How to seal window leak while wet?

[Bob Camarena]

One of the windows on my 1981 C-30 is leaking between the gasket and the glass. I know there have been several postings on how to fix this, but is there something I can do to stem the flow while it's still raining?

 

[Tim Leighton]

COUPLE OF OPTIONS

Bob: The gasket on the ports becomes dried out and brittle over time. I had an '85 Hunter 31 and battled the same problem. One thing you can do is use a silicone grease on the gasket which will temporarily provide some moisture and allow a better seal. Worked for me. You can also get replacement gasket material from the manufacturer. Not sure who made your ports (probably Bowmar or Beckson/Grey) and both have gaskets for sale. For that matter, some West Marine stores stock the stuff. I suspect that you will be looking to replace the ports before too much longer, so you probably don't want to sink too much effort/time into a fix, but try the teflon/silicone grease trick first and see if that helps. Good luck!Tim LeightonS/V "MAGIC" (C-400)

 

[Bob Camarena]

Tim, what a simple solution!

Thanks for the simple solution of using the silicon grease. Why didn't I think about that when I was at the boat over the weekend? I even had my silicon grease out to put on some O rings on my faucet spout. The only solution I could come up with at the time was the "move the cushions and lay out a towel" fix!

 

[Bob]

Short term fix

I had a Columbia with rubber gaskets (no metal frames). For what it's worth, the former owner would put Vaseline petrolium in a syringe and squirt it into the seal between the fiberglass and the rubber. It was never a perminent fix but only a quick fix. I would only use this a temporary fix as the vaseline may degrade the rubber.