Companionway drip.....drip.....drip

[Jim Walsh]

I've been the victim of water torture. I tried all the logical steps for dealing with a drip. Ignoring it, looking the other way, muttering, all to no avail. In the past I'd removed and recaulked my sea hood and that worked, almost. This past spring I removed and recaulked my sea hood and it had little effect. I knew I'd have to execute a proper campaign to resolve the situation.
I decided to remove my sea hood, my sliding hatch, the sliding hatch rails, and all the teak trim surrounding the companionway. I will also remove the threshold but it got too cold and dark to continue working today. Once everything is removed I will properly clean all the mating surfaces, rebed and reassemble.
This is what I've done so far.

[Jim Walsh]

The process continues;
Unlike a real carpenter I find the dismantling process very intimidating. The bungs....dozens of them....are a real pain. I also don't want to split any teak during the removal process.

[Sea Hunt Video]

Jim:

I know this sounds, at best, like an idea from "way outside the box" but ..............

For several months on TV channels they have been advertising a product called "Flexseal". I never really paid attention until I saw them demonstrate (allegedly) an airboat made with a screen and flexseal.

https://www.getflexseal.com/

I am wondering if anyone on this board has used this product. I have considered it for a persistent leak in the portside cockpit locker where the "side wall" teak butts up to the fiberglass. Apparently water seeps in at the joinder. I have used other sealants but they have not worked (or I have not applied them properly). I have been thinking of flexseal as an option.

Has anyone used flexseal either on their Cape Dory or around the home, etc.

It's getting close to "turkey day"

In Italian we say "Buon giorno gel Ringraziamento"

[Jim Walsh]

Flex Seal is $40.00 for two cans. Rustoleum Leak Seal flexible rubber coating is $9.50 a can at Home Depot.
I have no idea whether either would hold up to the Marine environment.

[David van den Burgh]

You're doing the right thing. This summer I removed the seahood, cleaned up all the joints, and resealed. It worked, but I know that a long-term fix is doing what you're doing. Good for you.

Any evidence of water intrusion through the fastener holes?

It's nice to see what's under those pieces of trim. Thanks for posting.

David

[Jim Walsh]

No clear evidence of the waters path but plenty of opportunities. All of the bedding compound/caulk was lifeless. I may have disassembled more than was necessary but I want to know I covered all the bases. If we get a couple "warm" day's I'll finish the job, if not I'll wait till spring.

[Maine_Buzzard]

You're about eight bungs ahead of me, Jim,

Waiting on the slow yard for my winter cover and I'll pull the sliding hatch boards.

What I see as a shortcoming is that the edge of the fiberglass where the companionway boards attach is just a radius from a flat edge just inside the sliding hatch. Water runs laterally on the hatch, and then sits in a puddle between the teak and the hatch sliders.

I'm mulling a fix where I cut a 1/4" square rabbet in the inside edge of the opening, and add a lip to the situation, to keep water from riding up and over the joint from fiberglass to teak. Might not be worth the effort.

Both corners of mine were black and clearly leaking for several years. I will need to replace one or two boards, as previous instrument installation left many holes.

Not looking forward to $30/bf for replacement wood. PM me if you need anything milled.

[jen1722terry]

Interesting project, Jim.

So far, our hatch has been tight. I do know that the PO did not rebed it, and he bought the boat in '03. So it appears we've just been lucky so far.

I've already stored your photos in our maintenance file for the inevitable day when we'll be repeating your project.

Thanks for sharing.

Jenn and Terry

[Jim Walsh]

Don't forget to get NASA's permission before employing their bung removal tool

[guy leslie]

Jim
I know this isn't the topic but I have to ask. Your 1st picture shows a beautiful finish on your teak. May I ask what it is?
Best of luck on the outcome of the project--I'm sure you'll win!

Guy

[Jim Walsh]

Jim
I know this isn't the topic but I have to ask. Your 1st picture shows a beautiful finish on your teak. May I ask what it is?
Best of luck on the outcome of the project--I'm sure you'll win!

Guy

Three coats of Cetol Marine Light and two coats of Cetol Marine Gloss. This spring I have to sand everything lightly and apply a fresh coat of the gloss. What you see was applied in September 2013 after being sanded down to bare wood.

[Jim Walsh]

The process continues;
Today I removed the threshold. The difficult part was removing the companionway ladder brackets. They are held on by four fastenings each. Two self-tappers to the solid teak on top and two 5/16 machine screws bolted through solid teak on the bottom. The bolts were removed an eighth of a turn at a time, very carefully, because the slotted round head machine screws were a poor choice in this application and it was very difficult to keep from stripping them. Hex head or Phillips would have been much easier to deal with. Perhaps they don't look "yachty".
Next I scraped off and sanded the perished bedding compound. I laid a double 3/8" bead of caulk and paid special attention to the rounded "corners" port and starboard. I wanted plenty of "squeeze out" to ensure there were no gaps.
Tomorrow I can get started on removing all the bedding compound from the remainder of the companionway. Even though it's long past it's useful life it still tenaciously holds onto the fiberglass in some places. In other spots it almost dusts off.

[Jim Walsh]

The process continues;
All of the trim pieces were brought home and lightly sanded. They had only been given a coat of Scott's Liquid Gold a few times in the last ten years so there was no finish to remove. I applied three coats of Interlux Goldspar Satin and waited for a "warm" day so I could rebed and reinstall them. On a day early in the week, when it hit 50 degrees I got all of the interior trim and the exterior sliding hatch rails reinstalled. Any of the "squeeze out" will be trimmed off at a future date. I was trying to get the job done with a minimum of mess. I will most likely replace and trim all of the bungs in the spring. Then everything will get another coat of Goldspar.

[Jim Walsh]

The process continues;
I'd noticed some movement in the bulkhead beside the companionway. It was in the aft upper corner as seen in the photographs attached. This was only apparent when offshore and when all of my weight was pressing up against the bulkhead due to wave action. I probably found it more disconcerting than an indication of any physical failure, but that's the way it is. I decided to use a piece of stainless piano hinge on the aft upper portion of the bulkhead. There is no movement whatsoever now that the piano hinge is in place.
Since it was necessary to remove the mirror in the head for the installation I decided to replace the mirror. It always looked fine but the new mirrored plexi is a noticeable improvement. The original teak frame was sanded, varnished, and reused.

[Jim Walsh]

The process continues;
This is just a quick before and after set of photos. After lightly sanding all of the trim I applied three coats of Goldspar satin. Now that I've caulked and reassembled everything I'll have to replace the bungs in the spring and apply additional satin polyurethane to finish the job.