniest Home Videos or an I Love Lucy episode!"

An MRI showed that Cherry’s knee was fine, but the hematoma did need to be drained. She’s still walking with a limp. "I wish I could report that it was all healed up,"  she said. "I’ll never forget to fully shut that damn hatch!"