Rebedding Portlights

[Ron San Martino]

I'm in the process of rebedding the portlights on my 1982 33. Found the link on the photo phorum which has helped a lot but have a few questions. 1. Some of the screws fromt the portlight were/are loose. Do I just put epoxy in the old hole?2. Any tips on how to remove the old caulk from the portlight?3. Any other places to check for leaks in the cabin? I was thinking of taking the handrails off to sand/varnish and then rebed.Thanks.Ron

 

[Ed Schenck]

Some ideas.

Chances are that the coring has rotted and there is nothing for the screws to grab. You could try some epoxy in a hypodermic needle but I think you will find that the hole never fills. If that is the case you might try drilling 1/2" holes and then epoxying a 1/2" dowel in the hole. Redrill for the screw.I think you should scrape the bulk of the old caulk off and then not worry about it. Because the portlights are a plastic you have to be careful with any chemicals like mineral spirits.The caulk has to fill the gap between the spigot(frame) and the hole. It should be heavily applied and squeeze out the outside. In other words no water should get under the trim ring from the outside. I epoxied the perimeter of the holed before I installed the port. I know friends who did not have anything to epoxy, the coring had rotted completely away.There is a chance you will find the same with the handrails, that pouring epoxy into the holes never ends. Best bet is to drill the holes out to about 3/8" and fill with an epoxy mix like peanut butter. Use lots of blue tape or you will have it all over the non-skid. Unfortunately the handrails are just one source of water in the cabin trunk on a sailboat. There are the hatches, the companionway and cover, dorade boxes, and the mast partners or step. I also have winches, clutches, cleats, deck organizers, and a traveler(H37C). Great fun.

 

[Terry Arnold]

handrail attachment

As a variation of what Ed has suggested, in reworking a handrail screw attachment where the underlying plywood has deteriorated, after the 1/2" hole is drilled down through the deck top through the rotted core and bottomed out (use forstner bit) on the top of the inside liner, the rotted core can be retrieved out through the 1/2" hole and if some kind of right angle rod perhaps like a paint stirrer is inserted in the hole, the rotted core can be removed for a diatemeter of perhaps 1 1/2" centered on the 1/2" hole thus providing a positive lock for the peanut butter consistency thickened epoxy. One other trick that works well to anchor the new screws is to set the appropriate piece of handrail in place as a template while the new epoxy foundation has just set and is still very green and drill pilot holes for the screws, remove the handrail and using one of the handrail screws, run it in and out to in effect thread the epoxy. Fasten finally after the epoxy has reached full strength. A final refinement on this sequence is to use an appropriate sized drill countersink on both the new ancorage hole and on the bottom of the handrail, providing a larger sealing area when the new handrail is finally set in caulk. Also, don't use 5200 around teak, it doesn't like teak and is evidently softened by it.

 

[Ron San Martino]

Thanks

Thanks for the help. I'm hoping to put the first one back on this weekend.