Black Crud (Sliding Hatch Drainage)

[2ndwish]

So we went for an afternoon sail yesterday. There was >20 knots of wind and a pretty good fetch. As a result the deck (and the cockpit occupants) got pretty wet. When we returned we noticed black dirt/crud on the cabintop roof on the starboard side, aft of the hatch behind the mast. No one on the boat remembered seeing it before the sail. As we washed down the boat, we noticed the emergence of more crud coming from under the wood trim as we sprayed the companionway hood area, forward end/starboard side. I assume that some sealant broke loose and released years of dirt trapped between the wood trim and the hood. Has anyone else seen this? As an aside, the sail was amazing, double reefed main, reefed (partially furled to ~100%) jib, and we were still moving between 6 and 7 knots.  
T

Disclaimer for noworrries:  added to topic title to reflect actual subject -- Stu

[Ron Hill]

2nd : On the forward outboard side of the teak pieces on either side of the overhead top, there is a drain notch for water to flow out of.

One or both of those drains were stopped and finally cleared itself.  Your black crud is years of dirt that finally was able to get out!! 
I purposely take the hose and spray the overhead hatch track and watch the crud flow out of those drain notches.  It really comes out after winter storage. 

[Peggie Hall]

Or rotted teak....

[Stu Jackson]

If you want to really know what's going on, just raise your handrails a bit, don't remove them.  To do so, do NOT knock up on the three or four main bolts down below in the cabin, but rather loosen - not remove - them all down below, and use a mallet to bang lightly up on the screws (not the bolts) on the intermediate loops. The reason for this is if you bang the bolts (which are just threaded rods) you'll push up on the teak bungs on the top of the handrails.  Just push the handrail up enough to see what's going on below, and then you can rebed them easily without removal.

[Stephen Butler]

So that is what those opennings are for!!!  7 years on the boat and we are still finding surprises.  We just "discovered" the 2nd adjustment knob under the table, after complaining for years that the table was a bit low.  Live and learn.

[2ndwish]

I'm a bit confused by the responses, so I'm posting an annotated picture of the area in question. The picture shows the forward end of the starboard teak trim along the companionway hatch hood. Based on Ron's response, I think a PPO plugged (with teak) what is supposed to be an opening in the teak. There is another notch aft of the hood, maybe 10 inches forward of the aft end of the cabintop. I flooded the area with water today and it came out clean.

Ron-glad to hear Apache made it through ok. Hope everyone else fared as well.
T

[Stu Jackson]

2nd wish,

This issue intrigued me, since I really hadn't thought about it before. 

So, I did a test.  I poured about 12 oz. of water into the starboard gutter that the hatch sits in.  I poured the water in right at the companionway.

Here's what came out the forward end, and where:

[2ndwish]

Stu- Thanks for the experiment. It looks like the teak plug is there on Aquavite too and it drains exactly where it does on 2ndWish. Is that how it is supposed to drain?  I guess I'll spray more diligently in that area in the future.
I'll also do a better job of the subject line in the future. I thought you were out at the Farallons this weekend?
 
T

[Stu Jackson]

Is that how it is supposed to drain?  I thought you were out at the Farallons this weekend?

Supposed to drain? I dunno, that's what it does on my boat, and seems to be what others described.  Makes sense, no?

Didn't go - heavy fog, light or non-existent wind outside the Gate - we're waiting for the northwest 15 knot breeze that sets up when this fog cycle lifts.  So, I just went out Saturday and stayed on the hook at a local anchorage.

[Ron Hill]

Guys : I believe it's supposed to drain, infact my 1988 has a small notch on each outboard side.