I'm mid stream in replacing this window trim and rebedding my glass. It was time to wood the cabin sides after 10 years. The varnish was failing and a couple of the large ports were weeping.
With a heat gun, I tried removing the trim I was able to pull and replace 10 years ago. But with the idea to replace it this time, I gave up trying to save it. Truth is, the Life Caulk I used to bed the ports 10 years ago was still well stuck. The last time, it may have been Dolphinite or another less adhesive bedding compound. Or perhaps, it was just so badly shot.
With heat it loosens, eventually, but it occurred to me that using Life Caulk again means the trim will be destroyed next time it's pulled. So I've done quite a bit of research on bedding compounds and experience with this sort of port set up.
Another concern, the trim board that covers the joint between the cabin and deck was not sealing very well. I'm afraid back then I didn't use enough Life Caulk to fully fill the joint. I know now, you need a good squeeze out all the way around for the compound to work.
At this point, I've begun cutting the port trim. I'll post photos of some details soon. Jon (Southport) has given me some good info. He did a nice job on his ports. Here's some things I've found along the way,...
Woodenboat Forum has been the most helpful with bedding compounds. Several opinions but many similarities. Everybody has their favorite compounds but it's universal that application is the most important part. Sealing all surfaces prior to applying the compound is another unanimous must from those with experience I've talked to. The ability of raw wood to pull oils out of the compound and dry the material will shorten the life.
Rockport Marine in town has given me the same info. Our big ports are the most problematic. Different rates of expansion and contraction work the seal. All in all, I'll likely go with LifeCaulk again. Life Seal is tempting as it has some silicon. Silicon may be more flexible with our large ports. Rockport Marine used Life Caulk on the beautifully done ports above and said to be careful taping off for silicon so as not to make varnishing a problem. There's several ways to do anything right,....They also used small brads to hold them in. I'm beginning to think I'll do the same.
At this point, the cabin is wooded and one diluted sealer coat of varnish has been applied. I'll put on a couple more, being careful to seal the rabbit well that will hold the glass.
The glass; I took my old glass to a local real glass store I've gotten to know quite well. After some time, Nelson spotted the tiny dimples on one end of each port. These were formed by the tongs used to pull the plate glass out of the ovens when it was heat tempered. I think it's all original. I was thinking of replacing it as it has some light scratches around the edges from sandpaper over the years. Here's the deal, new laminated glass for all the openings would run about 300.00. It's nice and I was tempted, the price not being too bad. But laminated glass isn't any stronger than plate glass, in fact, because it's two pieces, it's not as strong as a single sheet. It's used a lot in boats around here. If it is broken, it holds together and will keep some water out if it's not punched out.
Tempered glass is 4 to 5 times stronger than regular plate research turned up. I was convinced when Nelson took a hammer to a piece of tempered and had to wail the hell out of it on the edge before it broke. It also broke into pebble like pieces. Tempered glass would run at least twice the cost of laminated. I decided the minor scratches don't look that bad.
And that brings me to the danger of the big ports. Knowing more about the strength of tempered glass, I'm more confident in the ports. But even with tempered glass, they could be stove in. My boat like many was fitted with brass threaded inserts for storm shutters for this very problem.
In wooding the cabin, some were looking a little rough. I've never used them with our coastal sailing. When I found a loose one, I was surprised to see it was only 1/2" deeply set into the cabin. Still, the little buggers were quite strong as I needed an easy out and a lot of pounding to get them free. I decided, for now, I'll drill those 3/8" ragged holes to 1/2" and plug them with wood plugs and varnish. If in the future if I think I need the shutters, I'll install the next size up threaded insert.
I built two jigs for the window openings. On my boat, the two big D windows are not symmetrical fore and aft. A couple pieces of dry pine battened together and clamped through holes to the cabin face, I traced the outer bedding surface of the rabbet. With this in my shop (warm, no ladders to climb) I used the jig to trace the outer line of the corner trims. Once I cut one of those out, I used a pencil in a compass to draw the inner cut line, 3/8" wide, and another line 1/4". After cutting the outer line, with a sanding drum in the drill press, and the table set to 10 degrees, I sanded to the inner 1/4" line which gave me 3/8" at the bottom. Essentially, I reproduced the same bevel I cut into the straight pieces which are 3/4" wide, 3/8" deep on the inside, beveled down to 1/4" on the outside. That's about what I found on my old port trims.
After fitting the corners, I eased a bead onto the edge mostly with coarse sand paper. On the straights, I used a block plane and sand paper to get roughly the same profile. I didn't take too much off thinking it will be easy to fair them into each other and put the final shape on with a little sanding after the bedding compound dries.
This first one took about 2 hours. The small radius corners are easy so I expect the small ports to go quickly.
Quickly is a relative term. Today, my boat makes me feel like a museum currator who spent the day boxing. My hands hurt! But there it is, like a jigsaw puzzle, the parts of my ports.