Topic: Rebedding Aloha 28 Port Lights in Head

[will]

As part of my hurricane season refit I wanted to rebed the port light of the head in my aloha 28.

When I took the old port light off I figured the space between the deck and headliner inside the head would have core, instead it was empty and filled with old sealant.

I wanted to rebed with butyl tape and need to have some material to screw fasteners into so as to squeeze the butyl tape. The other thing I don’t like about the current setup is this empty space allows for a lot of flexing and causes gaps in the sealant allowing for water ingress.

I measured the gap between the outside skin and inside skin and at its  narrowest it’s about 1mm (at the bottom of the port light) and it’s widest  it’s about 3/8 of an inch (at the top).

I was thinking of filling the narrow  part with thickened epoxy and for the wider top parts putting in a marine plywood core coated with epoxy and clamping it.

Then use fairing epoxy to close the gap between the skins.

That should give some sturdiness to the windows and a place for me screw some fasteners in.

I’ve attached some pictures to help clear up what I mean.

I wanted to ask how other people have solved this problem and if this is common on other aloha 28s?

 I want to rebed he cabin port lights as well and I’m wondering if it will be the same, they feel more solid and there’s fasteners on them.

 Best,

Wil

[will]

Here are the pictures

[JimInPB]

I don't have the same size boat as you, so I don't know exactly which portlights you have.  That aside, I will make a general comment about rebedding them.  Opinions vary.  Butyl tape is one option that some people favor.  Others prefer a flexible sealant that sets up, like Sikaflex.  In either case, a common concern is being sure to have a thick enough margin of sealant to allow for the movement that will occur when temperatures change & dissimilar materials expand different amounts.