Part of the routine maintenance we like to keep up on is making sure the gaskets around our ports are lubricated. The rubber seal can dry out and crack if they aren’t maintained. If there isn’t a good seal, water can leak in when it rains or when we wash down the boat.
Step 1: Scoop out a chunk of Vaseline
Step 2: Smear all that gooeyooey-ness around the seals until they have a nice coating.
Step 3: Clean up any excess vaseline around the ports
Step 4: Wipe off your hands! Yuk! (I suppose I could have used a rag, but I wanted to make sure it was covered evenly)
Step 5: Celebrate when it rains and water isn’t leaking all over your bed anymore!!
(On a side note, one of the known issues with Whitby’s is the angle of the two aft ports above the bed. They are angled so that water collects in the corners and has no way to drain out. We either have to wait for the sun to try it out, or wipe it out. It’s not a big deal.)
Thanks for the tip on keeping the gaskets lubricated. We’re getting these shields for our Whitby’s windows so we can keep our windows open in the rain and still have a dry bed! http://www.seaworthygoods.com/
Paticia, those sheilds are great. We’ve seen a few different kinds and its definitely on our ‘someday’ list :)
Hi,
Are you guys going to stop in Marathon on the way down? Been following the blog and thought it would be cool to say hi. We just returned from the Bahamas and it was amazing. The dink and outboard was a good choice and thanks for the tip on the hatches! http://www.elcaminoblog.com
Hi Sid, yes we will be passing through Marathon. Monday might be looking better now, not sure yet. I’ll post an update so let us know if you’re still there when we head out. It would be awesome to meet you guys!
-jody
Sounds great!
You can use a wick to draw the water off the frame – a piece of 1/4″ line and a hot melt glue gun to hold the line in place will work…