Companionway hood issues

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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby DanaDCole on Thu Jul 06, 2017 8:11 am

Hope you finish on time. My boat was also finished in early autumn--October of 2014, but, being in Oklahoma, I was able to sail into early December. It looks like you are going to have a very fine boat, and with fewer problems than early builders, in great part due to the experiences documented in this forum.

I have one more piece of advice, gleaned from recent experience. It's possible I did not put enough coats of varnish on the timber parts. Inspection of the toe rails, hatch trim rails, gallows, rub rails, and some other varnished parts showed that the varnish was gone and water had been seeping into the wood. I also noticed what appeared to be long patches of bare wood, even on places like the fronts of the hatch trim pieces, that do not get any wear (wear and tear on rub rails toe rails is to be expected).

I'm not sure why this is happening, but either the varnish is not as tough as the paint or else I did something wrong. I put on at least four coats of the recommended Interlux Scooner Varnish. Anyway, I've rubbed these areas down with Scotch-Brite "Between Coats" pads and added two more coats of varnish (will add at least two more in the near future). I haven't had any of these issues with any of the spars, but that is probably because I have a sail cover which protects them from the weather, along with the sails.*

So, please put plenty of varnish on the timber parts you decide to varnish (five or six coats perhaps), and keep a close eye on them. I'm not going to replace any of these parts (except the gallows, which was always intended to be temporary). My idea is their appearance "adds character," and I'm sticking to it. :)

*I got an excellent custom sail cover from a craftsman in Arkansas for $250. Anyone who keeps their boat outside should add this. For information, contact Charles Huie, "captain charlie," a contributor on this forum.
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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby John C. Harris on Fri Jul 21, 2017 11:30 am

>>>>The drain holes in the companionway hood sides could be sized larger than the 1/4" stated in the manual
>>>

This has been a recurring issue with PocketShip #1, which lives outdoors about half of the year. The 1/4" drain holes at the front of the companionway hood get jammed with goo. Then the water backs up in there, sits stagnantly, and inevitably penetrates the companionway track assembly. The tracks then swell and obstruct the movement of the hatch. This happened maybe five years ago and was fixed, but cropped up again right before the WoodenBoat Show. It wasn't until I had the boat moored at the show that I noticed the hatch was really sticky. The hatch is currently in the shop being resealed with epoxy and touched up.

If the boat lives outside, poke a bit of wire in the drain holes once in awhile to make sure that pollen or tree debris hasn't clogged the drains. Making the drains larger, 3/8" or even 1/2", is probably a good tweak.

PocketShip Fitting Out Details 035.jpg
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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby mark48 on Mon Jul 24, 2017 8:34 am

Hi all,

The photo of fiberglassing of the companionway hood (pg. 201) suggests that FG is extending over the whole forward half of the companionway hood including the "trim" piece. I expect that the slide would then be similarly treated with FG.

Is that what other builders have done, or are you all limiting the FG to simply cover the plywood decking?

Thanks for your thoughts,
Mark
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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby mark48 on Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:42 am

...for the benefit of future Forum visitors, the answer to my question posted above about extent of FG to cover the companionway hood (and slide) is "Yes," (from CLC staff). The FG will protect the trim pieces which otherwise are prominent places for dings, and will help bind the roof of each piece to the hardwood sides.

Thank you ,CLC, and all who contribute to the PS Forum.

Mark
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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby riverron on Tue Jul 25, 2017 7:47 pm

Mark,
Thanks for tracking that down and clarifying what gets fiberglassed!
Ron
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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby mark48 on Sun Oct 01, 2017 9:24 pm

How have PS builders sequenced finishing the top of the cabin deck and attaching the companionway hood?

My boat has been flipped twice and is now upright to finish working on the topsides. I had intended to epoxy (and fillet) my completed companionway hood onto the cabin-top deck soon, but realize that priming and painting the then-hidden cabin top surface will be very difficult. I know one builder delayed attaching the companionway hood until the topsides was completely painted, then sanding those painted surfaces to which the companionway hood was to be epoxied late in the build.

Have any builders left the (nearly hidden) cabin top unpainted? The surface has been coated with unthickened epoxy and sanded smooth, but has it been left otherwise alone? How does it look? (I.e., can anyone tell?) :-)

Thanks,
Mark
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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby riverron on Sat Jul 06, 2019 3:28 pm

Mark,
What did you decide on the painting? I am at this stage now and have the same question.

Have any builders left the (nearly hidden) cabin top unpainted? The surface has been coated with unthickened epoxy and sanded smooth, but has it been left otherwise alone? How does it look? (I.e., can anyone tell?) :-)


At an angle, I can see some sun getting in there, I am thinking painting or varnishing the area.

Thanks
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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby mark48 on Sat Jul 06, 2019 4:29 pm

Hi Ron,

As I recall, I reached under the installed hood with a roller-on-a-handle and brush to paint the area as best I could, knowing that the surface would be largely hidden.
Thanks for your thoughts on my lazarette.
All the best,
Mark
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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby slash2 on Sat Feb 18, 2023 12:01 pm

Thought I'd post this question in an existing thread:

I'm working on the companionway hood parts and I'm looking at how the sliding hatch intersects with the drop boards. The aft end of the sliding hatch must clear the drop boards so it can overhang them a bit. I've looked at photos posted from others, but it's not real clear to me how much overhang there should be. It also seems like it’s inevitable that there will be a gap between the bottom of the slide cross piece and the top of the drop boards, or am I missing something? I really haven't paid close attention how the hatch and drop boards meet on other boats I have been on. I guess what I'm looking for is how the hatch and top drop board meet in cross section.
Steve Sawtelle
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Re: Companionway hood issues

Postby [email protected] on Sat Feb 18, 2023 4:08 pm

I did a bit of carving on the lower edge of the rear slide piece so that the lower edge slopes upwards. This causes raindrops to drip off of the rearmost edge of the slide, instead of running forwards and dripping into
the cabin. (If this doesn't make sense, I can post a photo.) I also did the same thing on the forward piece, so that water would not run rearwards and possibly drip into the cabin.

Another observation on this topic: The manual says on page 171: "The distance between the rear cabin wall and the forward edge of the companionway opening in the deck should be exactly 20-1/2"".
I did this carefully, but when the boat was finished, I found that when the slide is closed, the front edge of the slide is only a tiny bit forward of the front edge of the cabin opening, and it would not be hard for
rainwater to run down the slide and drip into the cabin. I could have made the deck opening an inch shorter, and the drip issue would have been eliminated, and there would be no impact on anything when the slide is fully open.
(I will probably try to explain this better with some photos).

Doug

slash2 wrote:Thought I'd post this question in an existing thread:
I'm working on the companionway hood parts and I'm looking at how the sliding hatch intersects with the drop boards. The aft end of the sliding hatch must clear the drop boards so it can overhang them a bit. I've looked at photos posted from others, but it's not real clear to me how much overhang there should be. It also seems like it’s inevitable that there will be a gap between the bottom of the slide cross piece and the top of the drop boards, or am I missing something? I really haven't paid close attention how the hatch and drop boards meet on other boats I have been on. I guess what I'm looking for is how the hatch and top drop board meet in cross section.
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