Re-sealing Lewmar Port Windows

[cymeyer]

Have read some older threads on the above subject, but nothing recent.

I am getting water inside the electrical panel which is just under the portlight. I tried resealing without removing both the inside and outside. I plan to completely remove the window and reseal.

Is there anything I need to be careful about?
Boat is about 11 years old.

 

[JohnShannon]

Sure it isn't the gasket?
Easier job

 

[cymeyer]

Not sure where the gasket is. Inside or outside? I am assuming the gasket is just a bead of silicon caulk. I tried to caulk without taking the entire window out and that was not the solution.

 

[Beneteau 321]

Had a similar problem with our 1997 Beneteau 321 (Purchased boat last fall
Removed inner trim ring and found the machien screws that hold inner and outer section of port loose,tightened screws in a cross sequence caulked around inner frame and screws. Also inspected all other opening ports
Problem solved
Also inspected exterior horizontal joint on outer frame no issues.
From a previous post on ports I also coat rubber gasket (area where glass seats) with a thin coat of vaseline to keep rubber soft seems to work.

 

[cymeyer]

Thanks.
I did the tightening of the screws and even put some silicon around them. I did not coat the rubber gasket with vaseline. That might be where the water is coming in. The funny part is I wash my boat and even spray around the window and no water comes in. Seems to leak in more after sailing...

 

[Mike B]

Also make sure the face of the port and rubber seal surfaces that it touches are clean. It takes surprisingly little dirt, salt, etc to cause a leak.

 

[joker460]

You didn't mention if these are the old or new lewmar portlights. Old standard is the one with a split frame outside or the new ones have a solid frame outside. If it's the old ones, and the latch pockets are filling up with water, it's probably the two joints outside that are allowing water in. I had this on 6 of my windows. There was even a bulletin from Lemar about this.

 

[cymeyer]

Thanks. We have the older windows with the split frames outside. I could not see anything broken with the joint. I will lube the seals on the glass. I would like to take the window frame off and try and reseal, but I have heard they are fragile and getting replacements are hard to fine.

 

[joker460]

You won't see a broken joint. With mine, they leaked under certain conditions. Lewmar recommends removing the black caulking, clean and then fill it in again.

Good luck

 

[AndyS]

When I got our 1995 B281 two years I had three ports leaking. I removed the black gaskets that makes contact with the plexiglass and replaced all of them with new ones. That solved the problem on all of them. Removing the gasket is easy, but cleaing out the aluminum slot where the replacement goes takes some time, and any bit of silicone or rubber left in the slot can cause a problem. Once you get the gasket back in the slot and properly seated you get a very tight seal between the plexiglass and the frame. It's a lot easier than pulling the whole thing out.

 

[Vegas]

I'm no expert on this, but after a few years of leaking ports, and assuming it was the rubber gasket, I took the inside trim ring off and had someone flood the port area with a hose. I found that my leaks were between the mental frame and the deck. I was surprised that the bedding, which I think was original from the date of manufacture, was not very good. I re-bedded 4 or 5 ports with 4200, and the leaks stopped. My recommendation: make sure yours is not the same problem before replacing any gaskets, etc.

 

[cymeyer]

Hey Vegas,
Is there a secret to getting the outside rings off? I am assuming that I unscrew the inside bolts and then gently cut the outside rings off? I have heard they are delicate...

 

[Vegas]

I removed the screws holding the inner plate (just cosmetic, the inner plates on my boat don't actually help hold the port in). Outside, I put blue masking tape all around the outside of the port frame, then remove the screws from the outside, I took my time and gently tapped a wide puttyknife with a hammer, all around the perimeter, between the frame and the deck, gradually cutting the bedding material until I could lift the entire port up and away from the deck. Clean all the old bedding good off the frame and off the deck. Then put a copious amount of 4200 on the deck and on the back of the metal frame, then squished it down gently. Put in the screws, and removing the blue tape gives you nice clean edges and saves a lot of time scraping off the excess 4200.

 

[cymeyer]

Ok, thanks. I wll give it a try. Presume you meant you removed the screws from the inside...

 

[Vegas]

Mine has screws that you remove from the outside and from the inside. The outside screws are the ones that really hold the port on. The inside screws only hold the trim ring on which seems to be just cosmetic and doesn't do anything to secure the port itself. Hope this helps! If you want to take a look at mine, call me at 239-834-9939....I'm just up Jefferson at Jefferson Beach Marina. Ted

 

[joker460]

Doesn't sound like you guys have the same portlights.

Attached a pic where mine leaked.

 

[cymeyer]

Thanks.
These look just like mine. The gray connectors are not broken on mine so I assumed they are not leaking. I think I need to get the gray outside trim rings off and reseal them.

 

[cymeyer]

Joker460, is it a big deal getting those silver trim rings off? Presume I unscrew the 10 screws inside and then pry the outside off? Did you just reseal or did you fill the silver rings with silicon as well?

 

[joker460]

I only sealed where the 2 rings come together. That stopped all the water from coming in. You may have a different issue. I would start by re-sealing the area shown in my photo. That would be the cheapest solution. Try it on one portlight and see if the leak stops. Removing those rings will take some effort. Maybe someone else that has actually done that could chime in.

 

[Wapici]

Portlight leaking

With my 321 97 it was the same problem. Only water came in with raining not during washing on 6 windows. I changed the seal on 2 windows but it was the same. Then I sealed the grey little plastic outside with silikon. Now everything is fine and no water is coming in. It took me a half year to find out this problem ):