Replacing acrylic portlights and hatch lens

[Panta Rei]

Well spring is a long way off, Lake Superior is nearly frozen solid and my boat is covered with many feet of snow.

For me, spring projects are starting.

First on the list is fixing up my companion way boards and refinishing. Quick job, the glue is drying now.

Next is Window and lens replacement for my portlights and hatches.

I removed everything last fall before I covered the boat. I just now measured them and am sending off for quotes. Does anyone have a suggestion for an acrylic supplier that will cut and trim them to exact size? I have a router but I think most shops can do it inexpensively.
I will do the labor intensive part of installing them.

I'll need 48" x 32" of 12mm acrylic for the hatches and a 48" X 48" 6mm sheet for the portlights.

I have super hatches for Lewmar. Any suggestions , tips or warnings would be appreciated. I'll keep this thread posted on the progress.

 

[Scotty C-M]

TAP Plastics has done that job for my brother. He was very satisfied. Also, If you follow the tab at the stop of this page to the store, then sales, then ... (I forget)... then to lewmar ports you I think they have some for sale there. Good luck on your project.

 

[Panta Rei]

TAP Plastics has done that job for my brother. He was very satisfied. Also, If you follow the tab at the stop of this page to the store, then sales, then ... (I forget)... then to lewmar ports you I think they have some for sale there. Good luck on your project.

Thanks Scotty,
I sent my specs to Tap. And thanks for reminding us all to look to this site for items we need. The prices are as good as any and owners (like me)off out of production boats need this site.

 

[jibes138]

Panta,
I haven't used these guys but they were recommended a while back.
http://www.selectplastics.com/

 

[Panta Rei]

Yes, I missed the obveous

Panta,
I haven't used these guys but they were recommended a while back.
http://www.selectplastics.com/

Thanks Jibes,
These guys have the whole package , leak sealing kits , replacement parts. I'll likely go with them even if they are a few $$ more.

 

[Panta Rei]

Hatch and portlight material sources

It was nice to hear from the many folks that watch these forums. I was a bit worried many had moved on . Not the case.
I received a lot of good information . I'll try to get it together here.
As Jibes said, this is a great place to start. http://www.selectplastics.com/
Tony has a wealth of knowledge. He suggested I purchase the material elsewhere but wanted me to consider replacing the gasket seal. I asked Tony how difficult it was to replace. He said that I would hate him on the first one and slowly get over it on the next two. Anyone have experience with replacing the gasket on the super hatch or similar?

Here's my take on the sourcing and cutting acrylic.

Shipping must be taken into consideration. Anything over 24" x 48" will cost you much more to have them ship it than to cut it to size.

Interstate Plastics has Polycarbonate for hatch lens replacement at a price just slightly higher than acrylic. $582.40 to cut out the 3, 1/2 thick hatch lenses (exactly to size) and then supply 1/4" acrylic for the port lights that I would need to cut myself.

Tap plastics gave me a ballpark of $800 cutting everything out.They have the experience but I did not bother going back and sharpening the pencil. I think their price would be competitive but I had already received replies with lower prices.

I never received a response from US plastics even though I purchase material from them for our business. (not any longer)

I ended up with E-plastics. They will cut the hatch material out (exact to size) with left over for a companion way board and supply 3 - 24" x 48" pieces for my portlights all for $442. Shipping will be another $80 I will have to cut out the portlights myself.

I believe each of these West Coast companies price their product competitively. The cost difference is them having the material socket at the correct size and the equipment to cut the hatches out.

The E-plastics price will likely be adjusted as I placed this order online and likely missed a few upcharges.

 

[Panta Rei]

E-plastics got back to me and quoted $30 to cut the three hatch lenses. At that price I wondered what the 6 portlights would cost. They replied with $150 Ouch! The portlights needed a nice edge. I decided on a milled edge as a flame treated edge (less costly) induced stresses in the material and was not recommended. Other treatments would have been more. (sand and polish , bevel etc. I went ahead with them cutting everything. I'm getting lazy and justified it thinking it would be money well spent if I botched the cutting and had to reorder more material. I'm getting a bit of buyers remorse about going with polycarbonate Interstate Plastics could supply. The more I read the more I like the material. Maybe next time. Project and updates continue when I see the material. WOW I just recieved an email saying my order shipped? I confirmed the order just last night.

 

[colinhulse]

I don't think Superior is going to thaw! It's April next week and we are still way below freezing.

 

[hewebb]

I went to the local plastic supply house and bought a piece of Lexan. That was a mistake-should have used acrylic. I cut with a saber saw, (Metal cutting blade) filed and sanded the edges, and used automotive windshield adhesive to install. It has been in for two years now, so far no issues, except it is not dark enough and lets to much light in at night. Full moon woke me up.

 

[Panta Rei]

I don't think Superior is going to thaw! It's April next week and we are still way below freezing.

another 9" of snow this week. I agree. Looking to splash in June if we are lucky.

In the mean time, I received the acrylic sheet cut to size. $522.00 for three 1/2 thick hatches and six 1/4" thick port lights. I should have had them drill the holes but I did not have any way to measure the hole diameter when I ordered. I will do the small ones myself and have the local machine shop drill the larger holes.

