Same problem- what I did
On a 97 40.5, I added a spin halyard and ran the topping lift to the cockpit. I had to remove the forward sea hood to run the lines through the deck organizers. I did not have to remove the large seahood (with the solar panel in it). I used a boathook with the end removed, pushed it forward from the cockpit to the 45 degree organizer where I pushed the new line all the way into the hollow boathook, then pulled the boathook out and there was the line. Anyway, I quess I didn't caulk one of the screws properly and it BLEED the red (rusty) stuff out of the sea hood. The seahood must be cored with some kind of red material. I re-caulked it and it stopped bleeding the rust colored stuff. I know this was it because I had to remove the seahood later and it bleed from the same point again. Re-caulking fixed it the second time too. If you find your problem to be something else, please let us 40.5 owners know. BTW, I just finished installing a rigid boom vang from Garhauer. Costs $340 and works GREAT! Installation required removing the boom to properly drill the eight holes and tap them, but other than that it was a piece of cake.
