Little
Cruiser's rear window
Little Cruiser's rear
window
is unique in that it provides you with lots
of ventilation options. When the 1/4" lexan window board is down in its vertical position,
it makes the boat fairly watertight even in the event of a
full knockdown. Of course, this assumes that the hatch is closed over it when you
get flipped. Sometimes, we even take the precaution of tying the window down to a cleat when
the conditions outside are very rough or if there
is a chance of getting pooped by large following seas. On the
other hand, if it is just raining outside and we need a little
fresh air down below, we shift the lexan window to one of its slanted
positions, which turns it into a splash board. This orientation permits good ventilation down
below while still preventing the rain from coming inside. Once we
reach port, though, we often times find that we have to make another change
to the rear window setup if there are any mosquitoes or no-see-ums about. This simply involves putting a netted
window board into the vertical slot, while keeping the lexan
window in one of the angled positions. On the other hand, when it is just plain buggy,
we only put up the netted window. This basic arrangement works pretty well much of
the time, but in the tropics it can get a
little too stuffy down below with just a tiny rear
window. Therefore, we carry with us a large mosquito screen to cover
the entire hatch opening. This net is attached with velcro to the inside
perimeter of the hatch coaming and to the netted rear
window. It lets in TONS of air and has the added benefit at
night of permitting you to stargaze right from your
berth.