ok so i did it....

[SVPardonMyFrench]

Hi All -

So i just purchased at 93 40.5 upgrading from my 93 36 catalina. Very happy so far.. but of course in my haste of upgrading the boat to my standards in my too few after hours work today, i goofed up.

Among many other things, I am changing/upgrading most of the running rigging that has seen better days.

I was doing fine through using the old line/sheet to lead the new one through as I have done many times; only this today the connection b/w the old and new main sheet broke under the deck over that is forward of the cockpit... so now seems that i am going to have to do a bit of exploring under that center piece.

I am sure I am not the first and last one to make this mistake and would greatly appreciate your wisdom/advice of what is required to remove this center piece -- seems pretty straight forward but wanted to ask this group first.

And obviously if there's another more simple solution i am all ears....

of course will be happy to share pic of the boat when she's presentable.

thanks much
Frederick

ps: yes i am glad it wasn't a halyard that broke, i typically sew those when i lead new lines through...



Pause-Cafe
Seattle WA

 

[Sail123]

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on the new boat!

 

[Bill Roosa]

Hey Frederick
welcome aboard. I too own a 93 -40.5 and have had a similar situation.
The sea hood (that is what we call it, don't know that that is the correct term though) comes in two pieces on the newer models. Unfortunalty for us ours is a one piece affair. to get access to the 2.5 deck organizers (2 real and one that just adjusts the height of all the lines with a long roller) you have 2 options
1) take off the travler, don't recommend this one as it has not been demonstrated that you can actually get it back on once you take it off and it is a reall hassel if you ever want to get access to the deck organizers later.
2) Cut the sucker in half athwart ships so it can be pulled up with not too much hassel. this is how the newer modles have it and it works great.

It took me about 2 hours to circular saw (2 min) a chalk lined cut across the sea hood, cut the edges by hand (30 min each side), clean up and widen the joint with a jack plane, and epoxy the edges and smooth. You have to do the edges by hand due to the lip in the deck. a circular saw would cut into the deck before it cut all the way through the sea hood. I found a hack saw blade works but it was a challange to not cut the deck.

when I got the sea hood off I found that 5 of the plastic blocks on the organizers had been damaged and where not turning. the organizer has the manufacturer's name and they have a web site where you can order replacement parts. It was also VERY dirty and by cleaning it I got rid of a water drip FWIW

 

[footerdog]

Congrats on your new Hunter. I have the same year, great boat. Just finished installing a new holding tank from Triple M plastics. Check yours, if it is the original aluminum replace ASAP. Crappy job (no pun intended). All lines need to be replaced as well. Good luck with her and welcome aboard.

 

[SVPardonMyFrench]

thanks all.

@Bill i've been swearing non stop since yesterday; checking out the options. thanks for the tip
@ Footerdog, do you have the reference for the holding tank? and thanks too.

 

[Chris Powell]

I have just finished taking off the hood from our '95 40.5 that is in one piece.
There are 4 bolts each side, three philips and one slotted. I fond the hardest screws to remove were the ones holding the outhaul ends of the traveller that cover two of the bolts.
These are not through bolts but go into a plate in the deck, there are not nuts.
I had to soak all the bolts each day with penetrating oil for a week, then with a hand pneumatic driver and more soaking, it took me two days to get the bolts out. Taking it slowly stops the bolts from snapping.
All other screws hold the traveller to the hood, these need not be removed as the hood and traveller can be lifted as a unit. There are four other screws that hold the hood to the deck, but once located under the silicon filler they are easy to remove.
The hood/traveller unit is heavy, but we used the mainsheet to lift it. I have decided not to cut the hood. Having dealt with the leak, replaced sheaves and cleaned up, it should be good for a few years. The bolts will anyway come out more easily if they are not left for another 17 years. Good luck.

 

[Chris Powell]

OK so there is no such thing as a hand pneumatic driver! It should be a percussion driver. Anyway it is a screw driver hit with a hammer. Thought I should correct that before the questions start.

 

[SVPardonMyFrench]

thanks Chris, this is helpful.

I only found screws that came off pretty easily on forward and on each side; Where are the bolts hiding? I did not see anything near the traveller so was assuming traveller had ot be removed.

