Been there..... Done that...
All our ports leaked, both starboard and port, and we knew this when we bought the boat. Everyone that I have talked to in our marina has encountered some sort of leak or water problem. One port window was so bad, that we had wood-rot between the fiberglass and inner core. after digging out the rotten wood, I layered penetrating epoxy down between the outside fiberglass and the inner layer. This hopefully strengthened the area surrounding the window. Using West System and the 406 filler, I injected the remaining gap using a plastic syringe to build up where we dug the wood out. After this hardened and dried, I pre-drilled the holes, and put in a new replacement window(Beckens(?)). This took two weekends to completed, because we had to sail during the day, and would work on the window when we returned back to the slip. I took a freezer baggie(nice and heavy plastic) and split it open with a razor, to fit the outside of the window, then used the 3M (blue) tape to cover the exposed port. Even during sailing, and all the rain we received between weekends, the tape held tight, and pulled off easily when finished. After pulling all the other windows to check for rotten ports, this was the only one that had rotted to the core. We cleaned the windows, and replaced using marine silcon(clear). My wife had the artistic touch of creating the perfect bead around the window frames, and so far no leakes. I also wipe the rubber gasket down each weekend, with of all things WD40 just to keep them tacky so they create a bond with the window when tightened down. A ton of work but well worth it to be dry. Questions email me PFegley@GTE.net BP s/v The Regina Avery
