Bernie Coyne sent this: The following are some great responses from J/42 owners as a result of my recent request for the following information:   The request was: Hello J/42 owners! We are entering our J/42 in the Marblehead to Halifax race this year and have been busy making sure the boat is ready for offshore conditions. During this inspection I found that the sliding companionway hatch can deflect 1/2" or so when someone stands on the top of it when it's closed. So what I wanted to ask the group is: Has anyone else noticed this with their sliding hatch? Is this safe for offshore conditions where the boat might be taking breaking waves over the cabin top? Any advice would be appreciated. Best regards, Bernie Coyne J/42 Amigo VI And the responses are: Mark Mahowald (mark at 29west.com, Strider, Hull # 57) We took lots of water on the boat when we sailed in the Caribbean 1500 last fall. I think the hatch is safe (although you need to be sure to be able to lock it closed with the door in - We sailed for a couple of days with the door in and the hatch closed due to the frequent large waves that broke over the boat). The hatch does leak a good deal when there is solid water on it. We lost a dodger panel in a wave and so we got a lot more water over the hatch than we would have if the dodger had not torn. It leaked pretty good through the gaps in the sliding channels on each side as the waves washed over. Not dangerous amounts of water, but enough to get things wet and be annoying. I don't have a good idea how to fix it though. You can simulate the water from a wave by putting a hose on the hatch and then toss a couple of buckets of water on top at the same time. Our leaks with just the hose, but the buckets really swamp the drainage and it simply over flows into the cabin (at least on my boat). We were very pleased with how the boat handled the rough weather. I tried a few things to stop the water flow, but nothing would work well and let me open the hatch. When the dodger is in place, and all the panels are there, it was never a problem. One other thing I would check is the aft lockers. Despite some effort on my part to put in a better seal, I had leaks through the hatch of the starboard aft locker. I did not worry about the propane locker, since I assumed it was sealed - to prevent propane from getting into the boat, and had it's own drain. That was a mistake, in the propane locker, the bolts that secure the tank tie down mechanism were not caulked at all and they leaked badly. We got a lot of water flowing over those back two hatches and it leaked on the auto pilot ram and electronics. You can check the propane locker by plugging the drain, and putting some water in it. If it leaks water, it will leak propane which could be dangerous. Anyway, these were the only real problems we had. The boat never lost control and was fun to sail. We like the boat a lot. The last offshore tip, which I got from the folks on Eight Bells (who have sailed from Maine to the VI a couple of times on the J-42 and raced in the 2001 Caribbean 1500 Rally), was to put a flapper valve over the exhaust outlet to keep water from being driven up the exhaust when you are in large following seas for a long time. They cost about $15, and take 5 seconds to install, and could save you from a big problem. Not sure you need it, but it makes you feel a little better when the big waves keep slapping into the stern ! Ralph Jones (hideaways at twlakes.net, Mystery, Hull # 63) We have not noticed this problem, probably because we keep up the full dodger when racing offshore. This of course precludes anyone standing on the hatch. I believe in the last Newport to Bermuda Race all eight J42-s used their dodgers. Bob Buck (bobbuck at attbi.com) I have noticed the same deflection issue not just on the J/42, but on most fiberglass sailboats I've been on. I don't know what the laminate schedule is for the hatch cover, but I suspect it is plenty strong. Fiberglass structures are often stronger than they need to be because they are engineered to minimize deflection. In the case of the companionway hatch I suspect J-Boats and TPI decided that saving weight was more important than the deflection. You probably can get some reassurance from J-Boats and TPI on this point. Sjors van der Woerd (sailfelice at cs.com, Felice, Hull # 8) With our J42 Felice we crossed the Atlantic twice, from Amsterdam, Holland, to Brazil, Caribbean and back via Nova Scotia (Canada) to the Med. 20.000 miles without any big problem with the boat. The hatch never bothered us because I can not remember that we ever got a solid wave over the boat. The only structural problem we had was that water came in at the rudder stock when sailing under pressure. Than the "bucket" around the stock appeared to low so we changed that. With glass mats we made that bucket 12 inches higher and when water comes in now it stays in the bucket and cannot get into the boat itself. We wish you a good race, the boat can take it, no doubt about that. Bill and Judy Stellin (wstellin at hotmail.com, Jaywalker) Yes, it