Port Lights (Not windows)

[Dolphin]

Thanks Louis, I do my best work in the dark!
I read on a trailer sailer site where a glazier there recommended soaking the strip in soapy water. Maybe doing it dry is completely the wrong way, particularly after what you said. He also recommended using a piece of wood and rocking on the wedge to work it in. I'll be chasing more of the wedge tomorrow. I'm going to try Grippy rubber and Affordable boat windscreens plus two local glaziers here. There must be a supplier somewhere. I can't find the supplier that I bought the original wedge from.
The local boat builder said they do away with the frame completely now. HE also recommended using Sikaflex 295UV even the marine sealant 291 is not UV stabilised. I don't think it matters here because the Sikaflex is covered. In any case its paintable and sandable so if it does weather there is an alternative.
Do you ever start one of those jobs that you wish you had never got into??

Best of luck with the V Berth too. I had that narrow bit of ply there too about 100mm wide just under the deckhead, it seems its just a dress strip to cover the anchor locker.

[Troppo]

Hi Greg, I wouldn't say doing it dry was the wrong way, just that with some soapy water, and it does not have to be too soapy, the rubber glides better. Personally I would not go for too soapy as I would not want residue stuck under the rubber. For my home windows I bought a roller that is used for putting in the rubber for holding mosquito mesh in the frames but with the bit of glass cleaner sprayed on I did not need the roller as it eased in no problems.

I am glad you are doing the windows, they look so good it is inspiring me! : )

[Dolphin]

Thanks Louis,
You have to be careful what you use. The Sikaflex brochures state that any alcohol or petroleum based products, even pressure pack sprays containing hydrocarbons will stop the Sikaflex going off.

[Tales]

Hi Greg,

Sorry not to get back to you sooner.

My seal came from Aquarian 03 94695811 (Paul) who made up my new windows.

I don't think it would suit your frame though - see pic - it's made for the aluminium section I now have.

There are ribs which engage with the frame to stop it coming out and 4 fins to seal against the plexiglass.

The silicone is only there for positioning the plexiglass in the frame and not to seal.

The plexiglass needs to slide because it grows and shrinks quite a lot.

If you do the sums for a MkIII it's about 4mm (from 0 to 40 degrees) while the fibreglass will only grow about 0.5mm.

Guess you could halve it by gluing it on a 20 degree day!

Cheers,

Tom

[Killick69]

I will need to replace portlights soon (big ones - mark3). Just for everyone's interest found a place in Seven Hills (Sydney) that sells full sheets and offcuts. They have clear, grey and bronze, none of which is heavily tinted. I don't know how big the portlights on mark3 are (will measure when I get a chance), but to give you a price perspective, they sell 4.5mm thick sheets (1220 X 2400) for $340. Unfortunately they will not cut to shape, but are happy to do straight cuts. I would have to do cutting to shape with jigsaw.I think next thickness up is 5.5mm.

Cheers, John

[Dolphin]

I bought some rubber sections that look as though they might work. I bought the sections from Grippy Rubber at Silverwater in Sydney. They have a catalog online in PDF format and they do mail stuff out so if you need sections they have a very comprehensive range. I've found that the "rubber" is actually some kind of plastic.


Unfortunately I can't get to the boat for a few days because it is too wet to take the plastic covering off the portlights. Well, I can take it off but I can't make it restick and with heavy rain and strong winds predicted its best to leave it alone.
The sections I got to have a try are below;

[Shaun]

Mr G,
I had problems getting good ol' duct tape (well just the adhesive left behind really) from fibreglass once, if you have troubles & find a magic potion that removes it, please share.

cheers

[Miker]

Mr G,
I had problems getting good ol' duct tape (well just the adhesive left behind really) from fibreglass once, if you have troubles & find a magic potion that removes it, please share.

cheers

Shaun, tea tree oil or WD40. There is also a product with Orange in it that removes sticky residues. You might also try wax and grease remover, the stuff you would use before painting a metal surface.

http://www.wd40.com.au/wd40/2000_uses.php

[Dolphin]

Well success.
Rubber section GG831 shown above was the one I eventually used. I got it from Grippy Ruber at Silverwater at a reasonable cost of $4.25 (Approx) per metre. It fits in snugly. They do mail order and you'll need about 4m per not window. I had about 800mm left over from one window.

I searched around some of the window places in Newcastle and went to Silverwater but the best section I found was the one from Grippy rubber.


I filled the gap between the window and the frame on the outside to make it fair and waterproof and so that the section will stick in there. If you put too much sikaflex in the groove you will not get the rubber in.
Like Tom (Tales ) pointed out, work the rubber back into itself, if you stretch it it will pull out of the corners. Also as Tom suggested I left the rubber 20mm longer, pushed it back and matched up the ends and Sikaflexed the ends together.
I didn't put masking tape on the outside on the Plexiglass and the frame and made a bit of a mess, but it cleaned up ok. I wiped as much off as I could with paper and rags. After it skinned I wiped it up with a rag moistened with Metho.

A blind man on a galloping horse would be glad to see it. Right Shaun?
Thanks everyone for their ideas and experience.
That actually turned out to be easier than I thought it would be.

Now I can start sailing and get on with the small jobs.

Usual disclaimer: this is the way I fixed MY portlights. Yours may be different and YOU should take every effort to check that you have the right parts for your portlights. I hope it helps.

[Dolphin]

Well that turned out to be a resounding FLOP. The acrylic has popped out of the frame. So back to the next method. I'm going to remove the frame and get an acrylic sheet 20mm bigger than the frame and screw it on using sealing tape. Bugger!.