What is best for bedding bronze ports in fibreglass
GWYNPENNON@AOL.COM
Bedding for bronze ports
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Matt Cawthorne
Just re-sealing?
David,
The trim rings are sealed with something other than what the ports themselves are bedded in. The frame of the ports on cape dory boats are held in with some sort of very stiff compound, but it does not form a perfect seal. The trim ring around the outside is all that you want to remove if you have a leak. My CD-36 had two leaking ports when it was 12 years old, and they were sealed with silicone. I opted to replace the silicone with polysulfide. The bond had failed between the bronze and the silicone and the interface between the two had corroded and allowed water to pass. I hope the the polysulfide will last longer, because it was much more messy to work with than silicone. So far it has lasted 6 years with no problems. If you have one leaking port I suggest that you re-seal them all soon. Make sure that you clean off all corrosion so that you get a really good bond.
Good luck.
Matt
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net
The trim rings are sealed with something other than what the ports themselves are bedded in. The frame of the ports on cape dory boats are held in with some sort of very stiff compound, but it does not form a perfect seal. The trim ring around the outside is all that you want to remove if you have a leak. My CD-36 had two leaking ports when it was 12 years old, and they were sealed with silicone. I opted to replace the silicone with polysulfide. The bond had failed between the bronze and the silicone and the interface between the two had corroded and allowed water to pass. I hope the the polysulfide will last longer, because it was much more messy to work with than silicone. So far it has lasted 6 years with no problems. If you have one leaking port I suggest that you re-seal them all soon. Make sure that you clean off all corrosion so that you get a really good bond.
Good luck.
Matt
mcawthor@bellatlantic.net