I have a typical boat from the 70's with the two large non-opening port lights port and starboard - it seems like every maker all over the world adhered to this stylistic approach. But they don't open of course, and one of them leaked. The original fasteners were terribly corroded - some could not be removed at all and had to be drilled out - when I went to remove, clean, and recaulk the lights.
I found 2 large opening ports on ebay at a good price and decided to remove two of the lights and replace them. The new ports were smaller than the holes so I took 1/8" G-10 sheets, cut them into rounded corner shapes that looked appropriate, epoxied them in place inside and out after sanding down through the paint, and bolted these in place with 316 stainless bolts with acorn cap nuts.
Here you can see the exterior backing plate being epoxied into place. I dry fitted them into place first, with the ports in place, moved everything around until it was symmetrical and correctly placed, then put tape on to mark locations. Then I epoxied first the outer and then the inner sheets in place.
The new ports look really good, inside and out, feel REALLY strong, and are mounted into place with Butyl tape. I'm going to replace the other two this spring when it gets warm enough for the epoxy to kick.
This photo shows one right after installation - before I through-bolted the G-10 to the hull side with 1/4x20 bolts (8 per window.) You can see some sunlight shining through around the port because I haven't filled the area yet with pure silicone caulking which I think will be fine in a completely enclosed protected area above the waterline. If I ever run into problems, I can pull it out and fill with thickened epoxy.
Port light replacement
- atomvoyager
- Moderator | Revitalizer of Classics
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- Boat Name: Atom
- Boat Type: Pearson Triton
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Re: Port light replacement
That's a good solution. Thanks for sharing it.