Port hole gasket problem

M. R. Bober · Post by **M. R. Bober** » Oct 12th, '09, 18:13

Several of my port holes started leaking--very small amounts--of seawater during a cruise with heavy weather and waves crashing against the ports. All were tightly dogged. Has anyone replaced the gaskets?

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where the season is just getting started,) VA

sharkbait · Post by **sharkbait** » Oct 12th, '09, 18:17

Yes, and it was not any fun! Those darn things are really hard to install.

barfwinkle · Post by **barfwinkle** » Oct 12th, '09, 18:57

Hello Mitchell

I have to respectfully disagree with sharkbait. I completed all six ports on Rhapsody in the spring of '07 and did not find it to be a chore at all. I am on the road at present and on my PC at home I have a link to the long thread about the process bookmakred.

If you do a thorough search of the BB you will find what you are looking for and it truly, at least on Rhapsody, was a piece of cake. If I recall each port took 38" or so inches and you buy the stuff from McMaster/Carr. I paid $40 for 100 feet and sold the remainder to several other CDer at cost.

Do a search and if you cant find it and aren't in a hurry, I'll send it to you when I get home.

Fair winds

Matt Cawthorne · Post by **Matt Cawthorne** » Oct 12th, '09, 20:06

Or a piece of hard tack. So much depends on what is there to start with. New gaskets are reasonably easy, provided that the groove in the port light is clean. I do it every 10 years whether it needs it or not. Firstly, make certain that it is the gasket and not the seal to the boat that is behind the trim ring. If it is the gasket you need to clean the groove out. Depending on the glue that they used, this could either be easy or really a pain. First, get the gasket material. I used sponge neoprene cord, but the threads in the past indicated that edpm or epdm or something like that is more UV resistant. Then again, some people think that Morey's grease is better for some reason. Anyway, I digress. If you really would like to pay extra you can get gaskets from Spartan. The gasket will be made by overlapping the gasket material and cutting it on a diagonal so that the splice forms a loop that just fits in the groove. Glue the diagonal together at the splice with rubber cement.

Now clean the groove. If the existing material pulls out easily then there will not be much work. The first time this did not happen for me. The material tore and left about 1/2 of the gasket in the groove. It was a pain to get out. My solution was careful use of a thin 2-3 inch wire wheel. That erodes the gasket and cleans the bronze without much bronze removal. Now coat the down side of the gasket and the groove with rubber cement and let it dry. Remember that when the port closes you want it to smash the taper together so glue the gasket accordingly. A second coat is probably a good thing. I always put the splice in the top/center and just stick the gasket in and close the port light.

See wasn't that easy? If it goes easy, figure 20 minutes each. If it goes badly, over an hour each.

If I was struggling to get the old gasket material out now, I would take a piece of steel tube that has an outside diameter the same as the groove in the portlight and grind a bevel so that it would act as a curved knife.

Good luck. Hope you and Susan are well.

Matt

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barfwinkle · Post by **barfwinkle** » Oct 13th, '09, 08:04

It is not my intent to downplay the difficulty others had with this task, I guess I was very fortunate.

My old gaskets came right out. Some of the material did stick in the "grove", but was easily removed with my portable drill using a wire wheel. The wheel was also used to polish the grove.

Fair Winds

M. R. Bober · Post by **M. R. Bober** » Oct 13th, '09, 12:26

It is definitely the gasket. When I close the port(s) the "ears" on the window frame strike the hinge housing of the dogs without the gasket cushioning the fall. It appears that the gaskets have flatten after years of being dogged by my mighty right hand.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where I know one winter project,) VA

Leonard Lookner · Post by **Leonard Lookner** » Oct 14th, '09, 07:21

I've mentioned this before and will bring it forward again as this is the time of year that boats get put away. Take the pressure off the gaskets by relaxing the dogs on the ports so that the gaskets have a chance to expand. We are lucky to keep our boat undercover so I remove the tension on the ports and hatches completely.

GLutzow · Post by **GLutzow** » Oct 14th, '09, 10:56

I replaced all of the gaskets on my CD25 this summer. it took approximately 15 minutes a port if you count the time required to properly clean the seats of the old glue and gunk before proceeding. An easy morning job.

M. R. Bober · Post by **M. R. Bober** » Oct 14th, '09, 13:06

Leonard Lookner wrote:I've mentioned this before and will bring it forward again as this is the time of year that boats get put away. Take the pressure off the gaskets by relaxing the dogs on the ports so that the gaskets have a chance to expand. We are lucky to keep our boat undercover so I remove the tension on the ports and hatches completely.

How complete is the recovery likely to be?

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (home of R&R,) VA

bgephart · Post by **bgephart** » Oct 14th, '09, 16:35

I replaced all my gaskets a few years ago following on old thread on this site that recommended cleaning out the old material in the groove with a piece of wooden dowel the same OD as the groove. It worked very well with no danger of damage to the groove.

rtbates · Post by **rtbates** » Oct 15th, '09, 13:54

Once or twice a year apply silicone grease to the port gaskets and they'll stay supple for years.

M. R. Bober · Post by **M. R. Bober** » Oct 16th, '09, 16:41

Anyone know the details of the replacement gasket? Cape Dory used 1/2" neoprene is there a better alternative?
TIA

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where the deer have begun to roam seeking antelope, no doubt. The buffalo herd has been here for a while.) VA

mgphl52 · Post by **mgphl52** » Oct 17th, '09, 10:35

McMaster-Carr has the material available by the foot: http://www.mcmaster.com/#12975k39/=43m3cd

You may want to see a past discussion (circa 2003) as well: http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic ... ter+gasket

-michael

sfreihofer · Post by **sfreihofer** » Oct 17th, '09, 19:59

FYI

The portlight gaskets each require 34 1/2 inches in length of gasket cord, so depending on how many portlights you have, do the math and add a little for waste or spares.

Stan Freihofer
1981 CD25 #794
Ft. Lauderdale
www.ReefRoof.com

Bob Ohler · Post by **Bob Ohler** » Oct 18th, '09, 13:28

Mitchell, if you have never dealt with McMaster-Carr, they are a first class company to do business with! I purchased from them just this summer. My orders came quickly and were packed perfectly.

Bob O.
CDSOA Member #188

The Cape Dory Board

Port hole gasket problem

Port hole gasket problem

Piece of cake.

port gaskets

Re: port gaskets

Use a wooden dowel

Material? Dimensions

Portlight Gasket Circumference

McMaster-Carr!