If Thine Starboard Port Offend Thee, Pluck It Out

Sunday was a great day for sailing. At least it seemed to be, with the number of boats heading out of the marina. Eighty degrees, and a nice breeze from the north.

I, on the other hand, am several months behind on some maintenance projects due to the recent brushes with Fay, Gustav, and Ike. First and foremost was to replace two broken ports.

Concerned over whether I’d have enough sealant in one tube to do both ports, I decided to do one at a time. Normally one tube would be plenty, but one of the ports is this large combination port; you can see the broken mount for the dog. Once this breaks or cracks, it’s impossible to close the port. I had the exterior covered with plastic and duct tape to keep water out.

Starboard 90/45 Beckson combination port

First I removed the exterior trim ring and as much of the old sealant as possible, exposing the bolt heads:
Trim ring removed
This is the opening with the port removed, before cleaning up. There is no core material here on the cabin side in the Pearson 27; the headliner is attached directly to the fiberglass. I removed as much sealant as possible with a paint scraper and razor blade, then used a Dremel with a bristle brush to finish cleaning old silicone off the headliner. I used a brass wire brush in the Dremel to clean the sealant off the fiberglass around the edges. I didn’t need to bevel the edges of the opening, as, there was already a good-sized gap all around the spigot to hold sealant.
Port opening
I dry-fitted the new port, then attached it very loosely with bolts at the four corner locations. This held the port in place while I applied sealant to the outside.
New port dry-fitted

New port
After the first application of sealant, I tooled it into the rather loose joint, then spread a bit of sealant under the heads of several bolts and installed them, drawing the port tight. The first four bolts were removed, some sealant dabbed on, and reinstalled.
(No more pictures, sorry! Hands too gooey and I had to move quickly) Moving to the outside, I dry-fitted the trim ring, then rubbed some dish detergent around the ring. This will help when trimming off the excess sealant once it cures.
About 2/3 of the tube was slobbered on around the spigot, being sure to cover evenly so as not to create an air pocket. I’ve found out the hard way that air gaps may not be visible until you trim away the excess sealant.
The trim ring was pushed into place until I had about 1/4 inch bead around the ring. It will be allowed to cure completely, the trimmed flush with the ring.
I still had about 1/3 of the tube left, so tackled the 4×12 port in the cockpit, above the aft berth. This one went pretty quickly:
Port in aft berth