What are the PRO's & CON's of a walk-thru transom?

The pro is pretty obvious, accessibility. The con is the structural integrity of the vessel, any time you mold sharp corners between the stringers of the vessel you minimize the strength of the structure. without the bow molded over the hull the boat tends too flex up to twice as much with out the support across the helm. also when the top deck is molded with tight corners the frame at the walk through over time as the fiberglass cures to 100 % after about 7 years, is where you will most likely begin to see spider cracking, which can eventually turn to structural cracking. It is a good idea to search for boats that don't use completely molded top decks, anywhere you see load bearing fiberglass that molds directly up into the wall section as one piece of the boat you should inspect closely. look for boats that use alot of composite materials to build lounge features ie. honeycomb aluminum, and hardened plastic. (NOT WOOD) but do be advised That alot of large speed boat manufacturers still use treated wood beam stringers that are encapsulated in fiberglass, this is not bad, wood stringers dampen vibrations and are what creates a smooth ride.

I don't know the exact boat, but in general :-

Walk through transom is much easier to access on and off a boat. As long as door(s) can be well secured then there should not be any significant difference with a fixed transom boat in a following sea.

Any permanently open transom is pretty dodgy in rougher conditions.

All potential openings anywhere on a hull require an extra care in the boats use.

Good luck.

Pros - it makes life so much easier to walk in and out. Especially if you don't have catlike agility. See: more mature passengers.

Con - safety issues if left open. And you may take some water thru there if not sealed correctly. However, all the big boats I have been on with walk-thrus seal up very tightly.

My 30 footer has a walk thru, and it is a huge help boarding and disembarking. Couldn't live without it. But I never been in a situation where I would be taking water over the transom. That's still to be tested.

Have to agree with Truenorth's response. Our 32' has a transom door as well. We have had the vessel in roughly 5' seas and the transom has never been breached...fortunately! But we sure do love the convenience of it!!!