removing the sea hood, trick?

[ajsail1]

I am continueing to battle leaks, as it is a boat... and I want to take the sea hood off but can't. I tried last year and was not making progress, I was afraid I was often about to break it. I know others have taken it off and simply say to just remove it to look for damage, but whats the trick? How did you do it?

On a side note, last summer I did recaulk the hood seems, and all the screws going thru, all the ports have been recaulked, the mast step and tube have all been recaulked, and Im still getting water in several places and I believe its the sea hood because Im finding water from screws on the ceiling in the cabin below the sea hood.

 

[Velero49]

ajsail1,

I used a few wedges and a sharp knife. I gradualy inserted the wedges (1/4 - 1 inch) and then tried to cut the 5200 w/sharp knife. I took me 4-6 hrs, I was careful not to crack the edges of the 'hood by inserting the wedges and letting it stand for a few minutes before inserting the next wedge. The is a product that will soften the 5200 but have not use it myself.

 

[kloudie1]

I found my sea hood had been set in butyl tape from the factory. I removed it by cutting with a knife and slowly, patiently, carefully wedging it up..I used plastic pry bars so as not to chip and scratch too badly. Wedge up a little and hold in that position while the butyl stretches.. repeat until it is off of there.. Took a couple of hours to finally get it to turn loose .. I re-set it in RTV about 8 years ago and I will take it off again this fall to re-seal some leaks .. I may replace the companionway slider at that time too. I think I’ll reset it in butyl since that lasted much longer than the RTV did. Slow and easy!! Good luck, AJ

 

[Deadline]

What's a sea hood on a Hunter?

 

[mark_swart]

AJ -- same issue for me last summer. The traveler has to come off, and one of the bolts in mine was seized so tight that I broke off a tip of a screwdriver. As a workaround I ended up taking out all of the other screws, then prying the hood up, cleaning with acetone, and rebedding with 4200 the best I could. I'm sure my hood was leaking, but it turned out the real culprit with mine was the mast step. I ended up running a bead of 4200 around the outside of it and it seems to have taken care of it. I also made a canvas cover for the companionway, because I think water was somehow coming in through there too.

 

[kloudie1]

Deadline, the sea hood is the cover that forms a pocket where the sliding companionway goes when ya open it. On a 34, it is a big piece that includes a dorade box.
AJ, while ya have it open look to see if you have a drain that lets the pocket drain out the side somewhere.. I drilled a couple of holes through the sides of the inner pocket thinking that it would drain before overflowing into the cabin (from under the slider) but that has not been altogether successful. take a bunch of pictures when ya get it open to post on the site.. Thanks..

 

[ajsail1]

the pocket

you think that pocket leaks?? im trying to invision the water pathway for that... if thats where waters comming from.

In reguards to companion way leaking, I have a dodger always up that covers the whole section well, when its not up theres other leaks.

I saw the recommendation of 4200 for resealing the hood, any other suggestions??? or is 4200 best?

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Hood

Hey aj. I don't know if my experience will help you but I took the hood off of our H40. It went just like Valero describes. It was bedded in 5200. It was slow but not impossible.

4200 is probably okay but I don't think you need anything even that aggressive. It's not a structural member and it's only going to see casual water so I'd suspect any polysulfide or polyurethane/polysulfide mix would be fine.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Rick...

I have pictures of an H31 "uncovered" but not of my H34 (similar in layout). Can't tell from your pic, but are there any channels to drain water from under the sea hood/companionway hatch cover area?

The only one that seems notable on the 31/34 is the one along each side of the slider brace ribs that drains back at the companionway. Water seems to build up under the slider and sloshes in when you close the slider too quickly (the stop bar on the forward end acts as a squeege and you get an impromptu shower!).

Regards

 

[Steve Dion]

If I had removed the seahood, I would have plugged the forward end of those rails to prevent water from going forward and then draining back into the cabin. I think that putting a couple of pieces of hard rubber at the end of the rails what are caulked in place would eliminate most water instrusion.

 

[Rick Sylvester]

Dan,

. . . are there any channels to drain water from under the sea hood/companionway hatch cover area?

Yes. If you look carefully you can barely see a channel just in front of the forward corners of the companionway. Water that collects in the middle will drain along these channels and under the "arms" that cover the slides. There's a small opening at the aft end of each of these arms.

