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I replaced the portlites on our I-28. Surface mount, 3/8" cast acrylic, VHB tape and Dow 795. Installed July 1. Cure period is over. Checking the results tomorrow. On the hard.
Well I have been "Away" for a while. Sailed our catboat this season; building a house! I do have a few pics of what I did. TD is still under its tarp. I have not removed the masking paper from the acrylic yet. Anxious to see how the vhb tape and the Dow 795 look as seen through the acrylic. I might "frost" a border if their looks are intolerable. I don't expect leaks and 3/8" cast acrylic should defend against any waves we might encounter sailing along the Maine coast. Ha!
Prep of the portlite openings involved a rotary sanding to smooth them out. The outside (gelcoat) surface that will be bonded to the new portlites was sanded and picked at to make sure all loose material was removed. WEST epoxy coated the surface involved and was sanded back to the gelcoat surface filling in irregularities and sealing the old gelcoat.
I made 1/4" patterns of the portlites and I cut "shoes", jigs, that the patterns fit into using 3/8" plywood. I marked the overlap on both sides of the patterns so I could fit the patterns onto the outside of the cabin from inside looking through the portlite opening at the back of the pattern. With the patterns in place I fitted the "shoes" to the patterns and screwed the "shoes" in place on the outside of the cabin. 3 screws each. Test fit then removed shoes to get them out of the way while I applied the vhb tape. After the tape was on I replaced the shoes, removed the backing and set the acrylic into the shoe. My knee applied pressure to make sure the acrylic was attached, removed the shoe and with padding and a deadblow hammer I set the new portlites into the vhb tape. There was a slight curve in the larger opening and I needed to make sure the vhb was totally involved. The vhb has some thickness and leaves enough space to force Dow 795 into around the portlie perimeter. I allowed for a 1/4" wide bead of Dow 795. NO SCREWS.
Hoping it works. Here are a couple of pics. To be continued.
Hey downeast450, I'd be curious to see how the job turned out. I did almost the exact same thing on my Islander 30 Mark II. The original ports were leaking pretty bad and it was driving me crazy. Not only when it rained, but from the spray after an afternoon out sailing. Pictures of the finished job and one before photo are attached. I used 3M VHB tape and Down 795 as well. I painted the inside of the 3/8" acrylic with plastic spray paint beforehand to hide the gray tape and provide a neat edge. I read that this was an OK solution and will help block UV degradation of the adhesive, but I am concerned in the long run with adhesion issues. After a half a dozen days out sailing in various conditions over the past 3 months it has held up very well without any leaks.
I did have to make new molding on the interior because the cutout in the cabin sides was very sloppy. I made the molding out of 1/4" marine ply, but I would like to eventually re-do them in solid mahogany like the rest of the trim on the interior. Having the marine ply pieces as a pattern will be helpful if I do that.
All in all it cost me around $300 in materials and 30 hours of my own time. A big job but it was definitely worth it. Tools I already had include a jigsaw, 14" bandsaw, and small router.
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