Sealing Leakey Ports

[Jim]

I need to remove and re-bed the four non-opening ports on my "new" '79 O'Day 25. This looks like a pretty straightforward project. The inside trim has a number of screws around it's perimeter. The outer trim "rings" seem to be in two pieces. Anyone out there that has taken these apart and would care to share earned wisdom? Specifically:1) Does the inside trim screw into the outside trim, or just into the fiberglass with the outside being held on with the silicone bedding?2) Any "trick" to taking these apart? (Without breaking them, hopefully!)3) Any suggestions on cleaning up the plexiglass? Or should I just plan on replacing it? When I brought the boat home I didn't think this was a question at all. They were so hazy I thought they were shot. However, after liberal application of the pressure washer the majority of the hazing actually washed off (along with the other inch of crud that had turned a pretty nice little boat into a $2,000 "as is" deal.)Any thoughts would be appreciated, as is this forum, what a great resource! Thanks.

 

[Jack Jackson]

Rebedding fixed ports

I am finishing the same job on my '79 as well.On my boat the inside trim ring screws into the port itself. The outside trim ring is an integral part of the port. I just removed thescrews, pulled the inside trim ring off, then pushed the port out of the boat from the inside.On my boat the bedding compound looked like plumbers putty. It was still workable and hadn'thardened. I did have to run a razor blade along the outside edge of the ports where someone hadapplied some silicone sealant as a temporary stop leak.After I removed the port I used a flexible putty knife to scrape off as much of the old bedding compound as possible. Then I removed the rest with a rag and acetone.I cleaned the outside flange of the port in the same way. All I did for the plexiglass was give it a quick cleaning with paper towels and all purpose cleaner. I used silicone sealant to bed the port in place. I read in "This Old Boat" by Don Casey that you should be really generous with the silicone. He says you should have silicone seep out completely around the port. In my case it took me a couple of ports to get used to using that much. I applied the silicone to the inner face of the outside trim ring, popped the port back in, then tightened the inner trim ring screws 90% tight. According to Casey you should let the silicone cure then finish tighening the screws. This puts some pressure on the siliconegasket. After the post was fully tightened I used a razor blade to cut away the excess sealant.My boat is still under cover so I don'tknow for sure yet that I won't have any leaks, but I am sure that if I do I can repeat this process fairly easily.Good luck with your ports. Drop me an email at kjackson4@ec.rr.com if you have any questions.Jack Jackson

 

[George Berrier]

Closed cell foam

Jim, I took one of the windows out of my O'Day 23 a few weeks ago and found the puddy and some silicone also. After removing and cleaning the window I took 12 by 14 inch closed cell foam which I picked up at home depot and used it to seal the window. It has not leaked yet and it will be easy to remove if I need to again. Good Luck.George