Save-A-Boat - The Forum for Plastic Classic Rebuilds!

New to the forum so just jumping in here. Kudos to Challenger949L for the pointer, ILIKERUST for the Wanderer warm welcome and of course Tim for the creation of this great site. I am in the process of doing a deck up restore on my 1969 Wanderer and will start to post individual projects. This one will be a running post as I progress. Re-gelcoating the deck and cabin, so....
- Do I tape and work around the fixed and opening ports or do I pull them out?
- Pulled them with the help of "Anti-Bond"...claims to "melt" 5200 and other long term caulking....it seemed to work
- Had general leaking in the boat so now is the time to take it all apart and put it back together..watertight....
- Right now I am dis-assembling the fixed ports (4). I had heard that Brake Fluid works (soak in bucket) to loosen up the screws holding together the top and bottom aluminum extrusions around the safe-T Glass..... seemed to work as well.... Got two frames apart tonight...two more tomorrow.
- I will end up replacing the glass as moisture has seeped between the layers and "whited" out around the edges. My understanding about $85 a pop.....got a quote from BOMON Custom in Canada.....$300 Each........not saying that the $85 is easy to swallow but relative to the $300.......then there is LEXAN..we will see.
- I will post some photos over the next few days as this is interesting taking these apart.
- The opening ports will be following as well..they have a few more moving parts and a bit more corrosion...hope to refurb, mostly to keep look and feel of original. Glass is fine but all caulking is dry and gaskets shot. Also did a number on the outside trim rings taking them off/out so may need to get a local metal shop to craft some new rings.
- Photos and more adventure to follow........regards...

bmurphy55 wrote:Re-gelcoating the deck and cabin, so....
- Do I tape and work around the fixed and opening ports or do I pull them out?

I would remove them, but then again, I also am the type who removes all the switch plates, doorknobs, hinges and other hardware in a room before painting the walls, doors and trim.

I always prefer removing hardware to masking around it when painting or anything like that.

bmurphy55 wrote: - Had general leaking in the boat so now is the time to take it all apart and put it back together..watertight....

Yup. I'm dealing with the same thing. Have you seen Maine Sail's excellent tutorial pages on - among other very useful topics - bedding hardware with butyl tape? Lookie here.

bmurphy55 wrote: - Right now I am dis-assembling the fixed ports (4). I had heard that Brake Fluid works (soak in bucket) to loosen up the screws holding together the top and bottom aluminum extrusions around the safe-T Glass..... seemed to work as well.... Got two frames apart tonight...two more tomorrow.

Mine fortunately come apart pretty easily, most likely because the previous owner had re-caulked them a few years ago. Unfortunately, he used Boatlife caulk so two of the four in the cabin are leaking. I took one apart and re-bedded it with butyl tape - I believe that should solve it, but I haven't been aboard in rain to test it yet. I still need to do the others.

bmurphy55 wrote: - I will end up replacing the glass as moisture has seeped between the layers and "whited" out around the edges. My understanding about $85 a pop.....got a quote from BOMON Custom in Canada.....$300 Each........not saying that the $85 is easy to swallow but relative to the $300.......then there is LEXAN..we will see.

The PO of my boat bought himself a sheet of Lexan of the appropriate thickness (I think it's about 1/4") and sawed out new port lights using the old plastic ones as a template. He replaced three of the four in the cabin and cut out the piece for the fourth, but left it for me to replace, which I might do this weekend.

bmurphy55 wrote: - The opening ports will be following as well..they have a few more moving parts and a bit more corrosion...hope to refurb, mostly to keep look and feel of original. Glass is fine but all caulking is dry and gaskets shot.

Yeah, me too. The PO made new "gaskets" for the opening ports by laying in a bead of silicone caulk and letting it dry with the ports open. That dried bead acts as a gasket. Seems to work ok, but I have noticed a few drips here and there. I haven't looked closely enough to determine whether it's the gasket leaking, or the glazing itself. I'm thinking I'm going to have to take those all apart and do a total refurb, too.

bmurphy55 wrote: - Photos and more adventure to follow........regards...

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Yes, you'd better. Photos, man, we live for photos!!

Glad to see another Wanderer here and looking forward to seeing your pics to compare.

I also have plans to replace the crappy, cheesy, and terribly dated-looking flimsy plastic sliding panels that cover the storage cubby above the dinette and the galley cupboard. I'll roll my own out of wood - just need TIME!

OK....A few photos.....making progress...have all ports dis-assembled.....cleaning......lexan or safetyglass....having trouble with import...tomorrow..too late