[C320-list] Seahood rebedding project

[Onat Dogruer]

Hello all,

I have uploaded some photos under Photogallery/Technical photos. I tried to
label them but kept getting 'internal server error' and it would loose all
the uploaded data. I dropped an email to our technical team for help. They
are searchable with the word 'seahood' under technical photos as well.

However, here is a run down of my experience - this is in correlation with
the photos:

Overall project time: 2 days (lots of waiting in between!)
Actual labor: 4-5 hrs.

I started first by removing the screws. They are machine screws 2 1/2" long
(I replaced all rusted ones). Most of them were corroded; one of them
actually broke off so I had to drill that out later.

Then, with a sharp box cutter, I went all the way around the seahood to cut
through the white caulking. On ours, it was a silicone based caulking. Once
I was certain seahood was disconnected mechanically, I slightly shimmied
back and forth. You do not have to do anything with the traveler (it slides
right underneath).

Then, it was a lot of cleaning. Most of the labor was simply cleaning the
silicone. I made sure it is removed from all surfaces. BoatLife Release
worked pretty good in softening the caulk; I just had to patiently go with
a razor blade to remove all - on the seahood as well as the underside, all
the grooves.... More cleaning. All those silicone bits stick to anything.

Once everything is cleaned, I inspected the area. There were a lot of flex
marks, poor gelcoat lay-ups etc. I beveled each screw hole. For gelcoat
cracks, I opened them up a bit with a dremel and checked for water
penetration and then did gelcoat touch ups.

Side note - at one point, there were a few comments about a possible
factory installed solar panel wiring on the starboard side under the hood -
there was no indication of it on ours. I didn't drill to find it either.

I did a dry run by putting the seahood back on. It is not perfect and in
our case, as it sits on the coachtop, starboard forward corner was higher
than port forward corner. The gasket material now made sense. To rectify
it, as a gasket, I laid down a very thin layer of butyl tape (following the
line of screw holes). The butyl tape here is not for sealant effect at all
- there is no real compression for it to work - it is simply serving as a
gasket. Having said that, as it laid out, it did cover the screw holes.

While you have the sliding hatch out, inspect the teak ends and I also had
to replace our sliding hatch teflon tape.

Then comes placing the seahood back on top - you will need two people for
this - the butyl will not allow you to slide it. Once the seahood is back
in place, screw it down - making sure each screw head is covered with
whatever sealant you are using. There is a wide gap/canal between the
seahood and the coachtop all the way around (this is the area which was
filled with silicone based caulk on ours). I used 4000UV for sealant around
this area.

It really is not a difficult project; it just takes a lot of patience. I
hope this helps.

-Onat
1998, #546
s/v Kittiwake