Hi Dave, thank you for the Hatchmasters tip. They will save me some dough if I purchase their product rather than Lewmar direct. I still may try to make my own.Some ports are tempered glass, most are acrylic (Plexiglass).
Checkout Hatchmasters.com they will cut the plexiglass. Also look at the blog where they talk about the differences between lean (polycarbonate), Plexiglass (acrylic), and glass. Our Lewmar hatches are going there this week to have the lenses replaced.
A local glass or plastics shop can make the lens. The gasket is a different story, they are most likely proprietary.Scott are you saying your ports are curved, like in not flat straight? That sounds like yours are wrap around more or less.
Interesting thought about using a local glass installer and not a marine type shop. Makes sense. Problem would be the gasket replacement. I have Vetus ports and the gasket come from Europe. Very expensive. I have looked to see if I can make my own but I really do not have the actual design of the gasket.
Thanks for the link, Dave. That was good reading.
A number of manufacturers, Catalina, Tanzer, Sabre to name a few, used aluminum frames for the fixed portlights. The gaskets the lens fits into is a standard item available from CR Laurence and I believe from Catalina Direct. Look for vinyl glazing. After installation, Sabre trimmed the outer flange and sealed with silicon caulk.Well, I was waiting for you to give us a report. LOL I would think a good RV store might have a selection of gaskets for their windows. Not sure. I would really like to replace the lenses in my ports though. They are old, faded, and crazed.
The curvature is barely perceptible. The 4 fixed lights on the sides of the coach each are at least 20" long and the curvature (or deflection) is only about 1/8" (about 3 mm). When I sent measurements to Bomon, the tolerance for curvature was just 1 mm I think. They said they had to use either acrylic or lexan, but they could not use tempered glass, which was their standard product. I'm guessing that is the reason why most production sailboats do not use tempered glass - because the boat sidewalls typically have some curvature where the frame needs to conform. Smaller portlights with shorter length could probably be installed without the need to flex for the curvature and tempered glass may be preferable in that case. As Dave says, there are trade-offs no matter what the choice of material. I think polycarbonate has the greatest impact resistance but least quality for visibility. Acrylic may be the best (most suitable for boating) compromise of the 3 materials.Scott are you saying your ports are curved, like in not flat straight? That sounds like yours are wrap around more or less.
Minimum 1/4" (or 6 mm). Probably 8 mm in most cases.OK, so then thickness of the lenes? Any guesses?
Huh, what, where ? Did I miss something.Well, I was waiting for you to give us a report. LOL