I just discovered a slight leak in one of our ports. Obviously the boat being 1995(20 years old)the rubber is shot. I ordered new gaskets from Hutchins. Has anyone replaced these gaskets and can offer any advice on how to accomplish this task? Early thanks...John
Couple of things, John.
First, I moved this post out of the DIY area. We created that area only for "show and tell" projects as opposed to asking questions, in order to better organize the thousands of posts on this forum.
There have been quite a few posts about the gaskets. I'm too lazy to link them right now, but if you click the "Home" page to the left here on the forum, then type in the word gasket in the search box and press enter, you'll find everything and more you need to replace them. Keep in mind most everything has been discussed at some point, the search tool is pretty helpful. You can continue old posts if you want too.
Mine aren't leaking yet (1998) but I suspect it will be time in a few years. They seem to be in good shape, except now I've got a wasp nest on an open port. Gotta get them off there and the gasket might need some TLC. I leave the ports open to vent the boat with ugly but functional PVC elbows to keep the water out.
When I inspected the leaking port gasket I found the rubber gasket pliable with no cracks. As suggested by one of you experts, I removed it and rotated it 180 degrees and will apply vaseline to all the port gaskets. I'm also going to remove the screens; they're 20 years old and have become brittle. I'll retain the circle clips and put them with the new port gaskets for future use. Thanks for all the help...john
Just a followup on the port screens. I soaked them in some vinegar which cleaned them up nicely. I'll probably go ahead and reinstall them in the future, although since we have removed them, there is more light inside the cabin.