Anyone removed and rebedded their companionway spray hood? I have cracks around the edges and leaking around the bolts. Would like to repair the cracks, inspect the cabintop for water damage and repair.
Pearson 36-2 spray hood
- Thread starter chapinjim
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I am considering doing this project this year. When I spray the deck, there is always debris that washes out from under the hood so would love to take it off and clean and rebed also. May be prudent to grind screw / bolt holes and fill with epoxie.
I am definetly first removing the doral vent housing as the screws are all loose which would indicate to me that the core is wet below this. I have inspected the bolts for the sea hood from inside the cabin... those white covers pop off with a small screw driver and you can see the nuts inside the liner.
Good luck and keep us informed....
I am definetly first removing the doral vent housing as the screws are all loose which would indicate to me that the core is wet below this. I have inspected the bolts for the sea hood from inside the cabin... those white covers pop off with a small screw driver and you can see the nuts inside the liner.
Good luck and keep us informed....
spray hood
Thanks for the reply. Hopefully the weather will moderate soon and I can get busy. Any general hints you have at this point, before I start?
Jim
Ron,
Thanks for the reply. Hopefully the weather will moderate soon and I can get busy. Any general hints you have at this point, before I start?
Jim
sea hood recon/rognvald
Jim, If you want to do the job properly, you will have to remove the seahood and the track for your companionway. If your boat is similar to mine, that means removing the sheet stoppers on port and starboard as they will impede your ability to remove the entire installation. Then, you need to drill each screw hole and enlarge it to 1/2 inch diameter. I, then, used a dremel with a splined shaft end to remove core material beyond the 1/2" opening underneath the fiberglass. If there was a wet core and it was not degraded, I dried it and later treated it with acetone to be certain all moisture was removed. If the core had degraded, I removed as much as necessary to get to clean material and repeated the process. Only when you are certain all areas are dry are you ready for the next step. By the way, I advise that you scribe an outline of the seahood and your aluminum hatch guides on your deck since you will need that as a guide when you redrill at a later date. I used an impermeable black marker with a medium point. Then, fill with thickened epoxy, redrill and remount. West System has an excellent guide that you can get online. After everything is secure, be certain to use 3M 5200 under the flange of the seahood and between the outer edge of the flange and the deck. This, by the way, will cover your black marker line. There is one caveat . . . if you have extensive rot beyond your holes, drop me a line and I will tell you how you can fix this cleanly and without deconstructing your boat. If you need anything else, yell. Ron Pearson 34/Rognvald
Jim, before you start, take a careful look at the construction. If your cracks are similar to the ones my 36-2 has, you have a structural problem with the hood itself. I have witnessed more than two 36-2's with cracks on the bolts along both sides of the sprayhood. In my case it had been reinforced with a strip of allumnum from the top with little improvement.
On the 36-2 's I observed (including my own), the main sheet traveler is bolted to the spray hood. The hood structure is not strong enough on it's own and as a consequence, when the main sail is centered and close hauled and under heavy load you can actually watch the spray hood flex. The transfer of the load to create cracks along the bolts. When you remove it, do not be surprised if the bolts are deformed.
The repair I did was to glass reinforce the along the entire bottom side of the hood behind where the travelller is located ( on my boat this is a coaming lip that rises up at the aft end of the spray hood often used to mount button head for a dodger). I also formed SS steel brackets to the interior of the hood to bold down at the bolt hood so the load went from thetraveller to the steel and not directly to the glass. If you have thre money I would highly reccomend removing the traveler from thehood and getting a tower system (i was too cheap).
If you do not adress this , the crack will return and the leaking will likey start again.
Good Luck!
On the 36-2 's I observed (including my own), the main sheet traveler is bolted to the spray hood. The hood structure is not strong enough on it's own and as a consequence, when the main sail is centered and close hauled and under heavy load you can actually watch the spray hood flex. The transfer of the load to create cracks along the bolts. When you remove it, do not be surprised if the bolts are deformed.
The repair I did was to glass reinforce the along the entire bottom side of the hood behind where the travelller is located ( on my boat this is a coaming lip that rises up at the aft end of the spray hood often used to mount button head for a dodger). I also formed SS steel brackets to the interior of the hood to bold down at the bolt hood so the load went from thetraveller to the steel and not directly to the glass. If you have thre money I would highly reccomend removing the traveler from thehood and getting a tower system (i was too cheap).
If you do not adress this , the crack will return and the leaking will likey start again.
Good Luck!
Traveler
I have already discarded the old traveler design and installed a Garhauer tower traveler. It is a beautiful piece of equipment.
Jim
I have already discarded the old traveler design and installed a Garhauer tower traveler. It is a beautiful piece of equipment.
Jim
I have a 1990 Pearson 34-2 and need to do this job as well. I am reading moisture beside the sprayhood. Last year as a first step I tried to get the vent housing off but stopped for fear of cracking the housing. It must be bedded with 5200. Any thoughts on this problem?
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