On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 17:09:29 +0100, "Wally"
wrote:

felton wrote:

I think the new ones look better. On my previous boat, a C&C 33-II,
the portlights were long and "rakish" and were attached to the outside
of the cabin top. Because there was a bit of curve to the side of the
cabin top, the portlights were required to stay in place with a bit of
bend, which they did not want to do. The previous owner had replaced
them once and there were a number of small screws which attempted to
hold the portlights in place, in addition to a sealant and tape and
they still leaked. Actually if you read the C&C mail list, leaking
portlights are a huge topic of conversation. I think anytime you get
too long a portlight with no frame, you may be asking for trouble,
especially if there is any bend required. If your mounting surface is
fair and flat, you are in much better shape.

There is a slight curve on mine, but it's pretty-slab-sided. If there's any
sort of compound curve, it's *very* slight. I'll be having a close look at
this to make sure. I see a lot of boats with the acrylic on the outside,
fixings every 2" or so, and a run of seal under the line of fixings - I'm
leaning towards that methof at present.

Check and see how much bend. Bend is not your friend, as that lexan
(or whatever you use) won't want to stay bent. The bigger or longer
the piece, the bigger the issue. I agree that you see where folks
have drilled and installed exterior screws through the portlight into
the cabin top (slightly larger holes in the lexan to allow for
movement). That just strikes me as a bad design. Lots of holes, but
perhaps unavoidable.



Hopefully I misread Doug's post about using 5200 for mounting the
windows. My current portlights, which are frameless, are installed
with GE Silpruf, which seems to work well. These portlights are
installed into a routed groove around the opening so that the
plexiglass sits into the groove, just flush with the cabintop, and
has a bead of Silpruf around both the inside and the outside. There
are 4 small screws which are angled into the top and bottom which
basically hold the portlights in place while the Silpruf cures. These
screws don't penetrate the plexiglass, they just hold the portlights
at the edge. These portlights don't leak.

Any issues with removal? Is there likely to be a real need to remove the
windows at some point in the future?

Not if you are selling the boat before the things start leaking in the
future, but otherwise, yes Given time, everyhting needs to be
rebedded periodically, or the portlight material will become crazed,
brittle or otherwise in need of replacement. You don't want to tear
up your cabintop getting them out.


Good luck. I like the design, but I would be careful about doing too
much cutting for structural reasons.

No cutting. :-)