E 28-2: remove traveler, companionway hatch?

[Sidnewport]

I have an issue with my Shaefer traveler that might require replacement. It looks like you can get at the nuts if you remove the companionway hatch. Is that the case? If so, how do you remove the hatch?
Do you have to remove the hatch cover? That looks like a much harder issue. I had considered installing a traveler on top of the existing one, but not sure how that would work.

 

[peaman]

If it's like my 1987 32-3, you need to remove the sea hood in order to remove the sliding hatch. For me, removal of the sea hood was pretty easy, just a bunch of screws and not much resistance from sealant (the sea hood does not need to be leak tight). If you see nuts on the bolts holding the traveller, that may be great news. My traveller was secured with bolts threaded into an aluminum bar which was imbedded in the fiberglass of the sea hood. It was a major operation to get the traveller track off due to corrosion of the aluminum in contact with stainless steel, so I re-installed it using nyloc nuts on the underside of the sea hood.

 

[Sidnewport]

If it's like my 1987 32-3, you need to remove the sea hood in order to remove the sliding hatch. For me, removal of the sea hood was pretty easy, just a bunch of screws and not much resistance from sealant (the sea hood does not need to be leak tight). If you see nuts on the bolts holding the traveller, that may be great news. My traveller was secured with bolts threaded into an aluminum bar which was imbedded in the fiberglass of the sea hood. It was a major operation to get the traveller track off due to corrosion of the aluminum in contact with stainless steel, so I re-installed it using nyloc nuts on the underside of the sea hood.

My 28-2 is from 1987 also,l so I suspect a similar construction.

A few questions arise:
1. If the traveler is screwed into a aluminum bar underneath rather than through-bolted, is there any advantage at all to removing the sea hood? How did you get them out?

2. The screws that hold the sea hood on, what are they screwed into that they come out so easily? You can't get to anything on the bottom.

An alternate way that I had considered to replace the traveler would be to install the new traveler right on top of the old one, without removing it, but I was worried about screwing the new track directly into the aluminum. But since the old track is screwed into that aluminum bar anyway, I should be ok. Any thoughts?

 

[peaman]

The sea hood is attached with sheet metal screws maybe 1-1/4" long.

If the traveler is screwed into a aluminum bar underneath rather than through-bolted, is there any advantage at all to removing the sea hood? How did you get them out?

My reason for removing the sea hood was primarily to replace the fasteners for my dodger to attach to the sea hood (see top of third image below). The traveller obstructed my access to that part of the sea hood. Also, I had read a few posts here about hidden issues under the sea hood, like a broken stop for the sliding hatch. Also, I knew that there was accumulated dust and debris within the sea hood cavity (see image 1) because stuff would come out whenever I rinsed that area. As for removing the bolts holding the traveller, what I ended up doing for the three stuck bolts was to use a combination of a Dremel tool and a 3/4" hole saw (see image 2) to remove that portion of the aluminum bar. It was a real piece of work. The carved out area was patched with glass cloth and epoxy resin, holes were re-drilled and through-bolts were installed.

An alternate way that I had considered to replace the traveler would be to install the new traveler right on top of the old one, without removing it, but I was worried about screwing the new track directly into the aluminum.

That would very much depend on what you have for new track and old. It sounds a bit sketchy to me, but it might work fine for your case.

 

[Nick J]

Peaman's photos highlight one area that's bugged me with the deck. The mold should have been designed to have the sea hood attach to a raised section of the deck instead of a recessed channel. They did this for all the hatches and it seams to work well. It may look better, but recessed channels rely 100% on the integrity of the sealant to keep water out. If the hood hasn't been rebedded, the sealant is on borrowed time. Making matters worse, the screws are screwed directly into the core, so any leak could also find it's way into the laminate and cause some really big problems.

Removing the hood also allows you to take the whole assembly home and work on it in the comfort of your garage.

 

[peaman]

The sealant on my hood was really spotty and the dirt patterns showed that the hood was in no way sealed. In fact I wonder if the sealant placement wasn’t as much to “shim” the hood for a uniform fit. For that reason I didn’t remove any of the old sealant. When I reinstalled the hood, I used sealant only on the exterior to fill the gap between hood and deck construction. I also squeezed sealant into each screw hole in hopes of protecting the core.

 

[bigd14]

Full write up of sea hood and traveler removal here:

bigd14's Blog

ericsonyachts.org

 

[bigd14]

Peaman's photos highlight one area that's bugged me with the deck. The mold should have been designed to have the sea hood attach to a raised section of the deck instead of a recessed channel

Yes this was a poor design idea. I ended up using a lot of sealant to try to prevent water from getting near the bolts. I also through bolted everything and de-cored the bolt holes.