How-to free stuck porthole knobs on 1991 Beneteau

[KrazySailing]

A couple of the knobs on the portholes on my 1991 Beneteau Oceanis sailboat are impossible to turn by hand. I've taken to turning them with a pair of pliers.

What the best way to free and lubricate them?


BTW: Does anyone know the name of the knob manufacturer? I have had them on another French built boat.




Thx
David

[Pandor]

They are Goiot. The ones on my boat are older but never had a problem sticking. Suggest you try cleaning with WD40 or similar.

[Celestialsailor]

I would start with a hair dryer, heating the knobs. Then spray on a little kroil and try again.

[KrazySailing]

Thanks Pandor.



I googled Goiot and found photo and suppliers.

For example
https://rigrite.com/Hardware/Hatch_&...20Port%20Parts


I need to replace the gasket and some hinge pins. RgRite has the parts I need.


Once again Cruiser's Forum comes through

[Franziska]

I'm wondering if the plastic knobs have a brass insert and are corroded in place.

In that case try, very carefully (!!!!), a mixture called weasels piss.
Half acetone, half automatic transmission fluid. Let it soak and try again loosening it.

Take extreme caution not to get the mixture onto the screen. The acetone component will make it dull if you get it on the plexi.

[s/v Jedi]

Remove the knobs, then run a tap through them and a die on the male thread.

During assembly, use lanolin for lube.

[Bycrick]

+1 for Jedi. On mine, the screws are aluminum alloy, so be careful unscrewing them forcefully. A tap and die set will clean them up. I lube with silicone gel.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

Remove the knobs, then run a tap through them and a die on the male thread.



During assembly, use lanolin for lube.

Jeudi, the problem seems to be that they can not turn the knobs and hence can not remove them.
Once they get them off, your method is perfect.
But, how to get them off without damaging them, if the inserts are corroded (someone mentioned Aluminium) in place?

[Bycrick]

On mine, and I have 10 ports, the male-threaded portion seems to be an aluminum alloy of some sort and the female-threaded knob is plastic. There’s no metal insert in the knob. A little penetrating oil and slowly, carefully twisting them back and forth eventually got all of them loose. If you twist too hard, it’s easy to break the male-threaded part. I’ve been lubricating them with a food-grade silicone grease for 25 years.

[Celestialsailor]

Again...the key is heat. If the knobs are aluminum they can be expanded with heat. I suggest a blow dryer or heat gun at first. Then move them back and forth, applying an oil such as Kroil or even WD-40.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Jeudi, the problem seems to be that they can not turn the knobs and hence can not remove them.
Once they get them off, your method is perfect.
But, how to get them off without damaging them, if the inserts are corroded (someone mentioned Aluminium) in place?

I read that they can turn them using pliers, so I assumed they can turn them