Fixed port gasket on ericson 34

Anyone know of a source for the seals on the fixed ports on a 1989 Ericson 34?

Did you find a source for this gasket material? I'm rebedding the 4 fixedlights on my 88 E 38 and three came out fine and I'm reusing them, but the fourth, of course, fell apart.

I thought I'd update on my progress on finding this material for my 1988 38-200. Maybe it will save someone some time.

I checked with Lewmar -- afterall they made the fixedlights -- and they advised me that they don't stock gasket material. So they sent me to their supplier, Select Plastics in CN. I talked with them (they were very nice and apologetic), and they advised that they used to have it in stock but don't anymore. They have vinyl gasket material that would fit, but that it would cause the plastic to craze after a couple of years, so I would have to replace it with tempered glass -- unfortunately I've already reassembled and resealed the other three ports, so that one would no longer match the other ones. He said I would be able to pick up the vinyl gasket from any "shower door place", however.

Lewmar also suggested that I check with Pacific Seacraft, so I talked with Bob there who advised that their Ericson parts are completely depleted and that I should probably be looking for something that is "good enough", like from Pompanette or WM.

I did think of going to Wefco Rubber, in search of the perfect replacement, but I'm concerned about the volume I would have to buy -- I need about 5 feet -- and the delay in getting the stuff -- I'd like to get this port done by Labor Day, which means that I need to reinstall the weekend of the 26th, so I want to find something this week/weekend.

So, considering all that, I guess I'm going to go for the "good enough" solution, but any additional direction would be very welcome. Like what material should I be looking for to prevent crazing? Has anyone already used something else that looks decent and, absolutely most importantly, does not leak?

Many thanks.

Actually I ended up talking to Wefco -- they have several items that are very close, but to be certain, I've sent a piece to them for the best match. The material will be rubber so it won't craze the port -- the downside is that it probably won't make it back by Labor Day, but it might... So I may well be doing a duct tape repair and sailing anyway -- not really the look I want to project, but I guess it beats having to rebed these ports in a couple of years.

The upside is that I may end up with a supply of the gasket material, since I'll have to order a minimum of 25 ft. I'll only need about 5. I'll keep all posted.

The old window gasket puzzle

Hello Byran - did you ever figure out if the Wefco gaskets (and spacers) would fit? My E29 has leaky glass ports and the channel and rubber spacer next to the channel are shot. There was an earlier post which gave the wefco numbers for what was supposed to be the correct fit??
Thanks
Ron

They didn't have anything in their stock that would work, so they had to custom manufacture it for me, after I sent them a piece of it. The minimum purchase is 25 feet, and I used 5 of it, so have 20 left. It worked great, but costed $150, so about $6/foot.

Port gaskets

Thanks Brian - I haven't taken the glass out or the frame yet, but it looks the same , Mine are glass (yours were lexan?) windows, Lewmar frames, '76 E29 and I will probably need a bunch of it as 2 -3 are leaking. I would be happy to buy it unless I'm going to need more than you have which means I would need to spec order it myself. - I did take out the spacer rubber - next to the channel - what did you do for that? I'll take the frame out and maybe you could mail me a little slice to see if it fits?

I'm not sure what you mean by spacer rubber. In my windows there's a gasket that holds the window in the channel that's inside the frame -- that's what this material is. I took my four windows appart and of the four, only one had gasket material that fell apart (isn't that always the case?).

There are these little spacers that fit between the two frame sections -- they look like black lines in the frame of the assembled window. Those just fell apart. I reassembled without them, and filled the space with sealant, masked and formed to fit the space.

Yes, Lexan. If you have glass in your windows, you can use vinyl. There's an outfit in Connecticut that carries the right stuff, just not in rubber, but its name escapes me, maybe someone else can remember? If not, I can pull my file and see if the name is on a scrap. It might be a cheaper alternative for you.

You might want to start the project and see how far you get and see what materials you can reuse. If you need the gasket material, I'd be happy to send you a chunk though -- just let me know.

My project went fine, and there have been no leaks.

I came across the name of the CT outfit -- Select Plastics http://www.selectplastics.com/ . I've heard that you can ship your windows to them and they'll take them apart, replace the "glass", give them new gaskets, reassemble them and send them back. Also Mariners Hardware is supposed to working some sort of deal to do a limited manufacture of new replacement windows.

However, I just made do with my old ones, for the time being.

Generally I have found that after I take the time and money to do a rebuild, I end up spending more than a new one would have cost, and then I find that there is more wrong with old thing that a new one is worth the peace of mind and future time savings --I've found this to be particularly true with pumps of all sorts.

But the windows are doing fine.

port light gasket material

wheelerwbrian - I'm sure you will have no problem selling the rest of your gasket material, as there are probably as many leaking lights as there are yachts. I too am in need of fixing one of my lights. Even though it looks fine it still leaks.

If you have any material left please let me know. Your art work didn't come out too well in the post. If you could post a close up picture I think I could better judge if your material will work for my application.

One note of caution with aftermarket "rubber" gaskets. I have purchsed many aftermarket gaskets for my cars only to have them disentegrate after a few months. They were made of natural rubber which doesn't last long. Most OEM gaskets are made of Buna-n or neoprene.