 

[Chris Powell]

Hi Fredrick,
The deck hood passes under the traveller, so the traveller must come off to get the hood off. You don't however have to separate the traveller from the hood as they can come off in one piece. This saves taking out several screw that hold the traveller to the hood and is where a lot of people (and screws) come to grief.

So the bolts you are looking for are through the traveller. Starting from the outboard end, they are a philips head that goes through the end cap and traveller into the raised deck. There are then two more philips heads that go into the raised section of the deck. These are probably under the outhaul ends of the traveller.

Last there is a long slotted head bolt that goes through the traveller, then can be seen under the traveller before it goes into the deck.
The underside of these bolts can be seen if you remove the inspection covers from the head liner, but as there are no nuts, there is no advantage.

With the four bolts either side removed, you then only have the four screws you have already found to remove and the traveller/hood unit can be removed. It is heavy and the best way to lift it is with the main sheet.
Hope this helps.

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

This may be totally out of line, but before taking the seahood off (and I have done it on my 34), when I goofed and something like that happened, I successfully ran the new sheet back in by parallelling it to the halyard that it was next to.

Here is how: I attached a messenger line to the end of the halyard, and brought it all the way back to but not out of the deck organizer. I then pulled the messenger back towards the cockpit about 2 or 3 feet. I then ran the new sheet through its position in the organizer and taped it on the halyard. Going back to the cockpit I slowly and carefully pulled on the messenger line until the halyard end was within reach. I re-installed it through its line clutch (line stopper) and pulled on it until the taped end of the new sheet was in sight. Untaped it and installed it in its own clutch after making sure with a flashlight that it was not twisted around the halyard. Has worked fine since. Good luck

 

[SVPardonMyFrench]

Thanks Chris and Claude, appreciate the help. I think i'm on path to take the hood off and clean up and check the sheaves while i am at it. We'll see how i get there... ;-)

thanks much
Frederick

 

[footerdog]

Hi Frederick,

Sorry have not checked the forum in a while. Triple M Plastics is in West Kennebunk Maine and can be reached at (207) 985-4705 or triplemplastics.com. The tank is an exact replacement thanks to another member of this forum.
I replaced the two heads, all the sanitation lines and vent line. Totally eliminated any "head" smells. The vent line is a little tough to access but must be done. Hunter used non-sanitation grade tubing and my vent line smelled like hell. It was the last hose I replaced and was the final source of foul odor on the boat. Replace it with sanitation hose.

Good luck.
Frank Smith

thanks all.

@Bill i've been swearing non stop since yesterday; checking out the options. thanks for the tip
@ Footerdog, do you have the reference for the holding tank? and thanks too.

 

[neilleparkerjr]

Mistral-

I have a new 1995 37.5 and the broker's boatyard had a much simpler solution. You don't have to take either the traveller or the seahood off in order to reeve those lines under the deck and through the clutches. You just get a 4-5 ft length of 1/4" dia. fiberglass rod (perhaps wood dowel or metal rod would work too if you can find one long enough) and tape the end of the line to the tip with rigging tape. Then just push the rod through the sheaves until it appears on the other side. Guide the rod through the clutch, pull it on through, and you're done. Of course you won't be able to discover or fix dirt and sheave problems like Bill Roosa was, but it's much easier than removing the hood.

FYI I had some serious problems with a traveller bolt that almost stripped the embedded aluminum backing plate while attempting remove the bolt and re-thread it. this bolt has no nut/washer underneath, it's just threaded into the plate glassed into the deck. So be careful if you try to remove the hood.

-Neill Parker

 

[SVPardonMyFrench]

sounds like a fun project for a cold day ;-)

thanks for the tips

 

[SVPardonMyFrench]

@Neill

thanks, this is my boatyard did actually and that was a great workaround. I've changed the outhaul, and a couple of halyard since...

-Frederick

 

[Chris Powell]

Having had the hood off this sounds like a very hit and miss affair. Probably how some of my leads didn't follow good lines.
On the 40.5 the sheaves guide the lines through an S curve. there is also an upper and lower set of sheaves so the likely hood of getting your rod to follow the right line is very unlikely.
The other point is that the sheaves may be broken, or flat sided, causing extra friction. Then there is the rubbish and dirt that has collected under the hood over the years.
Of course if you haven't got any leaks and you put your lines to an electric winch, then there is no need to remove the hood.

Chris