"Roger Long" wrote in message
.. .
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
Thanks for the information.
Some of that installation information came with the gaskets but I don't
recall them mentioning the use of a mallet.
I still have my doubts they will work due to the thickness. It just did not
look like the port would close without breaking the hinges.
By the way, you asked about taking the screens out. I've not done this and
don't know if it would have any effect. They seem to be pretty well
recessed so I doubt it.


--

Roger Long