Sun Cat ports that leak

[Tom L.]

I have just purchased a 2001 Sun Cat that has had obvious leakage at the two Elliptical ports. Is there any replacement for the ports or can thay be repaired. One of the problems seems to be that water stands in the frame and eventually seaps in. Need some advice.

Is it advisable to change to a more oval port. There are some very good ones with aluminum frames. My last boat had Lemar ports that never leakes.

Thanks

Tom L.

[capt_nemo]

Tom L.,

If you're not sure where the source of leakage is, first check out the 13 YEARS OLD gaskets.  I recommend replacing them anyway. And, don't tighten the ports against the NEW gaskets too much - let the gaskets do their thing. Over tightening over a long period of time causes a "set" indentation in the gasket which leads to, you guessed it, LEAKS!

Otherwise, if you believe the ports are the source of leakage, recommend you carefully REMOVE both ports, CLEAN UP ports and mounting surfaces thoroughly, and REINSTALL with good caulking compound.

Follow instructions on caulking but consider tightening port UNTIL JUST BEFORE FULLY TIGHTENED, LET CURE FULLY, THEN TIGHTEN FULLY. It may take some time experimenting WITHOUT CAULKING on ports to determine just how much to tighten initially.

When cleaning up and wiping off excess caulking, don't remove too much around the edges. In fact, leave a little protruding around the edges, smoothing it out and making it neat with the pad of a finger - paper towels at the ready. This will leave a neat small angled fillet all around to help shed water and keep it from getting down inside the boat.

Please share the results of your project.

capt_nemo

[Salty19]

I recall reading folks would take kerosene oil lamp wicks and glue them to the area where water collects, then let the wick hang below the port area. This draws the water away from the low point and lets it evaporate more quickly.
Just a thought.

[Tom L.]

Salty 19,  ah yes that is a trick I had forgot about. It will certainly help and I will add drainage wicks.

Tom L.

[Tom L.]

I received some new gaskets for the ports. To my surprise it is just a single piece that is not joined. So I have been told by Com Pac that they should be cut to come together at the top of the port and do not need to be glued together. They also said that the seal should be glued into the port with rubber cement.

My past experience with beckson ports was a gasket that was a single loop, and they did not need to be glued in the port frame.

Anybody have experience replacing the seals and does the above make sense?

Tom L.

[capt_nemo]

Tom L.,

I'm familiar with long pieces of replacement rubber gasket material.

Long pieces make abundant sense when the (universal?) gasket material must fit several sizes of ports and it is not cost effective to carry unique gaskets in inventory sized for all the different ports.

Gluing in with joint at top also makes sense for two reasons. First, if not glued in the gaskets will stick to the moveable port and be a PITA to reinsert each time the port is opened. Second, it is the bottom half of the gasket that makes the waterproof seal to prevent any accumulated water from seeping in, so placing the joint at the top, the furthest point from the bottom maintains the waterproof seal.

Ain't work'in on boats FUN!?

capt_nemo

[Tom L.]

Capt-N I think you are right on target. My old beckson gaskets were always falling out of the groove. So I am going to go with what Matt at Com Pac said put the seam at the top and use some, a small amount of rubber glue, to hold the gasket in the frame. I was just wondering if anybody had some hands on  experience.

Tom L.

[Allure2sail]

Curious:
Does the external part of the frame have a small drain hole on the bottom of the frame.The frames on my 27 have a small hole 1/8" to 3/16" dia. hole so the water won't collect there. But then again that is an all together different style and brand of a port. Bruce

[Tom L.]

No drain hole or weep hole in the outer trim ring. As part of my rework/long overdue maintenance of the boat I am going to investigate the possibility of adding a weep hole at the bottom outside of the trim ring. Water does puddle there and will potentially leak into the boat if the window gasket is not tight. I am going to try and include a short cotton wick in or near where the weep hole would be to help drain the standing water if a weep hole is not possible to add. It has to be almost invisible to suite my requirement. Sooo we will see in the weeks to come.

Tom L.

[Jeff]

Hi Tom
I have a 2005 HC and finding same issue - want to replace gaskets on elliptical ports. I push my fingers up under the gap below the window and fibreglass moulding and feel wet in adjacent carpet. I'm assuming we have the same ports. Can you get the gasket from a marine store or is it custom to window brand? Do you know who makes the Ports?  I'm wondering if I can source locally before obtaining from COM PAC. Did you make out OK? Are you dry? Any words of advice now you are done? Thanks, Jeff

[reedtg3]

Tom-
Is water dripping onto your side panels from a low point on the unfinished side of your fiberglass overhead liner near the windows or is it actually dripping down the gelcoat finished cabin interior side of your overhead liner?  Can you actually see water coming in at the base of the window, trickling down the gelcoat overhead liner to a low point and then dripping onto your side panels? 
Cattail Tom   

[wes]

Jeff - Since Hutchins just shipped me a set of gaskets for my 1988 bronze portlights, I feel sure they can fix you up with the ones for your HC. Their prices are reasonable - call Matt in the parts dept.

Fyi, recommended adhesive for rubber gaskets that need to be glued into portlight frames is Pliobond. It is designed specifically for the type of application where flexibility is required. I ordered mine on Amazon.

Wes

[Tom L.]

Jeff, I did order the gasket material from Com-Pac. I cut it to length put the seam on top and glued in place with Rubber cement, I also glued the seam. So far seems to be working.
I didn't drill weep holes but I do keep the boat covered so puddled water is not a problem.
Tom L.