Greetings to those of you who are contemplating doing something like Steve Stoehr did to his Tartan 30. After this article ran in Good Old Boat in March 2006, our email hummed with interest in Steve's project and it went on for months. After reading Mike Pz's request about the material for the ports, I thought I'd cut and paste the follow-up comments from our magazine and the subscriber newsletter so you'd have the rest of the story. I apologize for the size of what is to follow (1,400 words), but if you're interested in this project, you'll find what goes below to be very interesting. I have never posted to any thread or discussion group but I suppose the size of what follows will make up for any lost time!
Karen Larson, founding editor of Good Old Boat
Good Old Boat Subscriber Newsletter, April 2006
Surface-mounted ports, Part I
In the March 2006 issue, Steve Stoehr wrote about replacing leaky portlights with surface-mounted acrylic. I have an older Catalina 25 and deal with the same issues with water leaks. Unless I misread the article, Steve’s instructions were to predrill holes in the cabintop for the self-tapping screws, yet I see in the photo the existing holes that held the original frame. My questions are: did he use these holes, did he fill in the holes, or could you use the existing holes for mechanical screws to
anchor the acrylic to the cabintop?
Like so many of your readers, I’ve given up on the slick sailing
magazines. Keep up the good work.
James Barrow
Surface-mounted ports, Part II
I’m not sure he filled the old holes with anything because they would be hidden by the rubber gasket. I am sure he did not reuse the holes. There are ways to reuse the holes, but it is a matter of piloting, by which I mean that one would have to transfer the location
of the old holes to the new windows. It is actually easier to mount the new windows and transfer the hole locations to the boat by drilling through with the tap-sized drill and then later drill out the window to the clearance-size hole.
Jerry Powlas, technical editor
Surface-mounted ports, Part III
Jerry is exactly right. I covered the original holes in the cabin wall with the gasket and drilled new holes for the self-tapping screws. By drilling new holes I could follow the shape of the new port for a neater appearance, and better center the screws out over the sealing area. You could use bolts through the acrylic, the old holes, and the inside frame. However, as Jerry pointed out, that would be difficult to pilot and would be more expensive. Barrel bolts or bolts with cap nuts cost much more than stainless self-tapping screws, are more difficult to seal, and each bolt would need to be cut to length.
Steve Stoehr
Surface-mounted ports, Part IV
Thanks, Steve; I think I’ll go with your approach. I can’t get too excited about the idea of rebeddng (once again) old portlights. Plus, I think I’ll like the updated look.
James Barrow
Surface-mounted ports, Part V
Yes, there really is a lot of interest in this subject. Last week I received a call from a fellow sailor in Sacramento, Calif., who read the article. He went to the trouble of finding me using
the Internet (Tartan website and Google) to get his question answered about the gasket material. Leaking ports in his Freedom 32 ruined his favorite book, so he plans to try surface-mounted ports.
Thanks for sending the comments from Jim Donovan of Braintree, Mass. (Mail Buoy, May 2005 of Good Old Boat ). I looked up a Seidelmann 30 (29.9) and can see why Jim may
have experienced some chipping and cracking around the fasteners in his attempt at surface-mounted ports. That boat has a very low curved coachroof so the portlights are at about
a 45-degree angle from horizontal. That makes them very vulnerable to lateral stress when stepped upon or otherwise knocked about.
If I were designing surface-mounted ports for the Seidelmann 30, I would increase the acrylic thickness from 3/ 8-inch to1/2-inch, bevel the edge, and make sure there is at least a 2-inch overlap all around the port. I would not recommend using stronger polycarbonate because polycarbonate turns cloudy from sunshine.
Steve Stoehr
Good Old Boat magazine, July 2006
Ports discussion continues
Having read the surface-mounted ports article in the March 2006 issue, I’ve been trying to find some of the rubber adhesive sheets you used between the fiberglass and the acrylic windows. If you had an exact name for a lead on the stuff, it would be greatly appreciated.
Joseph Krivan
Author Steve Stoehr replies
The rubber gasketing material I used was plain 1⁄8-inch closed-cell foam neoprene rubber sheet stock. It was not adhesive sheet stock. Go to your nearest industrial rubber distributor (there is at least one in every city) and tell the man at the counter what you need. If you must substitute another material, choose one that is UV- and chemical-resistant. Closed-cell means that water can not migrate through it like it can through a sponge.
Steve Stoehr
Ports: what color acrylic?
I read the article about surface-mounted ports by Steve Stoehr and I’m wondering what material was used to make the ports? The article says 3⁄8-inch acrylic stock. Can you be more specific about the color and the series or any specific information? I am trying to do the same with my Catalina and have already wasted $200 on plastic that is the wrong color. I would really like to get it right this time. I have to order the material from 60 miles away and I just can’t drive there twice, once to look at samples and then again to pick the material up. I can’t believe that it is this difficult to figure out what material to use. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Dan Happ
Back to Steve again
Just about any town of any size has at least one plastics distributor. Check the Yellow Pages under “plastics.” They usually have clear acrylic sheet (Plexiglas) in stock but may need to order tinted acrylic for you. If so, they should have samples to look at to determine what tint you want.
I bought Acrylite GP acrylic made by Cyro Industries. My choices were clear, smoked, and reflective coated. The smoked tint is optically clear for good visibility yet helps filter out bright sunshine and offers some privacy below. The shiny reflective coated version is even better for blocking sunshine, but it looks tacky to me.
Check also for plastic fabricators in your area. They buy from the distributors and make custom things out of plastic, such as display shelves and cases. With any luck, you may find one with enough material left over from a job to make your portlights.
Here are a few more tips. Do not use polycarbonate (Lexan) for your portlights. While Lexan may stop a bullet, it scratches easily and turns hazy in sunshine over time. If you plan to use silicone to seal the portlights, use a silicone that does not smell like vinegar (acetic acid) when it cures. That kind will craze the acrylic over time.
Steve Stoehr
Good Old Boat Subscriber Newsletter, October 2006
Surface-mounted ports, continued
I know that Steve Stoehr’s port replacement article has almost created too much interest, but I just replaced the ports on my 30-year-old Irwin with incredible results. I completed the entire project in one weekend, for less than $100, and without the slightest leak.
One deviation that seems to have worked was to cut short (3/ 8-inch) pieces of gas
line hose to use as spacers around the screws. This allowed me to greatly enlarge the holes in the Plexiglas and provide lots of cushion for expansion/contraction. Thanks, Steve!
Terry Woeltge
And continued
I’m interested in further information on the gasket material mentioned by Steve Stoehr in his article, “Surface-mounted ports,” in the March 2006 issue. I am unable to find similar material in my town, Muskegon, Michigan. Perhaps Steve might share the name of his supplier.
Steve Salisbury
And Steve responds
The industrial rubber distributor I bought my gasket material from is Fournier Rubber and Supply Co., 1341 Norton Avenue, Columbus, OH 43212; 614-294-6453; fax: 614-294-0644;
. They are listed in the Columbus Yellow Pages under “rubber products.”
This summer I installed four opening stainless-steel ports, again using some 1/8-inch rubber sheet stock as gasketing material. This time I bought EPDM sheet stock from Fournier because it is very UV- and weather-resistant. EPDM rubber is used for pool lining and for seamless roofing and can be very pricey ($4.25 a pound). EPDM stock is not foamed like the neoprene stock so it is harder than the neoprene stock. It would seal two smooth surfaces but may not seal irregular surfaces.
But it should last forever. If I had it to do over I might use EPDM for the surface-mounted portlights. So far the neoprene material is holding up well, and there are no leaks.
Steve Stoehr