HerbertFriedman
Member III
Looking for gasket material for "old standard" Lewmar opening portlite, part no. Z3712. Listed in Catalina parts dept but no longer available, anyone know a source or replacement?
gasket for Lewmar opening portlite, old standard
- Thread starter HerbertFriedman
- Start date
Gary Filgate
Junior Member
I have a 1988 35-3 and replaced the gaskets and acrylic on my Lewmar opening port lights. I purchased them from Defender in Waterford, Ct. The item number for the gasket is 901808PLS001. This is for pre 1997 Lewmar port lights. The Lewmar # is19898600 SZ 1. I believe they used the same port lights for the 34 and 35-3. Contact me if you don’t have any luck finding the gaskets.
HerbertFriedman
Member III
cannot thank you enough, I will contact them today?
HerbertFriedman
Member III
Gary, I tried to order that gasket from Defender but the part numbers you gave me gave no matches. I will call them after the holiday but are you sure of those part numbers?
Gary Filgate
Junior Member
What are the measurements of your port lights? Mine measure as follows; Inside frame (the raised step with fastener holes that fit into the cabin top opening) 6 7/8” X 13 13/16”. Outside frame dimensions are 7 3/4” X 14 3/4”. Acrylic lens is 12 1/4” X 5 1/4” I would think it unlikely that Ericson would use different port lights on similar sized boats built around the same time but stranger things have happened!
HerbertFriedman
Member III
Gary, my port lites have outside dimensions of 14.5x8 inches, close enough to your dimensions so that I am sure we both have the same port lites. So I would like to purchase any unused gaskets that you still have, price offer is what you paid for them plus shipping. Please let me know.
For the record, another source is Hatchmasters https://hatchmasters.com/hatch-repair/#
HerbertFriedman
Member III
thanks, I will try.
HerbertFriedman
Member III
Christian, no luck with HatchMasters. apparently the only recommended solution is the replacement of the entire unit, and I have 5 more to go, uggh.
A question, do you think that a simple O ring glued into place would provide a seal?? please see attached file for reference
A question, do you think that a simple O ring glued into place would provide a seal?? please see attached file for reference
That's worth a try. I replaced my 1984 gaskets (Hatchmasters product) but they really didn't even need it after all those years. I take it yours are pretty far gone? It was the dogs that actually leaked, and replacing the rubber washers and bolt sheath fixed that.
I'm surprised nobody has replacements anymore.
(I'm talking about hatch gaskets. Not really relevant)
I'm surprised nobody has replacements anymore.
(I'm talking about hatch gaskets. Not really relevant)
Prairie Schooner
Jeff & Donna, E35-3 purchased 7/21
When we had our main hatches rebuilt by Hatchmasters last year they said they were starting to run out of replacement parts.
peaman
Sustaining Member
You will need something like foam rubber. The correct gasket is about 5/16" thick. McMaster Carr has a selection of "Ultra-Weather-Resistant EPDM Foam Cords" in convenient lengths, which might work if you can find a good way of securing it in the portlight frame.
HerbertFriedman
Member III
super idea about the foam cords, I was planning on using a soft buna O ring but this weather resistant foam sound perfect.
I did call HatchMasters and they no longer have any old stye gasket material. They too suggested changing the entire port lite. I am not sure it is the gasket or the small clamp. I loosened that clamp and put some 3M 4200 sealing to make sure I have a weather tight seal, next rain storm next week will tell.
A sailing friend looked at the diagram of the gasket and remarked that it was and still is a standard in come non marine applications such as shower doors. The trick will be to queery Google with the correct words to find that product. A first guess "shower door gasket" gave nothing useful, any other suggestions out there??
I did call HatchMasters and they no longer have any old stye gasket material. They too suggested changing the entire port lite. I am not sure it is the gasket or the small clamp. I loosened that clamp and put some 3M 4200 sealing to make sure I have a weather tight seal, next rain storm next week will tell.
A sailing friend looked at the diagram of the gasket and remarked that it was and still is a standard in come non marine applications such as shower doors. The trick will be to queery Google with the correct words to find that product. A first guess "shower door gasket" gave nothing useful, any other suggestions out there??
I have friends that have replaced all the gaskets on their 80's Lewmar ports. Very Difficult. That factory gasket has a "fin" on it to lock it into the metal groove. What friends said was that it was quite difficult to get the 'fin' to seat in the required groove.
Admitted Bias -- I replaced all the '88 ports on our boat in 2021. IMHO, the sealing and latching system on the new design is far superior to the old ones and there is no inside plastic trim piece to get brittle and fall off (or any need for one).
Admitted Bias -- I replaced all the '88 ports on our boat in 2021. IMHO, the sealing and latching system on the new design is far superior to the old ones and there is no inside plastic trim piece to get brittle and fall off (or any need for one).
peaman
Sustaining Member
For securing the gasket to the portlight, you might want to try double-sided "basting tape". If it works, great, and if not, there's no great loss in material cost or effort to remove. The stuff is surprisingly sticky. If you choose to use some other adhesive, you probably need to put it only on the surface which is parallel to the lens. If the gasket were glued instead to the surface which surrounds the lens, closing the lens could be difficult and could damage the gasket.
