MKII companion way cover

[cmainprize]

The design of the companion way cover has driven me nuts for years.  Water drains off the cover into a track and then aft into the cockpit right onto your cushions.  After a couple of rainy days I got fed up and taped over the grove that the cover sits in.  Can anyone tell me whether I can just fill this grove with silicone and deal with the mess if I need to remove the cover.

[Roc]

My boat came from the factory with caulk around that groove you mention.   Because the caulk became old and brittle....  I scraped it out, and put a fresh bead of white silicone sealant.  I thought all covers had caulk there....

[miatapual]

I have seen this on other boats, and would polysulfide not silicone, as silicone is very hard to remove. Only a small step away from 5200 as far as products to not use on a boat! Boat Life makes a good product.

[Fred Koehlmann]

Hi Cory,

We did exactly just that two seasons ago. I cleaned out the old caulking, unscrewed the cover and cleaned out the crap that was under it... and there was a lot there. For some strange reason the grooves seem to be on too shallow of a slope, so that whenever your aft water tank is empty or for any other reason that the bow is lower, the water flows forward with whatever crap it has caught. Then when you step aft, the flood would pour out.

Unfortunately when I re-caulked the hatch, we were off anchored/sailing for the week and I didn't have any epoxy to "re-adjust the slope. So for now it is mostly sealed , but some still gets in occasionally when it drips off of the hatch and down the side into the gutters. Mostly around the dodger area. Last weekend I laid a 1/4" line into the gutter and hung it down to the cockpit floor to redirect the flow way from the cushions.

Cheers, Fred.

[cmainprize]

Thanks Fred, we are on the boat for the month so this looks like a great sunny day project.  Is there enough clearance to get the cover off without removing the traveller?  Does the cover just slid straight aft when you remove the screws? 

[Fred Koehlmann]

Yes. After unscrewing, I carefully pulled the cover aft into the cockpit. It slid under the traveller, but be careful handling it. I felt that the two extending sides needed some support considering how far they extend from the main body of the cover. i was concerned that they could have cracked or snapped at that point. Kathy helped me and we rested it sideways in the cockpit leaning to one side (and kept the kids from playing with it).

I did mine on a sunny windless day as well, anchored somewhere at Bone Island or Longuissa Bay.

[cmainprize]

Thanks Fred, we are headed towards San Souci today and the sun is shinning so I might tackle it up there.

[Roc]

I used silicone because it is just for sealing the groove.  No real adhesive properties needed.  The cover is screwed on, so the caulk is just there to seal the gaps.