Replacing 43 Year Old Opening Portlights

[GordMay]

CONGRATULATIONS!
Looking good.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Perhaps you've mentioned it, but why are the thumb screws on the outside? Which also means that the ports open externally.
I'd be mildly concerned about accidental openings, or just loosenings of the thumb screws. Whether by an errant line, or Neptune if he was pissed on a given day.
Plus, in the Master('s) cabin, I prefer to be able to open & close such ports from inside of the vessel.

Though, yes, I get it that in theory, mounting them like that will make them more resistant to boarding waves. In that the Sea's force can't push them open quite so easily. But I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

[Hudson Force]

Thanks, Gord, I feel pretty good about this outcome.

Uncivilized, I can't find any photo or reference to thumb screws on the outside. You might want to clarify this, but I agree with the choice of having the ports open to the cabin interior.

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Perhaps you've mentioned it, but why are the thumb screws on the outside? Which also means that the ports open externally.
I'd be mildly concerned about accidental openings, or just loosenings of the thumb screws. Whether by an errant line, or Neptune if he was pissed on a given day.
Plus, in the Master('s) cabin, I prefer to be able to open & close such ports from inside of the vessel.

Though, yes, I get it that in theory, mounting them like that will make them more resistant to boarding waves. In that the Sea's force can't push them open quite so easily. But I'm curious to hear your thoughts.

My old port lights that I removed had the thumb screws on the inside and these new ports have handled dogs that turn to lock the opening panels. These are also opening to the cabin interior as I would agree is best.

I reviewed the photos and think that you might be misinterpreting the drain spouts on the spigots as thumb screws. I could have had better photos!

[Ramblingman]

They look great.

I really am impressed by the NFM ports, the customer service and overall experience.

We are down to the last 5 of 17 ports on our refit. The change the look of the boat inside and out,

Did the new ones dress up the interior as well? Make the boat look a few levels up in overall appeal?

[Capt Phil]

Originally Posted by artisanmach

they are Port Townsend WA but are manufactured over seas. that's why metric...

The whole world is metric except the US!
The reason Canada is metric is because the US and Canada had an agreement to switch to metric about 50 years ago on a time and date specific but at the last minute, literally, some US senator decided it was not in the best interests of the US and convinced the US Senate and Congress to delay the implementation. Unfortunately, or fortunately, they forgot to tell the Canucks who lept off the metric cliff alone and the rest is history. My kids and grandkids who still live in the far north are totally confused when I talk about feet, inches and miles!
I'm old enough to remember the mess it caused. Cheers, Phil

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Ramblingman

They look great.

I really am impressed by the NFM ports, the customer service and overall experience.

We are down to the last 5 of 17 ports on our refit. The change the look of the boat inside and out,

Did the new ones dress up the interior as well? Make the boat look a few levels up in overall appeal?

I used the teak spacers provided by Newfound Metals that add about a half inch to the span for the spigots, but I formed these in order to accommodate a curve in my hull. I left the top center of these teak spacers at a thickness of about 15mm and 10mm at the bottom center; while grading them down to about 7mm thicknesses at the ends. This allowed the interior of my new port lights to fit well against the concave turn of my aft hull for this area. The outer frame was easier to conform with some bending, but more sealant was placed at the ends than the centers.

I have some 43 year old original vinyl lining that had some damage before my install on the interior. I'm thinking of using a horizontal sheet of cork material to span the aft area where the ports are, though most of this is just above shelving and will not be very visible.

I'm always better with function than pretty, but I'll put something together that will pass for acceptable appearance on the interior.

So, here is a photo of what I have left to do inside....



You see that I cut away a large portion of the vinyl, but I can't keep this section anyway. There's more vinyl damage to the center and what I cut off was split an curled. You'll also notice that the fiberglass liner stands more proud than the darker stained teak back-up plate for the ports. This is especially true at the ends of the ports where I shaved the teak spacer down to 7 mm thick to adjust for the curve. I'm considering the cork covering for the vinyl strip that runs horizontally and some trim, maybe cork too, in the gap around the port just outside the teak. Nancie might have an opinion here. As I said, function comes first and then I can take my time and play with "pretty".

Any ideas?

[UNCIVILIZED]

Yep, my goof, sorry. I mistook the black spigots in the pics for thumb screws.