Problem with the Schooner Bay port light screens for Sparten

[jen1722terry]

Hey sailors,

Just a heads up for anyone thinking of ordering the highly-touted copper screens made by John D. at Schooner Bay.

We got a set of 8 screens yesterday and, after meticulously following the directions for fitting them in the port lights, none of them would fit. They all seemed a bit too large, even after lubricatingc the gaskets as instructed.

Staking the screen upright on a table revealed that they were not all a uniform size, some longer than others.

We emailed John and he's trying to figure out what went wrong. Maybe a change in production method or country? Who knows, but you may wish to hold off on your orders until we get the problem solved.

We're quite disappointed, as our old screens are, well, old and not entirely bug-proof. And John's screen have been recommended by several other CDers.

Does anyone know of an alternative?

Jenn and Terry

[John Stone]

Interesting. John made six for me last Nov and they fit perfect in the Spartan portlights on my CD36 Far Reach. Hope you get it sorted out.

[jen1722terry]

Screen update:

The problem seems to be in the port light gaskets. They just would't allow the old screens to seat against the 6 bronze tabs in the port light frame. So we sand down the gaskets, applied lots of vaseline and managed to get all screens somewhat in the frame, though only two are seated firmly against the tabs. We'll see if they stay put, but they may not. There are quite a few gaps around the edges but at least they are better than the old plastic originals.

It's unfortunate we have to replace the gaskets, for they are otherwise not leaking and look fine. We're just disappointed that we didn't know this would be necessary in advance. Stuff happens.

Jenn and Terry

[CD_Sailor]

... The problem seems to be in the port light gaskets. They just would't allow the old screens to seat against the 6 bronze tabs in the port light frame ...

I fitted John's excellent screens quite some time ago, and I seem to recall that he included a set of directions on how to best do this. However I also seem to recall that considerable "adjustment" with a rubber mallet were part of the operation. I cannot imagine that the actual ports on your boat differ significantly from those on other Cape Dory boats, so I'd say "just keep bangin'."