Front of cabin porthole

[steve brown]

I have always thought it would be nice to have a small porthole on the front of the cabin on my CP19. Being that the surface is curved poses some problems I suppose. Com-pac uses a small porthole up front on their Eclipse and Cat boats when I spoke to them. It consists of an outer stainless steel flange and an inner one made from aluminum and two plexiglass lights. The hole size is 3 1/2" dia. It sells for about $35.00. Has anyone ever installed one of these? Thank you. Steve

[mgoller]

Hi Steve,
Most sailboats it seems don't have port holes or lights at the front of the cabin.  This probably is for traditional reasons.  But when you look at the boat from the inside or outside it seems to cry out "put a window here".
Typically there is an opening hatch, sometimes with a window, near the forepeak on deck to allow vetilation and handing up of sails.
I say go for it, its your boat.  
Looks like ComPac is adding these lights to their new fleet so there is new prescedent to say go ahead.

[steve brown]

Thanks Marcus. Perhaps I will give this a try after the other work is done. Launch day is coming soon. Steve

[mgoller]

Hi Steve,
Check out the posting titled Floridaze in the CP16 forum and scroll down a little.  There are pictures of the new ComPac 15 with the side lights and a front window.  Might be inspiration for what you have in mind.

[steve brown]

Yes Marcus I did see the CP 15 on the 16 site. It looks like a neat little boat and I bet it sets up in a jiffy.The Eclipse has th same porthole also and I did see that at a recent boat show. I think the resulting visual opening is only about 3 inches. The outer ring is stainless steel while the inner ring is aluminum. Each ring has a plexiglass lens. This is how the person at Com-pac described it. I am seriously thinking about it. I will be finishing up my non-skid deck finish tommorrow. My son Jim in Texas just finished making my Sailrite Genoa. Being a serious sailboat racer, he is coming up this summer to teach his old man the ropes. Steve

[Craig Weis]

S. B. in the West Marine Cat. are the 4" dia ports that are on my C-P 19 and I too have been eying one of these for the front area, with screen. She ride bow to wind at anchor and I'd like a tad of breeze at night without the forward deck hatch open. I think it would be easy to carve out a hole and goop in this portal. Skip.

[steve brown]

Hi Skip, Yes, those nice bronze portholes are great. Being that the cabin front is curved presents a problem. I asked Com-pac about this and they said the the fiberglass would deform when tightening it up. They have a 2-piece, 3" dia port ,which uses 2 pieces of lexan for the lights. Maybe it is possible to make up a teak ring inside and out to fit the curve and allow a flat mounting porthole to be used. Let me know how you make out. I recently instaklled a htch adjusting bar to my fore hatch. I now can set the hatch cover at any angle to catch a breeze, Steve

[Damsel19]

If you have a good plastic shop you could make a template of the deck curve and they would cut a backing plate.  Marine Plastic Solutions in west palm does every thing on c&c machines.  I just fax them a sketch with accurate information or for a job like this send them a template and they send back a cut out.  Plexy lexan, PVC, starboard your choice.  PVC is paintable.  That way you could get the matching bronze.  A good wood worker could do the same with teak.  You need the inside and out side fairing block.  It would also be short work for some one how works in glass regularly.

[Craig Weis]

Well the front of the cabin is curved slightly to allow that fiberglass piece to pop out of the mold. With a 4" dia port I can't see a problem with just centering up the port and using a ?" hole saw rented from Ace to pop a hole through the outer cabin and through the inner liner. Goop her up with 3-M 5200 slow set and be done with it. Don't over tighten or else the stress will crack the glass that was first laid down when the fiberglass was molded.

If a teak ring was desired for a 'flat mounting without gooping the outer edges of the port bolt flange on the 'east-west axis', I would cut the hole for the port in a teak blank.  And make the very minimum amount of overlap past the bolt flange. Maybe even no overlap past the port bolt flange.

I would tack the ring in place with 3-M spray adhesive and using my rotary disc sander simple sand the thickness to a flat plan. Thicker on the outer wood ring [east-west, I'll bet the 'north-south axis would lay flat on the cabin.] to nothing on the inner wood ring where the port is mounted. My guess is that a 1/4 inch of thickness would be enough to mount and bolt the port in place and provide a fine seal. With a fine fit the ring would never be seen.

When I was in high school I worked on the weekends for Sand Pounder's Incorporated, Wheeling, Illinois making Dune Buggy Bodies. Rick the boss said first body is your's.

Starting from the waxed mold,
I laid down a clear gel coat with a spray gun.
Then the chartreuse metal flake was sprayed on over the clear,
then one at a time three layers from a chop gun was shot.
And rolled all the air out.
Three days later the body was pop-ed out with compressed air and I trimmed her up using a saber saw.
Twenty years and no problems till it was smashed by a guy in a Vega doing a sideways drift around the street Connor and BLAM!!! No more Dune Buggy. skip.