Just finished replacing all the portlights on my recently purchased Yamaha 33'. All of the portlights on the port side had been replaced at some point in the last decade, and were replaced with a reasonable amount of care and skill.
However, the starboard side was horrific. Two of the portlights were 35-year-old originals, and as brittle as Graham Crackers, and the other was at least twenty years old. The starboard side portlights were all retained by screws, and glazed with silicone. All of them were cracked around the fasteners, and all of them leaked like mad.
The port side, however, were secured with a 1/2'' VHB, glazed with silicone, and two of them were still doing a fine job of keeping out the elements.
The starboard side portlights fell out as soon as the screws were released, and were positively churning in silicone. Huge blocks of the stuff, in fact. Took me two full days to dig all that crap out.
The port side only needed some coaxing with Marine Debond and a wedge.
The new portlights are Lexan, secured with a 1'' 5952 VHB, and glazed with Dow Corning 795.
If you are thinking of doing this job yourself, I would recommend avoiding screw fastening, as the linear coefficients between the portlights and hull mean that you will be dealing with cracked portlights before very long. I would also recommend Dow 795, as it stays open long enough to correct any mistakes, leaving you with a professional appearance.
However, the starboard side was horrific. Two of the portlights were 35-year-old originals, and as brittle as Graham Crackers, and the other was at least twenty years old. The starboard side portlights were all retained by screws, and glazed with silicone. All of them were cracked around the fasteners, and all of them leaked like mad.
The port side, however, were secured with a 1/2'' VHB, glazed with silicone, and two of them were still doing a fine job of keeping out the elements.
The starboard side portlights fell out as soon as the screws were released, and were positively churning in silicone. Huge blocks of the stuff, in fact. Took me two full days to dig all that crap out.
The port side only needed some coaxing with Marine Debond and a wedge.
The new portlights are Lexan, secured with a 1'' 5952 VHB, and glazed with Dow Corning 795.
If you are thinking of doing this job yourself, I would recommend avoiding screw fastening, as the linear coefficients between the portlights and hull mean that you will be dealing with cracked portlights before very long. I would also recommend Dow 795, as it stays open long enough to correct any mistakes, leaving you with a professional appearance.
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