need to replace portlights on 1981 H30
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Not out of business.
Jeff: They are not out of business. They were purchased by Bomar (Pompanette) who also owns Hood. You can either buy them from them, BoatUS, WM or most any other marine supply store. The other option is to buy the Beckson units that are available on this website (if they have comparable sizes). Many a sailor complain about these Gray units, but considering they have lasted for well over 20 years on most of these boats, I would have to say that they are not too bad.
Jeff: They are not out of business. They were purchased by Bomar (Pompanette) who also owns Hood. You can either buy them from them, BoatUS, WM or most any other marine supply store. The other option is to buy the Beckson units that are available on this website (if they have comparable sizes). Many a sailor complain about these Gray units, but considering they have lasted for well over 20 years on most of these boats, I would have to say that they are not too bad.
Just ordered mine from Sailnet
I have a 79 H30 and we ordered all new portlights from Sailnet. They had the best prices. Does the 81 model have a portlight in the quarterbirth? We found that the portlight that we ordered would be waaaay to thick, ie stick out too far into the cockpit because there isn't any core to the structure like there is in the cabin trunk. So, we decided that we would make a fixed portlight there rather than try to trim down the frame of the portlight we purchased. My guess is that's what Hunter might have done to get the Gray portlight to fit.
I have a 79 H30 and we ordered all new portlights from Sailnet. They had the best prices. Does the 81 model have a portlight in the quarterbirth? We found that the portlight that we ordered would be waaaay to thick, ie stick out too far into the cockpit because there isn't any core to the structure like there is in the cabin trunk. So, we decided that we would make a fixed portlight there rather than try to trim down the frame of the portlight we purchased. My guess is that's what Hunter might have done to get the Gray portlight to fit.
What you will need when you start the job
You can purchase replacement ports from any of the marine catalogs. I ordered mine from Boat US. The only question asked was the width and height of the existing ports. Shop for price. To remove the ports, undo the outside trim ring and remove all fastners. Cut from the outside in with a utility knife. Push the original port from the outside to the cabin after the seal has been cut. You will also need to purchase a West system to fill in the rot when you pull out the ports for replacement. Doing the job two years ago, I went through almost a gallon of resin. You will find delamination. You will have to let this sit until the inside drys out. Most of the rot is straight down underneath the port and can be dug out with a long screwdiver with the tip bent like an allen wrench. You will need some blue tape, both to seal plastic on the outside to allow the exposed port to dry, and to tape both sides for the installation. I suggest getting a roto-zip type tool because your new ports drain holes will not match to old ones, and you will have to fill the old and cut new ones. I suggest all new stainless fastners because the heads on some of the old ones will be stripped coming out. All in all, it is not a difficult job but one than can run into serveral week-ends as you go through the process. Heck of a way to get new screens in your ports. Good Luck Ian s/v Meant to Be
You can purchase replacement ports from any of the marine catalogs. I ordered mine from Boat US. The only question asked was the width and height of the existing ports. Shop for price. To remove the ports, undo the outside trim ring and remove all fastners. Cut from the outside in with a utility knife. Push the original port from the outside to the cabin after the seal has been cut. You will also need to purchase a West system to fill in the rot when you pull out the ports for replacement. Doing the job two years ago, I went through almost a gallon of resin. You will find delamination. You will have to let this sit until the inside drys out. Most of the rot is straight down underneath the port and can be dug out with a long screwdiver with the tip bent like an allen wrench. You will need some blue tape, both to seal plastic on the outside to allow the exposed port to dry, and to tape both sides for the installation. I suggest getting a roto-zip type tool because your new ports drain holes will not match to old ones, and you will have to fill the old and cut new ones. I suggest all new stainless fastners because the heads on some of the old ones will be stripped coming out. All in all, it is not a difficult job but one than can run into serveral week-ends as you go through the process. Heck of a way to get new screens in your ports. Good Luck Ian s/v Meant to Be
We got lucky
There was absolutely no rot or evidence of water intrusion when we removed the old Gray Portlights. We decided to stick with the Bomar/Gray ports so that we wouldn't have to make any adjustments to the existing openings. We didn't find any delamination but did find that the plywood had a lot of voids so we filled some of them with thickened epoxy. We also filled all the screw holes with thickened epoxy. We've test fitted all portlights and they all fit perfectly, we didn't have to drill any new holes for the drains as everythink lined up. The H30 has 4 5X12 ports, 2 7x15, and 2 8x18. costs from Sailnet for the 5x12 is 78.95 ea 7x15 was 94.50 and 8x18 was 96.75.
There was absolutely no rot or evidence of water intrusion when we removed the old Gray Portlights. We decided to stick with the Bomar/Gray ports so that we wouldn't have to make any adjustments to the existing openings. We didn't find any delamination but did find that the plywood had a lot of voids so we filled some of them with thickened epoxy. We also filled all the screw holes with thickened epoxy. We've test fitted all portlights and they all fit perfectly, we didn't have to drill any new holes for the drains as everythink lined up. The H30 has 4 5X12 ports, 2 7x15, and 2 8x18. costs from Sailnet for the 5x12 is 78.95 ea 7x15 was 94.50 and 8x18 was 96.75.
Been there, done that, didn't like the results
I bought my boat (1983 H30) in May of '03, and one of the first things I did was replace all of the portlights. I got "Original Equipment" replacements lenses from Pompanette, and the quality was awful. The cut-offs for the springs around the hinges on the larger ports looked like they were done by hand and each portlight was a little different from the rest. By Spring of this year the two largest portlights had already developed cracks and two of the dogging lugs had broken off completely. (And no, it wasn't from over-torqueing the dogs - I took proper care of them.) I replaced the four largest ports with bronze ports from New Found Metals. It was expensive, but compared to the cost of the shoddy replacements I got last year it was a bargain. It was a lot of work and a nasty job, but they look great and work better. I plan to replace the smaller ones with bronze ports as well eventually. Plus the folks at New Found Metals were great to work with. Email me if you want more information. Steve Young
I bought my boat (1983 H30) in May of '03, and one of the first things I did was replace all of the portlights. I got "Original Equipment" replacements lenses from Pompanette, and the quality was awful. The cut-offs for the springs around the hinges on the larger ports looked like they were done by hand and each portlight was a little different from the rest. By Spring of this year the two largest portlights had already developed cracks and two of the dogging lugs had broken off completely. (And no, it wasn't from over-torqueing the dogs - I took proper care of them.) I replaced the four largest ports with bronze ports from New Found Metals. It was expensive, but compared to the cost of the shoddy replacements I got last year it was a bargain. It was a lot of work and a nasty job, but they look great and work better. I plan to replace the smaller ones with bronze ports as well eventually. Plus the folks at New Found Metals were great to work with. Email me if you want more information. Steve Young
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