Ok, everyone, I have some odd questions.
I finally am getting over all the
medical garbage, and am now wanting to move forward on my vessel refit/reconstruction.
In that light, I have a couple issues with
ports and a
hatch. The
hatch first. Here is a pic of the vessel from starboard, I apologize I don't have the hatch
photo though...
HUNTER 27 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com
This one shows the hatch, a little, but this hatch is not exactly the same as mine, which is smooth and does not have that ribbed appearance. Mine looks like glass, not this flimsy-looking plastic cover on the factory advertised vessel.
The port lights look right however.
Forward Hatch
My vessel has a trapezoidal Vee Berth hatch, and it is one of those Gray/Pompanette arrangements from Tampa or St. Petersburg,
Florida. The smooth lens is dark (but clear) and intact (unscratched), but the plastic ring around it is cracked all to heck. It
leaks like a sieve unless I silicone it shut, but then I cannot get air through the
hull, and I want access to the hatch (for dropping
sails into the berth) and preferably retain the optional light and breeze that opening it allows.
I am considering three options for the hatch:
a) making a new frame from
epoxy and glass cloth, then installing the original window into it, but am concerned that the frame will eventually have the same weakness potential, AND that I will have to figure out a way to hinge it. Sealing would be simply a matter of ensuring the mould includes profile for that, and installing gasketing and some sort of locking mechanism, maybe multiple
dogs? I could face the hatch opening aft for additional
security, but it would probably make loading
sails in harder, and offer more snags, so...
b) getting the new version of some hatch that (hopefully) fits the hole, and if I
recall, someone here said that
Bomar makes something that fits with some hole "adjustment" but the cost for that may be too high relative to my quite difficult
budget, so this is less likely a solution I can afford. I cannot put $200 US into a hatch. If that is the answer, I have to do something else (I have attracted the Admiral's eye with this
boat refit
).
c) make a new hatch from some sort of
wood material (? I have all the tools and skills needed for this, but looks may be...off...against a plastic
classic boat hull!), then arrange some sort of watertight heavy duty window on the outside surface if I can ensure it will be strong, but then I still have to make sure it will seal.
Dogs of some sort would be used to lock the hatch closed, and a sliding rod would hold it open as needed, perhaps even the rod that is currently and factory installed (assuming this hatch was factory, of course). If looks were too different, I could perhaps glass the
wood and apply a
deck coating that I am going to otherwise use over the remainder of the
deck, making it at least appear to "fit" in...
Port Lights
For the port lights the problems are similar. However, all port lights are crazed and yellowed, some to the point of blocking vision almost entirely, and the outer window shade rings are all cracked and probably should be replaced as well. For the permanently closed windows, I could just take out the
current window material and install
Lexan or some such into the same space, reseal, make and install new rings from
epoxy or polyester and glass during the process,
bed in butyl, and all is well. Those are not so bad an issue. I may even be able to make some open, which could be of real benefit.
The more severe problem port lights are those that currently are designed to open, but the lenses are literally yellowed, crumbling apart and severely cracked and refuse to seal without silicone (again). If I attempt to create those, I will have to figure out hinges and locking mechanisms on wood frames, and I am unsure how well that will
work in a broadside wave. I know I would rather not put over a hundred dollars US into each of those smaller windows, and the large ones have to be at least three times that cost (thus the intention to just reseat those large ones with new lens material, if I can figure out what won't get cracked quickly).
I am considering fabricating all these in wood,
fiberglass, epoxy, or
Lexan (or some such) and making everything closable, but am not sure how much force or
marine environment Plexiglas or something like Lexan can take without turning back into the same crap that is currently in place.
I did see someone with very dark Plexiglas
ports on his sailboat and he just used black silicone
sealant and stainless bolts to install the non-opening Plexiglas windows, then put a turbine attic cooler on the forward hatch (it looked somewhat "redneck" to me, but who am I to judge the
cooling method, his boat is cool, mine is a sauna).. I just don't want to have
water coming in, birds and bugs invading, and the neighbors listening to me practice my guitar (poorly) while I languish in
mold spores and soggy groceries.
His port lights looked cool because of the black internal color around the periphery and the clear lenses they created, and the silver color of the machine screw heads against the black
interior seal really stood out. They surely would be sealed well, it would seem, but how is UV against that black silicone? I think he used the stuff I used on my ill fated
oil pan change-out...
Ideas? What has worked for you on ports and hatches, or did you just go and buy direct
replacements and go back to stock/install factory upgrades?
On edit: I attempted to add a picture since the photobucket I had of my vessel would not load - yes, I read the notification, and yes, it still would not load there either (and I am probably about half stupid right now, it is 6:45 AM and I have not been to
bed yet...)