[Fr. Frank]

The chines deflect the waves aft of the forward vent. Those vents are just below the rub rail and if by chance your(you should not be) in seas that are so rough that your burying the nose of your boat so far into the sea that they are scooping in water your are in deep Doo-Doo regardless of which way they are facing

I have seen many occasions where I was far enough out to sea that I could not outrun a squall or summer pop-up thunderstorm, and had to turn into the weather and waves, taking seas over the bow of several of my boats. With the Seafari, close the cabin hatch tightly and I'm fine, but I have even twice had waves wash all the way up and over the windshield, with the bow being buried to the rub rail on nearly every wave for as much as half an hour.

In the winter of 1984, I ran down from Jupiter to Lake Worth Inlet in a Seafari 20' when seas were running 6'-9', with the occasional 12' thrown in for good measure. (I was unwilling/afraid to run Jupiter when it was breaking as high as 15' at the mouth of the inlet). And no, it wasn't forecast to be that big, forecast was for 4'-6'. Yes, I was scared spitless, and I was sure we were going to die. Doesn't this reveal how stupid I was in my 20's?

However, even had I the bow vents present on the classic 23 SF, I would still expect my paired stern bilge pumps to keep up. I don't think the bow vents are going to ship over 2400 gallons per hour. That being said, redundent bilge pumps are a must, complete with separate power and ground supply. I have always done this.