Any idea if this project is worth doing now (the boat is in CT) and for those who are familiar with weather and temps on the Long Island Sound), or should I just cover it and come back to it in the spring with milder temps?
The one thing that always bugs me with these fixed glass projects is the great depth to which the 795 must cure. If you look at the width of the FG landing on which the glass rests, the cure must proceed from both the outside and the inside, so the effective depth of the 795 is 1/2 of the landing. The job I'm looking at has landings of about 2". No idea HOW LONG this take to cure, but I don't think it's just a few days.
So, I imagine you get pretty cold out Long Island way ................... will the 795 even cure at those low temperatures and stay fluid all winter long, or do you wait for spring when the warmer weather will speed up the curing action. I try to do all my inside work in the winter and outside work in the spring if that helps. Either way, I think the small screws should remain in for at least a few weeks. Check for thermal expansion of FG vs. acrylic and oversized holes in acrylic in the archives. You'll know it when you see it.
The funniest description I've ever seen for installing fixed ports/hatches was put out by Catalina some time ago. Look at paragraph g.
I got this from another site (the name of which escapes me) and it was followed by some poor guy cursing and swearing about loading his portlight with everything described in the instructions and then some. The acrylic kept sliding around. After he thought he had it set and left it for a few days, he removed the restraints and the glass opened up after a week or so. I'll stick with the temporary screws.
When I finally get fed up with the tiny, re-appearing leak in the big front fixed hatchlight (going on five years now), I intend to install a new one in the spring and leave the small screws in for most of the summer before removing.