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Companionway rebuild

fergus

New Member
Hi folks. starting a new thread here to track my rebuild of the lip around the companionway hatch. My new to me Morgan 382 was suffering from the same leak under the teak trim that forms the lip under the companionway hatch as others have reported. Unfortunately there was almost no visible evidence of the severity of the leak until I started digging deeper into the boat, just a sag in the headliner and a 1" soft patch on the aft galley bulkhead. Turns out the all the headliner supports around the companionway are totally rotted out and the galley aft bulkhead is also severely rotted. After thinking through the different options to fix it, I decided to dig in and do a permanent fix. We are dodging rain right now in the SF Bay Area, so I had just a couple days to get everything water tight again.

My plan is to remove the teak trim and rebuild the lip in fiberglass:

IMG_3334.jpg
The existing trim will be replaced with the lip removed but will now be purely decorative, with the fiberglass lip providing the protection against water ingress bonded directly to the deck.

Trim removed:
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1e35.jpg

Part way through grinding gel coat back to bare glass - what a mess!
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1e34.jpg

Mold in place for the lip:
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1e5c.jpg
The mold is covered in sheathing tape which releases from epoxy.
The gaps between the mold and the deck were filleted with thickened epoxy and milled glass. The lip was then built up with the first 2 layers of 1708 fiberglass:
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1e3a.jpg
I used a final layer of peel ply to keep everything smooth and aid in bonding the next layers. When the layup cured to a "leathery" consistency its easy to trim with a knife:
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1e68.jpg

With this complete at least everything should be water tight if not very aesthetically pleasing! I added 2 more layers of 1708 the next day. Next up is adding a couple more layers on the inside and then building up and fairing the lip profile. Hoping I can get some more done tomorrow before the week+ of rain heading our way.
 
Hi Fergus,
I've been trying to solve that leak for years.
Made progress elsewhere around the hatch but now there is a significant leak at the port bulkhead. It runs down the face of the veneered plywood and drips onto the ice box. The sea hoods been off many times. I've filled all the screw holes with rtv and even gone so far as to fill the hollow space between the interior bulkhead and the cockpit exterior with (5) 10 oz. tubes of rtv to no avail. My boat is in Emery Cove so we are just a few minutes apart. Would appreciate a look and at your convenience.
Thanks,
John English
510-719-0227
 
Hey guys, Happy New Year. We are in Point Richmond, Brickyard Cove. What about a get together sometime, somewhere? Distanced of course.
Mitchell
 
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