Hello Nonsuchers
Hope your winters are going well. I wonder if any of you have removed your cast aluminum opening ports. Misty Cat has 7 of 'em. I would like to remove and repaint mine before we launch in May. Last fall I began by trying to remove one (a quarter berth/cockpit port) with no success. I got the bolts and nuts off ok, but couldn’t budge the cast fitting from the fibreglass.
I didn’t want to use any force for fear of doing damage. If anybody has experience with this, I’d really appreciate knowing how you did it. Also, any suggestions for best type/brand of paint and application method would be appreciated.
Greg, I removed the starboard ports (I thought they might be leaking but I don’t think they were) on our boat several years ago and it was quite a project. Some of the barrel nuts on ours were frozen and the very shallow slots in the heads of the bolts offered so little purchase that it was quite hard to free them up. Removing the frames was also difficult. I believe ours were bedded with some semi-permanent compound, like 4200, so I was able to work a pry bar under the frames and by applying steady firm pressure, they eventually came away without damage to either the frames or the fiberglass. Once you get the bond broken in one spot, it gets easier. Good luck.
David Young
Bay Cat, 30U #402
Traverse City / Suttons Bay, MI
I also found that a decent sharp edged putty knife will help, or piano wire to “saw away” under the plate.
Also remove the outside sealant material that’s located between where the outer ring and inner window section almost meet.. It’s a very good chance that this particular area is where your leak really is. If you look closely you probably notice this sealant region is separating (or gapping) from the housing and flange.
Just a word of caution when removing the outer flange. Try not to pry or lift one side in hopes to peel the outside bezel off as it can bend and likely distort the original shape. I believe this is cast aluminum material.
Hi Greg, I recently removed my hatches and ports and agree with all the replies you’ve received. I found that starting in a corner is the best approach because it has more structural integrity and as Jack mentions the frames are aluminum and will bend if you try to pry it up. I used a stiff putty knife which had a thick blade but with an angled edge to allow me to get under the corner of the frame. The blade also was angled near the handle so you could apply a little prying force. See attached photos. I used two of these and a 1" wide flexible putty knife with a thin blade. Once I got the stiff blade started under a corner, I would use the thin flexible blade to start breaking the sealant between the frame and the fiberglass. Once I could get the stiff blade fully under the corner, I would apply a steady pressure with it, like Dave suggested, while using the flexible one to start breaking the surface tension between the sealant and the frame on both sides of that corner. Then I would take the second stiff putty knife and start in the corner opposite the one I started (along the long side) and repeat. Once I had freed one of the long edges I would start with working the flexible blade along the shorter edge. Then I would move start moving the stiff putty knifes along the shorter edge on each side and continue to use the flexible one to break the seal until I was able to position the stiff blades under each of the two remaining corners. I would continue to use the thin flexible blade until the seal had been broken on the last long edge. On the interior frames on some of the ports (as you move forward on the boat) you will really need the flexible blade to break the seal on the upper portion of the frame. A stiff blade will damage the gelcoat on the interior liner as the side wall radius turns into the ceiling liner. My interior frames seemed to be sealed with a silicone sealant but the outside frames appeared to be sealed with a Sikaflex sealant. My hatches seemed as if they were sealed with a pretty stout sealant, I imagine it was a 4200. I also want to pass this tip along, I found a citrus based solvent called De-Solv-It was great for softening up the sealants like Sikaflex and the 3M 4200. I removed the teak toe rail and cleaned off the sealant using De-Solv-it. Make the job much easer. Also cleaning the sealant off the hatch frames as well as the fiberglass surface where the hatches are mounted was much easier using it. On the painting of the frames I had mine painted with All Craft 2000. It’s an AwlGrip product but unlike AllGrip it’s repairable.
Wishing you success in your endeavor.
I removed and refinished all the ports on Catbert (26-16). They were bedded entirely with silicone.
I would only add to the other replies that I covered the areas around the ports with blue masking tape to prevent any scratches or marring of the gel coat by the putty knives I used.
