Replace or Rebed My Opening Ports

quadrille38 · Apr 3, 2011

I've done both rebed and replace on a 1987 Catalina. Depends a lot on what kind of ports the originals are.
They tend to come out easier than you think but you have to work at it very carefully so to not crack them. The challenges is cutting away the existing caulk until they break free. They do tend to become brittle with sun age. The Beckson type mount from the inside and extend through the opening. The outside part is simply a trim ring.

On replacement, I wanted to get rid of the plastic Beckson type and go with the aluminum Lewmar type. Much better product. Getting same size was a problem so I had to go bigger and make the hole larger. It was actually quite easy. Just be sure to seal the new wood core that you expose using an epoxy. This type is much higher quality. Mounts from the outside with an aluminum ring on the inside. Bolts clamp the two halves together for a much more secure fit.

Dan Johnson · Apr 3, 2011

Joe...

look for Richard Beyer's article in the owner modification forum on how he rebedded his fixed ports. I'm going to follow his procedure when I do mine later this year (if the weather ever warms up!).

If you can't find it, I can send you a copy by the email backdoor.

Regards,

Don Crowther · Apr 3, 2011

Joe

I've got two new ports just waiting to be installed (Gray, bought from SBO). The Benson's would be nice or ones that though bolt so you can squeeze the two halfs together.
The problem with the old ones other than leaking was that the dogs had broken off. So you couldn't tighten them down. Someone had over tighten them because the old gasket wasn't sealing.
You might want to look at removing the old gasket and reverseing it.

When I pulled mine last fall I noticed that the plywood between the cabin and liner was need of some repairs as well. So I'm waiting until it warms up. I just used a putty knife to get between the trim ring and cabin and worked my way around the ring. I didn't have any trouble removing the ports from the inside. Maybe they weren't bedded correctly.
They sure will be when I replace them!!

srhummer · Apr 3, 2011

I did the port light rebed on my 34 last spring after I bought her. The forward ones in the main cabin had water entering the wood between the fiberglass layers so I left it open to dry out for a week and then epoxied over the wood let it dry for 24 hrs and then used Life-Seal to put the ports back in and so far not a drop. The epoxy made it time consuming. In fact I have now done 5 of the 9 port lights, the one in the head, over the sink, both forward ports in the main cabin and the one over the galley on starboard side. All but epoxied ones where done together in one day. I also replaced the forward fixed port on the port side in one day. Used scraper to clean off old caulk and Mr clean erasers to clean them off. The erasers also seemed to work well on the Plexiglas windows. Found the job to be easier than I thought it would be. Best of luck!!

Roy Page · Apr 4, 2011

If you are intending to remove each opening port and re-bed them that is a lot of work.
I would have thought that the time and energy would be better spent putting in new opening ports.

They look really nice on the inside of the cabin as well.

I thought the cost of the ports was really worth the end result.

Here is a photo of my recently installed Lewmar metal ports.

Just my 2 c's

Dan Johnson · Apr 4, 2011

Joe...

Sorry I misunderstood. Last summer I started removing and rebedding my opening ports. Like Don, I found that there had been leeking occurring at the two aft cabin ports. The plywood was dry as I did this on a weekend following a hot, dry week.

I dug out any loose plywood edges and vac'ed any residue out of the cavities. Then I filled them with epoxy putty and c-clamped them around the edges until it set. I drilled pilot holes where the old screws were and rebedded the ports using 4200 (Maine Sail recommends a more plastic friendly caulk) from the inside. Then I used the caulk to fill the gap around the spigot on the outside. Once that had skimmed over, I put the trim rings back into place with a very light buttering of their back sides.

After I rebedded the two aft ports I no longer had any leaks that were detectable in the aft cabin or on the stove cover.

Hope this helps.

Roy's project gives me "boat envy"!!!

Now going to rebed the fixed ports this year!

Saillife · Apr 5, 2011

Well I just started doing this on my boat (83 34). I am replacing my ports 'cause you can't see out of the old ones anymore (fogged), the plastic is old & brittle, tired of messing with three knobs, and they just look like crap. I went with ones from new found metals (very good experience http://www.newfoundmetals.com/index.html).

I've only pulled the ones on the port side so far. Two of the lights were fine (aft berth & main cabin). The one over the sink has had real problems & I suspect the same will be true of the one over the head. At some point someone pulled the port and filled the inside with epoxy & rebeded the light. It still leaked though. Looking at it yesterday I think the problem with these two ports is that unlike the other ports the trim ring is almost resting on the deck.

As to removing them it's been very simple so far. From outside with a utillity knife and putty knife, take the utility knife and cut the 'caulk' between the outer ring & the light. Use the puttty knife to dig as much of the caulk out as you can. Go inside & remove screws on the inside. Take a stiff putty knife and carefully work it between the inside of the ring and the cabin wall. The port should come out without too much force. If it's still stuck try removing some more of the caulk on the outside. On my ports this caulk is all that's holding in the ports. Remove the screws you see that were under the ring & keep 'em(on my boat they only hold the skin to the ply on my boat). Once it comes out use the same putty knife to remove the outside trim ring. If you are keeping them the fragile part is where the ring is thin for the spigots.

As to rebedding them I can't add anything since I'm going with the method from the manufacture of my new ports.

Well that's my experience so far. Good luck

heart of gold · Apr 7, 2011

Joe Mullee said:
Next MONSTER project on my list is my leaking ports. The two most forward ports on each side of my 1983 Hunter 34 are leaking to one degree or another. This past winter I covered the outside of them in plastic and had zero water intrusion since. I looked over each of the ports and made the following observations:

1) All of them appear to be in decent shape, especially the interior side.
2) The gaskets are worn and all need to be replaced.
3) The leaks (interior side) are not coming out of the lens area but from the bottoms of the frames beneath the dogs.
4) The exterior rings all have seperation from the fiberglass cabintop at some point along their edges where water is obviously able to penetrate.

For those who have tackled this problem I'm curious if you replaced old ports or rebedded what you had. At approxinamtely $150 per port plus other material this would be another expensive job. Because my ports look to me to be in good shape I was thinking of buying new gaskets from this site and possibly some new trim rings and then try to rebed the old ports.

Does anyone have any advise? Thanks.

Joe Mullee
1983 Hunter 34 #170

Go new, Lemar or New Found Metals. I replace 6 of mine with Beckson " rain drain" not really happy.

Fast Ed · May 30, 2011

On my H34 I rebedded and reused three ports. The fourth port I bought new. My experience suggests that you should buy new ports. What will happen is that you will finish the job and the leak will be stopped - that is good. What may also happen is that a trim ring will break, you will want a new screen, the gasket on the old port will weep a little bit, one of the dog handles will be cracked, and the lense won't be as clear as you would like. If you buy alll the parts individually, and pay for shipping you will pay double for port.

Steve W · May 31, 2011

Joe, I'd replace rather than re-do. It's the same amount of labor. Yes there's a cost involved for new ports but that's for you to decide. I'm not familiar with the Lewmar ports that Roy installed but when I had my older '81 Hunter 33 I ended up replacing all with the NewFoundMetals "Tri-Matrix" ports with were essentially "drop in" except for drilling the holes for the through bolts which clamp the outside and inside pieces together. The "Tri-Matrix" ports were either the 5" x 12" or 7" x 15" which were the standard sizes on my 33.

There's a great photo story on this project someone else did in the Hunter Owner Mods section on this site.

Steve