I got this very prompt response from Beckson today. I asked why the
gaskets I saw in the store looked so much thicker than what is on my
boat. Read it and try your gaskets again.

Hi Roger,
As long as these are indeed Beckson ports, we have replacement gaskets
and lenses available. If you can give me the measurements of the flat
surface of the lens (length and height), we can determine which
size(s) are involved. (Endeavours used mostly used what we call
5x12's and 7x14's smoked lenses. In our parlance those are the rough
dimensions of what you can see through the closed port from down
below - to the nearest inch. Nothing on the ports measures exactly 5"
x 12" or 7" x 14".)

As for the gaskets, the new gaskets look thick and round in
cross-section while the old gaskets that have been squeezed under a
lens for 20+ years are flattened and "L" shaped. I will attach or copy
a set of Beckson replacement port gasket installation instructions
with this email. Please read through, find a good mallet, and follow
the instructions step by step. After the you get the first one to sit
nicely, you will find the rest to go in much more easily.

And finally, if you find on closer inspection that you might like to
make a wholesale upgrade of your Beckson ports - replacing all the
original ports with new ones - we have a replacement program in place
to support you. Call and I'll quote you the prices.

Thanks for contacting Beckson.

We are here answering our phones (in person) in Bridgeport CT Monday
through Friday from 8:30AM until noon; then after lunch from 12:30
until 5:00PM EST at 203-333-1412. If you call after hours, please
leave a message on our machine and we will be in touch with you before
the end of the next business day.
regards,
Matt Reed
Customer Service
Subject: Beckson port gasket installation tips

Here are the basics of installing new Beckson window gaskets. Better
keep this on file with any other Beckson literature you have
collected.
1. Clean and dry the window body grooves where both the screen and the
gasket are installed.
2. Clean and dry the screen and install it in its groove with the
smooth side facing you and the ridge snapping into the groove.
3. Find the glue-joint seam in the gasket - where we have glued this
length of extruded gasket material into a loop - and position the seam
to be about top dead center of the window body. (If you put the seam
anywhere along the bottom edge, the port might leak a drop or two at
the seam.)
4. Find a polycarbonate (hard plastic) or hardwood headed mallet. You
will need it to force the solid rubber leg of the Beckson gasket ALL
the way down into the gasket groove. Finger pressure alone on the
gasket will not force the leg far enough down into the groove. But be
careful not to damage the hinges or pin bosses or screens with the
mallet.
5. With the seam of the gasket positioned near the top middle, start
just to the right of the left hand hinge feature pushing in a 1/2" or
so section of the leg into the groove, immediately tapping on the top
of the gasket and driving it in.
6. Continue from left to right, clockwise, across the top edge of the
window, pushing then tapping in about a 1/2" section of gasket at a
time. By the time you get to the first corner - the upper right - you
will have 8 or 9 inches of the solid rubber leg of the gasket firmly
secured in the groove.
7. Here is THE KEY TO THE INSTALLATION. If you look carefully at the
gasket groove in the first (and all) corners you will see it is
narrower than the groove in the straightaways. So, in order to get the
leg down into the groove in the corners, you will need to stretch it
as you are pushing it into the groove. Again tap on it several times
with your mallet to assure that it's in all the way.
8. Here's a test of how well you did on the first corner. Look at the
surface of the gasket in the corner. Is it puckered at all, or is it
fairly flat and level? If it's puckered, stop right there and peel the
gasket out of that first corner and stretch it more this time as you
force the leg into the groove. No need to continue if there's a pucker
because you won't have enough gasket left to do the last corner. And
it makes sense. Since our lens is very flat on the surface that gets
pressed against the gasket, you would want the surface of the gasket
to be pretty flat also.
9. So, moving along still in a clockwise direction, continue around
the window body, pushing it in in the straightaways and stretching as
you push it in in the corners.
10. When you reach where you started, close the lens and enjoy your
leak-free opening port. After the first one, the others will be much
easier and take less time. It's mostly in the technique and in knowing
some of the design elements of our windows.


--

Roger Long