Port light Drains??

[Parfait's Provider]

Has anyone modified their Spartan port lights to allow them to drain dry when the boat is level? I thought Parfait had a slight list to stbd. until I looked at the puddles on that side too. The worst one seems to be over the head counter.

I am thinking that a milling machine would make quick work of cutting a nicely beveled and chamfered slot or two. Anyone have a portable milling machine? Ha!

Maybe a jig and a Dremel tool??

[Russell]

My spartan ports have little gutters on them to drain, they seem to work well, I never have a puddling problem, except a little around the gasket just after a rain. Are the gutters something spartan added later? Do your ports not have these?

[Parfait's Provider]

Russel,

I don't think they do. I tried to look at the Spartan site to see if they looked familiar, but the site is down. Can you post a photo? I might just take my 4" rotary saw with a metal cutting disk to the boat the next trip.

Thanks,

[Parfait's Provider]

OK, the Spartan site is up, but the photos don't show the "Full spigot drainage." Still need photos if anyone has them. Why in the world is the length of the spigot important?

http://spartanmarine.com/source/07.htm

[Periwinkle]

http://www.capedory.org/chandler/port_shields.html

[Parfait's Provider]

Periwinkle,

Thanks for that! Looks like my machining wouldn't be quite as elegant. Maybe I'll price new outer rims from Spartan. Maybe Parfait needs those shields; they would probably eliminate a good deal of the problem.

[Leonard Lookner]

Spartan changed the mold somewhere in the early eighties to allow the ports to drain. I have had two Cape Dories and both had the old style ports that don't drain and leave water pooled against the glass.
Interesting neither of these boats have suffered any deterioration of the veneer in the interior and yet I have seen many a C.D. with the newer ports and serious deterioration of the interior veneer.
We have got in th habit of loosening our portholes and hatches in the winter when the boat is covered thinking that it will help return the memory of the weather stripping

[Parfait's Provider]

Somehow I think the lifting of the veneer is not related to the presence of spigots. A lousy seal? Sure!

Since Parfait isn't "put up" for the Winter, we don't have the chance to relax the seals except when aboard. A minor inconvenience compared with serious winter storage.

[John Danicic]

Ken:

Here is a photo of a new, un-installed Spartan Portlight showing the outside rim with their version of a drain. If you grind out a channel for the water to drain you only have 1/16 inch thick bit of metal to work with. Not much of a drop to grind and then into the coach-house core you go.


Mariah has these "new" drains and we still get small puddles standing in the middle of the rims so I think that the portlight rim is essentially flat and the drains were a band-aid that helps eliminate most but not all of the water. Hope this photo helps you visualize. My advice? Get a sponge and clean them off before you open them after a rain or sail or how about a bead of silicon across the bottom outside of the screen?

Sail on.

John Danicic
CD 36 - Mariah - #124
Lake Superior

[John Vigor]

The only surefire way to avoid a surprise shower when you open the portlight after rain, or flying spray at sea, is to use the VAS (Vigor's Automatic Siphon) method.

Simply glue a wick of suitable material at right angles to the portlight at the deepest point of puddling. Allow the end of the wick to dangle down a couple of inches. Any water gathered there will automatically siphon away.

The reason the VAS method hasn't taken over the marine industry's portlight-drainage section is the way it looks, of course. Little flappy bits dangling from the portlight surrounds. But that could be improved by putting the wick inside a plastic or copper tube. Somebody should be working on this.

And, in any case, if you're more concerned with looks than practicality, if you're one of those who polishes his bronze instead of letting it get nice and green and salty, if you're one of those who varnishes his gunwales instead of letting them get nice and silvery gray, then you surely deserve to get a shower in your face every time you open the porthole.

Siphon and be damned, I say.

Cheers,

John Vigor

[mike ritenour]

thanks John...........

We just have one of those super absorbent towels handy when we open the ports, its a pain but I'm not chasing wicks down the scuppers anymore either.

The real problem is when it rains and you can't vent the boat, that's when the boom tent comes out and i tie the ends to the life lines to keep the rain mostly out of the ports.

rit

[Parfait's Provider]

John,

You must have posted that idea before. I actually considered it before your current posting and decided it would look tacky. On the other hand, our portlights aren't polished, our teak is shedding and turning grey, the birds are taking their toll, the dock lines need to be washed, and the wicks are self-tending whereas the super absorbent towels aren't. I might just try that on the critical portlights.

Thanks!

[Len]

Does relaxing the port gaskets really work? Do you think it will expand gaskets abused by years of winter closings? I never thought of leaving my ports open all winter, although I leave the hatches open and a screen in the companionway.