One additional note: Tony at Hatchmasters suggests using lip balm (Chapstick) on the gasket where it touches the lens. I had told him that sometimes when I opened a portlight, the gasket would stick to it and get pulled out of place. The lip balm prevents the gasket from sticking to the lens.
One additional note: Tony at Hatchmasters suggests using lip balm (Chapstick) on the gasket where it touches the lens. I had told him that sometimes when I opened a portlight, the gasket would stick to it and get pulled out of place. The lip balm prevents the gasket from sticking to the lens.
My model of Bomar portlights takes a half-inch round neoprene gasket. DAP Weldwood contact cement instantly bonds and holds the neoprene to its shallow channel.
HerbertFriedman
Member III
Yes, Lewmar calls the "fin" on the back of the gasket an arrowhead because that is what mostly it look like and agree that getting the old one out and them removing all the sealant that should have been squirted into that cavity must be quite a challenge, especially if EY used something evil like 5200. Just the thought of replacing the port lite with the new standard unit just because of an O ring gets me really upset. I dont know why Lewmar did not use something simple like a standard O ring in a standard O ring groove, I guess O rings like that could fall out but a tiny bit of sealant in the O ring groove would have fixed that.
On the question about using a simple O ring....
Our previous boat had an Adkins Hoyle for the forward hatch. After a decade the original sealant that glued-into-a-groove O ring in started failing, so I would re-bed that rubber ring with adhesive sealant. It would start to come loose again after a couple of years. My guess is that Lewmar wanted a proprietary way to lock the gasket material in place and that was accomplished with the molded-in 'fin' on the rubber extrusion.
BTW, the A H cast aluminum hatch was a really nice piece of engineering, I note that Ericson was using those hatch products for the first year's production of the 79-80 E-38.
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HerbertFriedman
Member III
Without a standard O ring groove, I am not sure where the sealing surface is, aside from the seal between the window and the front face of the gasket. Maybe the seal is in that small cavity into which the "arrowhead" is jammed, after sealant is pumped into that cavity . So putting double sticky tape on the side and bottom of where the O ring sits may or may not give a seal. But it is easy to try and easy to remove if the seal is not good.
My thought was to overfill the cavity and jam the O ring against the cavity to glue it in place, but double sticky sounds like a good first try.
What do you think about the foam rope as opposed to a soft buna O ring
And the lip balm sounds like the right thing to do.
Again, thanks all.
peaman
Sustaining Member
I'm not sure what you have in mind, or in hand, for a"soft buna O ring". It is important to have the right balance between enough firmness to make a good seal but not so much as to overstress the portlight components. An old gasket I have is 5/16" thick when relaxed, and when squeezed firmly (but not painfully) between finger and thumb, compresses to about 1/8" thickness. If your "soft buna O ring" has similar compressibility, it may be suitable. If the gasket is too firm, I would be concerned about having a uniform seal all around.
Regarding the arrowhead and the slot: Silicone was used by the previous owner of my boat. I agree that cleaning that slot can be tedious, but I managed it for my 5 ports. And they will likely never see sealant again, because I see no need for it. The gasket and slot appear to be intended to secure the gasket in place without the use of adhesives, in spite of any instructions otherwise. I have found that when the arrowhead is inserted into the slot all way around, the gasket, when new, will stay generally in place except when it sticks to the lens, thus the need for lip balm.
With a correct gasket, the seal is formed at the edge of the lens, with the gasket forced into the corner of the frame. With a foam rubber cord, the best we can do is to secure the gasket as close to the corner as possible and the seal will mostly be between the flat exterior face of the lens, and the parallel surface of the aluminum, with the gasket pinched between them. The tape, if used, would be between the gasket and that same parallel surface, but I don't think the tape will either contribute to nor detract from the seal, but will only serve to keep the gasket in place when the lens is open. Maybe the tape won't work long term, but it seems like it might be useful while working out best choice of gasket material rather than a more permanent adhesive like contact cement.
Regarding the arrowhead and the slot: Silicone was used by the previous owner of my boat. I agree that cleaning that slot can be tedious, but I managed it for my 5 ports. And they will likely never see sealant again, because I see no need for it. The gasket and slot appear to be intended to secure the gasket in place without the use of adhesives, in spite of any instructions otherwise. I have found that when the arrowhead is inserted into the slot all way around, the gasket, when new, will stay generally in place except when it sticks to the lens, thus the need for lip balm.
With a correct gasket, the seal is formed at the edge of the lens, with the gasket forced into the corner of the frame. With a foam rubber cord, the best we can do is to secure the gasket as close to the corner as possible and the seal will mostly be between the flat exterior face of the lens, and the parallel surface of the aluminum, with the gasket pinched between them. The tape, if used, would be between the gasket and that same parallel surface, but I don't think the tape will either contribute to nor detract from the seal, but will only serve to keep the gasket in place when the lens is open. Maybe the tape won't work long term, but it seems like it might be useful while working out best choice of gasket material rather than a more permanent adhesive like contact cement.