Portlight gaskets

[Mark Mowery]

My 1980 H33 has the old Gray Enterprises portlights, and the seals, which were originally 1/4" diameter round material, are so flattened out they're barely functional. Bomar bought Gray, but now they carry some kind of t-shaped gasket material at $2.50/ft that's supposed to be used in place of the original stuff. I need about 40 feet of it to redo all my ports. Any suggestions on where I might find the original material somewhat cheaper?

 

[Bryan C.]

Try Beckson at www.beckson.com

Their "rain drain" ports are identical to the original ports on my '88 35. They sell the rubber gasket pre-cut and glued for about $5.00 a port, if I recall correctly. When I bought some they were the same "O-" shape as my original gaskets.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Not sure about Beckson.

My 1979 H37C has the same ports as your '80 H33. I've looked at the Beckson "rain drain" ports and think the seals are too large. It could just be the way it's inserted into the channel but looks much wider and heavier. That's because the outside of their lens is a flat surface, not the sharp edge that we have. So they need more surface contact for the seal.Someone recently wrote here about pulling out the rubber and rejuvenating" it somehow. I've been lucky, mine still seal well.

 

[Bryan C.]

Beckson seals

The answer may lie in the fact that the Beckson seals were re-designed to be a little thicker (to provide a better seal) and that new seals will look thicker because they haven't been squashed. I recall thinking the same think when I replaced the seals in my boat. They worked fine, however (except I ordered a size too large and had to cut them down).You know, I don't know if my orginal ports were Gray or Beckson. I assume they were Gray as I've never heard anyone claim that Beckson ports were original equipment on Hunters. When I replaced a couple ports on my boat I bought the Beckson rain drain model and they were identical to the ports on my boat. The Becksons sure look like the Grays now carried by Bomar. Does anyone know if Becksons were ever original equipment on Hunters?