 

[kloudie1]

On my 34, the water from a big rain will pool in the pocket under the slider. The water runs off the forward edge of the slider into the pocket. A very little drains sideways into the "arms" that drain into the cockpit. The water then will come out into the cabin from the front edge of the ceiling molding, below the slider.. I have seen water sheeting in about 8" wide and maybe 1/8" deep during a heavy storm .. That is a lot of sheet ! That point is the lowest point of that system, lower than the aft point of the companionway where it is supposed to drain from. The water runs in just aft of the sink, some goes down the sink.the rest goes on the floor and ends up draining into the bilge. . I drilled a couple of limber holes in the forward part of the pocket to connect it to the rope run, hoping to get it to drain out there, just aft of the deck organizers, but those holes, I think, got filled with debris from Hurricane Katrina a couple of years back. I tried to unplug with bent coat hangers etc, but no joy. I don't think a wiper would help much after a few years. Then you'd have to remove the hood to replace it.. I dunno.. I believe in setting the hood in butyl sealant so that you can remove it again in the future if need be.. The seal is more cosmetic than necessary because leaks across the hood flange don't get inside; the seals around all of those 3000 screws are important to keep them from leaking into the core of the cabin top.. Looking forward to your pictures, AJ

 

[Dan Johnson]

Rick and Claude...

Rick, if I understand you correctly, the channels are the diagonals at the aft end of the dorade "blocks". There doesn't appear to be a corresponding arrangement on the 31/34 boats, based on the 31's pictures I have (attached below-note the single dorade box). Thanks for the info.

Claude, you've described the rain drain effect to a "T"! I've sealed the hood seams hoping that that was the source of intrusion to no avail. Am still getting water intrusion in the cabin light over the dinette table. Am now concentrating on rebedding deck hardware around the mast to try that solution.

I keep my dodger with the bimini connector panel in place to cover the companionway so don't think it's direct rain hitting the slider causing the problem. Am suspecting the traveller track mounting bolts as the source here.

Also, I've plugged the drain hole in the "deck box" ahead of the dorades and use a sponge periodically to get the water out. Don't keep anything in it as it is almost always wet inside.

 

[kloudie1]

Good shots, Dan.. Thanks.. I'd forgotten exactly what it looked like in there. The "sail tie box" doesn't drain into the pocket, does it..?? I haven't plugged the drains in mine.. The holes I drilled through are at the forward edges of the pocket, just forward of the end of the slider track .. The holes may be higher in elevation than the aft edge of the pocket.. I didn't use a level to see .. But they helped a while.. I used to have a piece of 5/16" rope with a knot in one end. The knot was jammed in under the slider; the other end was put in the sink. it would guide the water into the sink.. again, it helped but didn't capture nearly all of it.. Katrina's 60-80 kt wind at my slip was blowing into the companionway and the pocket got a LOT of leaf chips (hurricane manufacturers tons of 'em, size of a little finger nail) and small sticks and pine needles jammed in.. Today, I have a little 4X6 foot tarp that I tie over the companionway when I am not there

 

[Dan Johnson]

Claude...

when we get a hurricane forecast with a high probability of a hit up here, I strip all canvas and sails, and then tape up all the hatch seams on the deck hatches with the wide blue masking tape. Even do the companionway, Top and side rails and drop-board seams.

Then, I use a very heavy piece of old canvas (about 4x6 like yours) that is tied down over the companionway hatch. I butt it up abainst the traveller and lead bungies off of it in the corners and middle to get run-off back to the cockpit drains and away from the companionway. This has worked well so far (I do it for the snow in the winter too--you know, the cold, wet white stuff you guys in NOLA rarely see!).

 

[DJ Sailor]

On my '84 34, I had the problem of rain water collecting on the top of the sliding companionway hatch, draining into the aluminum hatch slide channels, and leaking into the cabin. There are small drain holes in the small 'sail tie' locker that is part of the dorade vents that also drain into the space between the aluminum channels that add to the issue.

I got a drain cleaning device from Home Depot or Lowe's that is a 1/4 inch (or so) semi-hard plastic hose with a spray nozzle at one end and a hose attachment at the other. I opened my companionway hatch and pushed this plastic hose into the forward end aluminum channel. Turned on the hose and move the cleaner hose around. All sorts of crud came out. Be prepared for a lot of water coming in the cabin from under the hatch.

It did clean out the drain holes at the end of the aluminum hatch slide channels and I have not had much of a problem with water coming in under the companionway hatch into the cabin for about 10 years now. I do have to do it again soon.

Any water from the 'sail tie' locker or hatch drain out of the forward part of the halyard line tunnels (which the sea hood 'arms' creates/covers). I also leave my dodger up all the time to keep water off the companionway hatch.