fixed port trim piece

[Mark F]

Does anyone know where to get the rubber strip that fills the channel on a fixed port? The red arrow points to the channel.

Thanks.

 

[mherrcat]

Since that piece is only cosmetic, you don't really need it. I don't know that you will find the exact replacement; maybe Wefco Rubber? You would have to call them, I don't see it on their web page.

Catalina Direct sells a kit for Catalina windows, which I believe were basically the same as Ericsons; the large gasket for the interior side of the window would probably fit, although its profile is different than the original that was on the Ericsons.

http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=1054

I would call Wefco first. I think they can send you a drawing of all the different profiles they have and you might find it there without having to buy the whole Catalina kit.

Or call Catalina Direct and see if they can sell you just the piece you need. Talk to Lowell; he was very helpful and patient with me when I bought a replacement alternator bracket.

 

[Frank Langer]

I think Mark F. was asking about the fairly wide (about 1/2") insert in the channel. But there is also a more narrow (about 1/8") piece of rubber that sits right on the inside of the window--in fact the window glass may even be embedded in that narrow piece. In Mark F.'s picture above, his red arrow points directly at the narrow black rubber piece I'm talking about.

Is it possible to replace that narrow piece as well, without taking out the glass? I have a small number of drips that seem to ooze out of the seam between the glass and that narrow piece of rubber, and am not sure how to best fix that. I have tried dribbling some Capt'n Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure along the seam, but that didn't help.

Any ideas?

Frank

 

[mherrcat]

I think the part you are referring to is the glazing material that holds the glass in the narrow channel. It is one-piece "U" style. It comes as part of the Catalina kit, or you can find it elsewhere online. The thing is you have to get the right size. I was looking at the following when I was considering trying to rebuild my portlights (the ones on the left):

http://www.dkhardware.com/category-1874-glazing-vinyl-for-3-16-48-mm-glass.html

I have seen several windows where it appears that when they started leaking the owner either cut off the "lip" of the glazing on the outside of the window and then applied either silicone or some other glazing goop to try to reseal (maybe Corning 795?) or just applied the material over the top of the original glazing.

 

[Frank Langer]

Thanks, Mark. That is the right piece. Does it just get brittle with age, to start leaking a bit, or what would cause that? I would like to be able to seal it without removing the glass window, but am a bit hesitant to cut it off and seal with silicone--I don't seem to have much luck with silicone lasting in the marine environment. I may just have to buy the stuff and re-do it properly.

Thanks again!
Frank

 

[mherrcat]

This is where I started before deciding to just replace the windows entirely...

The glazing does get hard over time, I don't know if I would call it "brittle" because on the windows I have seen it didn't break, but just became hard and much less pliable.

The big question is what condition the aluminum frame is in when you get it out. What I have found is that the mechanical joint at the front and back is either still in good shape or the screws and aluminum are badly corroded; one side could be good and the other bad. Then you have to look at the part of the frame on the other side of the glass channel; if salt water has entered between the hull and the flange, there may be corrosion there as well. If it is just a little it is probably OK for a few more years, but I have seen it going completely through the aluminum. In fact I have seen it going completely through where the frames are joined together...on one of my windows!

These are my observations after removing all four of my windows and also looking at four windows from a parted out E27 and two windows removed from I think an E35.

I can send you pics of some of the corrosion in the frames I was thinking of refurbishing if you like.

 

[Mark F]

Hi Frank and Mark,

I am looking for the 1/2" cosmetic trim pieces. I'll try Wefco, it would be nice to know a product part number that someone has actually used that worked.

Regarding the window glass/frame gasket. You will have to take the window out and split the frame. The gasket is pretty readily available at glass shops, bring a piece with you. I have had good luck with sealing corroded frames by putting silicone in the frame's glass/gasket channel then using new gasket material and reassembling. The amount of silicone i used was enough to make good contact with the gasket material but not ooze out. I don't know what re-doing one of those windows will be like .

 

[Frank Langer]

Thanks for this additional information. I think the windows are generally in pretty good shape, and not corroded. Unfortunately, the previous owner used something like 5200 to rebed them, so the one window I was able to get out to rebed was very hard work.

I will only tackle others if I get pretty desperate. At this point I only have a very small amount of water in the channel after a heavy rainstorm--I can actually see it coming up ever so slowly from the channel rubber piece. I think I'll try to seal it first, to see if I can get it to stop without more major surgery, like taking the window out.

Frank

 

[mherrcat]

I can take a picture of the end profile of that filler strip this weekend and post it Sunday night or Monday when I get home.

 

[mherrcat]

Here are two pics I took of the trim piece. Send one of these to Wefco and they can tell you if they have it.

Here are the measurements I took; keep in mind that this trim is 25 years old and may have shrunk or distorted, but I don't think it did since it fit snugly when I removed it and reinstalled it.

Side-to-side (fat "ears" on the top) = 9/16"
Side-to-side (thin "ears" on body) = 1/2"
Side-to-side (body excl. "ears") = 11/32"
Top-to-bottom (from top of hump at top) = 13/32"

I just realized I did not measure a channel depth from under the top ears to the bottom, but you can probably approximate that from these measurements; the ears at the top are about 3/32" thick.

 

[Frank Langer]

Thanks, Mark. That is very helpful.
Frank