deflects on our boat also, yes it is perfectly safe provided you don't weigh 250 pounds and jump on it. No it will not break with a breaking wave. I can't imagine a wave actually breaking on top of the hatch. The spray hood would take most of the force. In our crossing of the Atlantic, in 3 gales, never did we have waves that threatened anything on the boat. Rich Patton MD (Richard.Patton at nwhsea.org ) I sailed my J42 from Seattle to Hawaii and spent quite a bit of time going to weather and also with following waves which filled the cockpit full of water several times. Cockpit drained quickly and boat didn't seem to become too much of a slug with cockpit full. Biggest problem with sea water was aft hatch leaking quite a bit as water came over bow or stern. This eventually filled bilge and with boat healed over did not drain well - J42 relatively flat bottomed. Water accumulated for example in battery well, lower nav station drawer, etc when on port tack. Took us a while to identify origin of leak. NO problems whatsoever with companion way hatch. I have dodger in place so no one would ever stand on it. Another difficulty was anchor well drain became plugged by debris and anchor well filled with sea water. Windlass motor and relay ruined. My #1 suggestion is to check for leaks before going off shore. Starboard chain plate deck fitting and mast boot also leaked significantly. The boat took a real pounding on some stormy days and it felt strong and safe at all times. Strangely, main halyard parted within 2 inches of shackle on Sea - HI leg and on return trip as well. Still haven't figured out why. No additional problems with halyard after years of coastal and inland waters sailing. We stopped the aft locker problem at sea with duct tape. Have been advised that silly putty effective at sea for chain plate, mast boot, etc. Remembered one other significant problem. High output alternator and fancy regulator system failed. Had replacements for both. I remembered an additional problem from my HI trip. Within about 24 months of return, ignition switch malfunction developed and it had to be replaced. Probable cause - when cockpit filled with sea water, the starter switch/engine gauge panel probably filled with sea water as well and eventually caused ignition switch to fail. Potential prevention would be effective seal of access port rather than simple factory cover. Peter & Carol Willauer (powcarol at stratosnet.com , Eight Bells) I don't think that would be a problem. We have been on board Eight Bells since Oct '00. Last year between Bermuda and Block I was in 40-45 kts for half a day and no breaking seas on board. Had storm jib and a little 85% jib rolled out. Wind aft. Two falls ago in the Caribbean 1500 ( we were 2nd) following AND cross waves in the gulf stream....former never came aboard, latter swept over the boat amidships with no effect. Wind NW 30. Last fall in westerly gale halfway to Bermuda in Nov. 35kts, no main for 30 hrs one wave punched out a panel of the dodger and bent it a little! Just be sure you have a system to tie in the companionway slide when it is out....it is easy to loose overboard. What system do you have for a manual bilge pump plumbed into the boat:? I saw one clever one plumbed into the forward holding tank line... Good luck in Halifax. I won that one a long time ago on Madcap with Charlie Leighton - I was the navigator - never saw the starting line or the finish line (and no GPS) and never took the spinnaker down. You should do well. Ken Maloney (kmaloney@labormetrix.com, Scout, hull # 46) I am owner of J/42 Scout, hull 46. I read your question about main the main hatch, and would like to let you know of a defect that I believe exists in all hulls. It has nothing to do with the strength of the hatch itself but rather, the stops that prevent the hatch from sliding aft into the cockpit. In the 2001 Marion-Bermuda race a crewmember slid the hatch closed, and a large chip of gelcoat popped off of the coachroof, right above the washboard position. I wrote it off to a cosmetic problem, and did not give it much thought. In fact, the repair was not made by the time we started the 2002 Newport-Bermuda race. The first night of this race, in very tough conditions, a crewmember slid the main hatch closed, and a similar chip popped off of the opposite side. Still not comprehending that this was more than a cosmetic concern, we raced along. A few hours later, the boat lurched, and the hatch slid aft, almost coming off its runners. Seconds later, we shipped a large wave and took a good deal of water below, almost taking out our electronics. We secured the hatch with a lanyard to the steel compression pipe in the galley, and thought about the obvious worst-case scenario.... losing the hatch during survival conditions... not a pleasant thought. I talked about this with the dealer, and he suggested writing J/Boats... which I need to do. In your case, if I were going offshore this spring, I would at least have a simple lanyard connected as I described, using light line. It sure can't hurt!