Port Gaskets and Screens

Summer 2010

Last summer, I finally got around to replacing the gaskets and screens on the ports in the v-berth, head, and galley. We were getting small amounts of water dripping through, and a couple of the screens had small tears around the perimeter that were letting insects in. It wasn't clear whether the water was getting through the gasket or around the frame, but before rebedding them I thought I'd try the gaskets. It mostly helped, though we'll need to rebed the frames sometime in the not-too-distant future.

We have Beckson ports, size "512" (where the opening is roughly 5" x 12"), and the part numbers are:

• Gasket: GK-512
• Screen: SCR-512

I ordered the parts from Defender.com. Pulling out the old gaskets was easy; they were hard and brittle, and coming out on their own already. Installing the new gaskets required some effort, but it wasn't too bad. It probably took me about 90 minutes to do all four. Beckson has a great overview page with part numbers, along with specific instructions for fitting the new gasket into the frame. Really nice to see that kind of help on their site.

When we do the rebedding, I might actually replace the lenses too (LNZ-512), which have become fogged and scratched over time.