[Rhodes22-list] Lou's portlights
Lou Rosenberg
lsr3 at MAIL.nyu.edu
Wed Dec 1 10:58:24 EST 2004
Roger,
That's almost exactly what I did. I noticed immediately that someone
had applied extra
sealant and when the old frame came off, so did the gelcoat. I
sanded, cleaned ( acetone) and applied WEST resin w the 406 filler
and let it set , but I believe I mixed another batch and filled the
space btw the cabin and the exterior with foam and epoxy then let
everything set for a week.
Came back, sanded and dryfit , drilled the holes for the fasteners
and buttered up the frames with the DOW CORNING black sealant that
Beckson sold me. I have not seen that sealant anywhere in stores
btw. I dont have its model # but its not as fast drying as others and
seems more robust. Silcone based.
Thanks for the advice once again.
Lou
>Lou,
>
>How did the gelcoat get damaged in the corner of the opening for the port?
>The damage looks superficial & it only extends to the edge of the port.
>
>I would repair it by sanding the area with 100 grit sandpaper, cleaning up
>the area with acetone, & then painting on a thin layer of WEST system 105
>Epoxy resin with West System 205 Fast Hardener. This epoxy coat is just a
>"tie layer". After the epoxy is "green" (set but not fully cured) (10-20
>minutes depending upon temperature), mix up a batch of 105 Epoxy resin, 205
>Fast Hardener, and 406 Colloidal Silica Filler. Mix the resin and hardener
>1st & then add filler until the mixture is "stiff". Trowel this putty into
>your damaged area such that it's level or slightly proud relative to the
>surrounding gel coat. Let it cure for a couple of hours, sand down any
>proud areas smooth & level, clean it up with acetone, & you're ready to put
>the port in. It looks like the trim ring on the port will cover your repair
>& any slight amount that does protrude will be on the bottom of the port &
>not very visible. So, you probably won't have to worry about color matching
>the gel coat.
>
>Note: Don't let the epoxy tie layer become fully cured by letting it set for
>more than about 45 minutes before adding the thickened epoxy. You want the
>epoxy to be green, not fully cured. When the epoxy is still curing, there
>are still reactive molecules on the surface. When you add the thickened
>epoxy on top of this green surface, the fresh epoxy will actually crosslink
>with the reactive molecules in the tie layer and bond at the molecular
>level. Since the tie layer was unthickened epoxy, it bonded with the
>substrate FRP in two ways. It developed an adhesive bond with the FRP
>substrate. In addition, when the unthickened epoxy was fresh, it soaked
>into any porosity in the FRP substrate and mechanically interlocked with the
>"tooth" (the scratches) left behind by the 100 grit sandpaper. The result
>is the thickened epoxy repair will be permanently bonded to the FRP
>substrate and much less likely to delaminate or crack over time.
>
>Roger Pihlaja
>S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Roger Pihlaja" <cen09402 at centurytel.net>
>To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 10:40 PM
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Lou's portlights
>
>
>> Lou,
>>
>> I took a look at the pictures of your ports. The pictures remind me of a
>> similar job I did on my Rhodes 22 back in 1988. I can't recall if I
>refered
>> you to an article from the FAQ web site regarding how to replace the
>opening
>> portlights. But, here it is:
>>
>> Roger Pihlaja
>> S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
>>
>>
>____________________________________________________________________________
>> ______________
>>
>> Opening Ports For The Rhodes
>22
>> A boat can never have too much ventilation. It's possible to upgrade two
>of
>> the fixed ports on the Rhodes 22 to opening type ports. Because of the
>shape
>> and curvature of the sides of the cabin, only the sternmost ports are
>> suitable for this upgrade. Without a set of custom made shims, opening
>ports
>> in the other four positions would have to tend so much to conform to the
> > curvature of the cabin walls that they would inevitably leak. After two
>hard
>> sailing seasons, the two opening ports I installed still don't leak a
>drop.
>> Opening side ports are not a ventilation cure-all. Obviously, they must be
>> secured when the boat is rail down, beating to weather. In addition, wind
>> driven rain or spray will blow in through an open port. However, at anchor
>> or at a dock, the extra ventilation above the port settee and galley makes
>a
>> significant difference in cabin comfort.
>>
>> With a boat as beautiful as the Rhodes 22, the appearance of the side
>ports
>> is very important. It turns out that a black Beckson 5" X 12" camlock port
>> is a very close match to the existing fixed ports in terms of color, size,
>> and shape. Figure 1 shows how the boat looks with the new port installed.
