Leaks

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Well, we just finished redoing three ports. Just before the Christmas holiday our port in the head started leaking. I checked it out and found that the old sealant (not the port seal) was rotted out.

To make a long story short, I took out the six screws from the outside. Then pried off the outer bronze ring, and the main part of the port pushed back into the boat. Then cleaned all the old rotten stuff off the cabin sides and inside the cutout. I used "Goof Off" and a plastic scraper with great success on removing the old junk.

I then replaced the facing on the inside of the hull (another topic).

Then I checked out all the types of sealant that can be used for sealing ports. I asked on the rec.boats.cruising and got a lot of good replies pointing at everything from "Shoe Goo" to 5200! We went with Sikaflex 231 bedding compound. It looked like the best all-around tool for the job. We applied it to the inside part of port, then Jill held it in place as I applied more 231 to the outside ring and put it in place and put in the screws. I used one full tube for the three ports.

I then used a lot more Goop Off to clean up all the 231 that squeezed out as the port was assembled. I wanted to make sure I sealed it well!

All done. It took about 4 hours per port to do. Replacing the facing board took a lot longer. Hope this helps!