[C320-list] Hatches and Portlights and Deadlights...oh my...

[Troy Dunn]

The threads on the original poster's question about deadlights (the fixed,
non-opening 'windows' in the galley, head, salon, etc.) vs. non opening
portlights vs. opening portlights (typically Lewmar) vs. hatches (typically
Bomar on older hulls and Lewmar on newer) was getting difficult to follow
and lots of the information in there could be misleading depending on which
item you are trying to fix and what year your boat is.

For all of these items, please be aware that the preferred material of boat
builders is cast acrylic, not polycarbonate (aka Lexan) and not extruded
acrylic.   Polycarbonate while intially stronger is an inferior material
for applications in sunlight due to UV degradation.   Cast acrylic is the
best product and it machines readily and quite nicely.

  I am currently in the process of replacing my forward trapezoidal hatch
with a new cast acrylic lens.   I bought the material from  estreet
plastics and will use the old lens as a template for the new one.  I will
post up some pictures on the process when I'm done.   I already replaced
the salon and head lenses using lenses bought from Catalina direct.    The
Catalina direct price is steep for what you are getting, so I figured I
would attempt to build one myself and see how this goes.   For price
comparison know that you could obtain enough acrylic for all three hatches
for about $100 out the door inclusive of shipping.  This of course assumes
you have a router table or CNC machine available for your use.

On the topic of dead light replacement, I have seen videos and diagrams of
a frame that holds weight and pushes against the deadlight with legs braces
against the bulwark (aka toe rail).   This is the old school approach that
uses normal marine sealants.   I would be curious to hear if anyone has
gone the VHB double sided tape route.   That could potentially eliminate
all the fussing with weights etc.   alternatively if one didn’t trust the
UHB, you could run a thin inside gasket of UHB tape for holding power and a
plain sealant on the outer edge.   I know how crazy it sounds to 'just tape
your windows in place'.  But honestly I have used Sailrite's 3M SNADs which
also use VHB tape and the holding power is pretty amazing.

For normal portlights there are already tons of good articles here already
so I won’t dive back into that pond.

Troy Dunn
Hull #514