Rebedded the Spartan Ports (video)

[John Ring]

After a rough Gulf Stream crossing a while back, the drips around the ports turned into a deluge and damaged some interior panels on Tiara. I removed all ten ports and was surprised to find the ports were originally bedded in polyester cement. I could clearly see each of the three previous owner's choice of sealant as each gave it their best shot. I must admit, the top layer was mine, and it did absolutely nothing to stop the water intrusion. Clearly, it was time to rebed the ports, so I chipped out the polyester & rebedded them in butyl. I used Beckson's flat top barrel nuts as fasteners which worked really well. And of course, the teak laminate had to be replaced while I was in there.
I brought a camera along for the ride, thinking others may find this project on their work list someday and get something out of it.
Link to YouTube video: https://youtu.be/v5KKX5KzWnk
Enjoy!
John Ring
CD36 Tiara

[Jim Walsh]

That’s a fantastic job, John. I know it wasn’t fun but I’m sure it was rewarding once completed. That video is sure to be a big help for those in planning and executing their own port removal and rebedding. Especially helpful are the precise techniques for rolling and filleting the butyl tape. Now you are ready for your next ocean race……

[Steve Laume]

Very nice. The entire interior is looking pretty spectacular.

I was surprised to see you had turning all the screws in a world full of battery powered tools.

My question is whether the ports can be re bedded by just removing the trim rings? I realize you needed to take everything out to replace the wood. I am just wondering if I could re bed Raven's ports before they leak by just doing the trim rings. That seems like a pretty easy job that would be worth doing before things went too far.

Thanks for going to all the effort of putting the video together. I know it adds a lot of trouble to doing the job.

This should help us all who are going to be doing the same job, sooner or later, Steve.

[John Ring]

Thanks Jim, Thanks Steve. I knew it was going to be a bear of a job going in, but it had to be done. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Steve - I did remove the trim rings, and found two previous layers of sealant in there from previous owners. This was early 2019, just before Tiara's last Bermuda run. I dug out as much old sealant as I could from the outside. I sanded/cleaned & wiped with acetone, laid in a fresh bead of Lifeseal, and hoped for the best. A month later we got beat up pretty bad crossing the Gulf Stream (falling off huge waves for a full day) and water started coming in like never before. That's when I decided to remove the ports entirely and start from scratch with butyl. And I have to admit - I did eventually reach for the Sawzall to speed up the process of removing the old polyester cement.

Looking forward to seeing you guys in St George's harbor for wahoo tacos again soon!

Cheers,
John Ring & Crew
CD36 Tiara

[bottomscraper]

Nice work! I have a question. What is the thing circled in the picture?

WhatIsIt.PNG

[John Ring]

Nice work! I have a question. What is the thing circled in the picture?

Great question & great graphic Rich!
That's a thermo switch. It's wired to the gas control & shuts the gas off when the switch senses high heat. That's why it's just a couple feet away from the stove.
Cheers,
John

[fmueller]

Lovely boat and fabulous video / resource.

Enjoyed it very much. Thanks.

[eb1smith]

I have found, when I did my port removal, that a Forstner bit is useful in removing the bungs.

The "impact driver" you got there is very impressive.

It seemed that the ports came out really easy or is that just movie magic. I had to pond on mine for half an hour to even get them to budge. I did resort to using a 2x4 bracket and clamps to apply some pressure but still had to beat on them with a rubber mallet.

[jfischgrund]

Great video and great job! Was that an oil-based polyurethane you were using at the end to touch up the trim? Would you recommend that for the teak veneer as well, to liven it up a bit? Thanks very much.

[John Ring]

Great video and great job! Was that an oil-based polyurethane you were using at the end to touch up the trim? Would you recommend that for the teak veneer as well, to liven it up a bit? Thanks very much.

Thanks!
The first three sealer layers are Zinsser Bulls Eye SealCoat (shellac) which as a 1 hour dry time. The next three layers are oil based polyurethane, clear satin finish MinWax (4hr dry time), all applied with foam brushes.
I put sealer & poly on the panels. The trim just got the polyurethane, after a light sanding of old finish.This combination goes on fast & easy, and looks really nice.
Cheers,
John

[jfischgrund]

Thank you again. It's on my list of Spring projects!