>>
>> Table 1 gives the parts required for this project:
>>
>> Table 1
>> # Required Part Number Description
>> 2 P0512DBS-10 5" X 1211 Camlock, Drain, 1" Spigot, Black Smoked
>> Glass, With Insect Screen
>> 1 Pack of 25 BB187-02/25 -24UNC X 1/21' Barrel Nuts, Phillips
>Head,
>> Nickel Plated Steel
>> 20 10-24UNC X 1-1/4" Round Head Machine Screws, 18/8 Stainless
>> Steel
>> 4 5-1/2" X 1" X 3/4" Pressure Treated Wood
>> 4 15" X 1" X 3/4" Pressure Treated Wood
>> 1 10.3 oz Tube Dow Corning RTV Silicone Caulk, White
>>
>>
>> Remove the old ports and clean away any old caulk from the inside and
>> outside of the cabin. Use the outer trim ring from one of the new ports as
>a
>> template to determine where the opening in the cabin wall will have to be
>> enlarged. Position the trim ring so that it is aligned with the other
>ports
>> and mark the outer cabin where material must be removed. You may find it
>> convenient to use masking tape to establish a line from the other fixed
>> ports. The safest way to enlarge the hole is with hand wood rasps, round
>and
>> flat. However, before you start, tape a garbage bag over the port inside
>the
>> cabin to catch the shavings. Take your time and insert the port in the
>hole
>> from time to time to check the fit.
>>
>> When the port fits properly, try to fit the pieces of wood around the hole
>> in between the outer cabin wall and liner. If your boat is like mine, you
>> will find blobs of resin on the backside of the outer wall and liner.
>These
>> must be removed before the pieces of wood will uniformly fill up the space
>> between the outer wall and liner. A Dremel mototool [tm] is handy here,
>> although the job can also be accomplished with your hand wood rasps. When
>> the pieces of wood will slide in and out with no tight spots, glue them in
>> place with silicone RTV and clamp the whole sandwich together with blocks
>of
>> wood and C-clamps.
>>
>> After-the silicone RTV cures use your round wood rasp to clear away the
>wood
>> in the spigot drain slots. Then, insert the port into the hole. Mark the
>> locations for the through bolts onto the cabin liner. Remove the port and
>> drill 1/4" diameter holes through the liner, wood, and outer cabin wall on
>> these marks. Enlarge the holes through the cabin liner to 5/1611 diameters
>> to permit the barrel nuts to fit. Assemble the port dry to check fit and
>> alignment. You are trying to achieve a solid sandwich of outer trim ring,
>> outer cabin wall, wood, inner liner, and port all held together by the
>thru
>> bolts. You may have to slightly enlarge the holes or trim the machine
>screw
>> lengths to get everything to fit properly. When you are satisfied, clean
>the
>> inner liner and outer cabin wall with isopropyl alcohol or acetone, apply
>> silicone RTV, and assemble the port for real.
>>
>> Even in the sternmost port position, there is still a slight amount of
>> curvature to the cabin walls. It is important not to torque the thru bolts
>> up to the point where you warp the frame of the port as this may cause the
>> port to leak. The best procedure is to lay a straight edge on the frame of
>> the port inside the cabin as you are tightening the thru bolts. Tighten
>the
>> thru bolts, a little at a time, in a criss-cross pattern. When the ends of
> > the port frame are touching the liner and the remainders of the thru bolts
>> are snug but not so tight as to cause the frame to warp, the port is fully
>> seated. At this point, the middle of the port frame will be not quite
>> touching the liner and the gap will be filled with RTV. If your straight
>> edge shows you have torqued the center thru bolts too much; then, slightly
>> back them off until the frame of the port is straight again. On the
>outside,
>> the much more flexible trim ring will have bent to uniformly conform
>itself
>> to the curvature on the side of the cabin. Wipe off the excess RTV, which
>> has squeezed around the inside and outside of the port and you're done!
>>
>> In October 1988 this project cost me about $150.00 and was accomplished
>over
>> a weekend.
>>
>> Beckson Marine sold me the ports and barrel nuts direct. Their address is:
>>
>> Beckson Marine Inc.
>> 165 Holland Ave.
>> PO Box 3336
>> Bridgeport, CT 0660
>> 203/333-1412
>>
>> I'd be happy to give advice to anyone who tries this project.
>>
>> Roger K. Pihlaja
>> 5326 Sanford Lake Road
>> Sanford, MI 48657-9327
>> 989/689-3757 (Home)
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <steadilsr at verizon.net>
>> To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>> Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 8:51 PM
>> Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Lou's portlights
>>
>>
>> >
>>
>>
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>> >
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>> > Url:
>>
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>> >
>>
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>> > Name: FInished #1 thru bolt 320 .jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 20164 bytes
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>> > Url:
>>
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>> >
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>> > __________________________________________________
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>>
>>
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>
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