Removing Female Part of an inspection port.

[Goonie]

I need to remove the female part of my inspection port. I know an adhesive has been on it, therefore I was wondering what I should do to remove it, and also what I should use to apply a new female inspection port. What will make it stick and be leak proof?

 

[49208]

Depending on the adhesive or caulk used, you should be able to get a thin putty knife between the deck the the port, work the putty knife around the whole port and then gently pry it off as nec.

If 3M 5200 adhesive was used, the above may not work, as the stuff has tenacious adhesion - 3M makes a solvent for it, which does a good job.

If it was expoxied on, take a hair dryer or heat gun and re-heat - the epoxy will soften and then you can get the putty knife in and around.

When applying new ports, I like to use Life Caulk or 3M 4200 - both should be available from any marine store. Silicone based caulks never seem to adhere to the deck or inspection ports, so I don't use that.

If you want to avoid drilling screw holes on a new port, you can use either epoxy or 3M 5200 to fasten the port to the deck - I've used both with great results (20 years and counting with an epoxied port and 5+ with a 5200 port) - apply the adhesive and use some clamps to hold the port in place until it cures.

 

[cayenne24]

You may want to check that the new inspection port will fit in the old hole. An old laser I had, had larger inspection ports than the ones currently used.
3M 5200 is great stuff if you want to permently bond the two surfaces. When I replaced a toe rail on my J-24 I had to chisle the old toe rail out of the boat.