I painted the blackout areas testing two paints. Krylon Fusion and Rust-oleum 2X ultra cover. The butyl tape and the dow 795 will be adhering to the paint so adhesion is very important.
Both paints have great adhesion to Acrylic. Stronger than the adhesion of the the buyl and silicone to the gelcoat.
Krylon is much easier to apply but will take two or three coats to achieve opacity. The rustoleum product is high solids paint (more actual pait on the part and less solvent into the air) so it covers very quickly in one coat and has a beautiful high gloss and high DOI (see yourself in the finish)
I used the Rustoleum because it has a very clean (no residue) feel and takes several days if not weeks to achieve full cure. (staying a bit sticky)
The Kyrlon product is a very fast dry nearly lacquer like.
Both have solvents that will soften and bite into the acrylic sheet.
Either one would work fine.
I cleaned the hatch frames removing all silicone and butyl from the anodized aluminum. The silicone has great coheasion so it comes off all together. The butyl rubber tape is a mess. I read posts about sanding this off. (Don't do it) house hold green 3m scotch bright and MEK will clean it up in a few minutes and will not damage the anodizing. I will use a a zinc chromate primer since someone else has done this job before and there are signs they sanded through the anodizing. You are much better off with the anodizing if you do not sand through the finish.

 

[Panta Rei]

I went to the local plastic supply house and bought a piece of Lexan. That was a mistake-should have used acrylic. I cut with a saber saw, (Metal cutting blade) filed and sanded the edges, and used automotive windshield adhesive to install. It has been in for two years now, so far no issues, except it is not dark enough and lets to much light in at night. Full moon woke me up.

I'm still thinking I should have gone with Lexan.Let's see which one fails first.

 

[jibes138]

See if you can get some alodine to touch up where you broke through the anodize. It is easy to use. Not as good as anodize but the next best thing.

 

[jibes138]

http://www.chemical-supermarket.com/product.php?productid=364

Best 12.95 you'll ever spend.

 

[Panta Rei]

Great Source!!!

http://www.chemical-supermarket.com/product.php?productid=364

Best 12.95 you'll ever spend.

Thanks Jibes. Better primer than the Zinc chromate. This might just inspire me to refinish my stanchion bases.

 

[Panta Rei]

I don't think Superior is going to thaw! It's April next week and we are still way below freezing.

Snow depth in the area is reported at the 30" to 40" range. I'm planning on a nice labor day weekend.

 

[Panta Rei]

Replacing hatch lenses turned out to be one of the easier projects on Panta Rhei. That's not to say I may quickly be humbled the first time it rains. The design of the Superhatch is very elegant, I can't see how it can leak.
One of the larger "#60" hatches had a broken bond where the extrusion wrapped all the way around and joined itself to make the square frame. I was surprised that it was not welded but looking at the design, the frame does nothing to stiffen the hatch lid. It is there only to seal the hatch lid to the frame mounted on the deck.
I'll wait until it warms up to mount the portlights.
I would highly recommend this project to anyone that can caulk a bathtub. It's that easy. I spent $600 on the material for three hatches and 6 large portlights. I would guess the hatch portion cost was $200. Have the plastic supplier do all the cutting a drilling unless you have table saw, router, and a drill press.
The hatch lids must stay warm for the full 20 day cure. I'm hoping the snow may melt by then.

 

[rajhnsn]

Is acrylic recommended for hatches over lexan? Is acrylic strong enough to walk on? Would it be able to be used for a 20" x 20" Bomar forward hatch?

 

[Panta Rei]

Is acrylic recommended for hatches over lexan? Is acrylic strong enough to walk on? Would it be able to be used for a 20" x 20" Bomar forward hatch?

You can get lost in the arguments over Polycarbonate vs acrylic. My summation goes something like this. Polycarbonate would likely be my choice if I was building a boat to compete with the elites of ocean racing. Polycarbonate is lighter and can be thinner than acrylic and still withstand impacts. You must replace it often or have a cover to protect them from UV.
Acrylic is more UV resistant and more scratch resistant. My 20" X 20" Super hatches came with acrylic 1/2" thick. You can walk and drop large things on them. I tossed a concrete block on the old lense I had replaced. Left a gouge but nothing else.
As stated back a few posts. Interstate Plastics up near Seattle has Polycarbonate and can cut it to size at about the same price a acrylic.
I suggest you take a one of the closures off your hatch so you can measure the thickness. The materials come in both english a metric thicknesses. My recommendation for your 20" X 20" hatches is to use Acrylic if it is 1/2 " or thicker, Polycarbonate if it is less than 1/2"

I think you would be pleased with either material. I sure think the results were worth effort. Good luck.

Check local sign shops. They should have acrylic and can cut it for you. Shipping costs can be significant.

 

[rajhnsn]

Thanks Panta Rei. It looks like the lens that I am replacing is 3/8" thick. I'm not sure if it is acrylic or polycarbonate. I checked with Select Plastics. They want $415 to refurbish the hatch. I think I'll go with acrylic. I found a place in Philly that should be able to supply the materials. http://www.shoreplastic.com/contact.php I think I can probably do it myself a lot cheaper.

 

[Panta Rei]

YES you can do it many times cheaper because cleaning up the frame and removing all the old sealant is a slow tedious task. What they ask is a fair price. Your sweat pays off big on this job.
I did two 20" hatches and a smaller 12"X6" hatch with less than one tube of Dow 795. I purchased the butyl tape from some place in western canada and a fraction of the cost marine suppliers (about $20 for 3 hatches). I can't find the name but it's a door and window supply house. Others likely price it the same.