I had the good fortune to buy new portholes at a bargain price. The fellow down the dock ordered extra portholes for his boat and had two left over. He sold them to me for the volume discount price that he received.
He's now on this year's Christmas card list.
After talking it over with him and a few other people, I undertook the task of installing them.
It's not as difficult as it would seem to be.
Prying out the old porthole took a bit of doing as they were caulked shut for ten years and the mounting screws had been in place for 40 years.
40 year-old porthole |
Removing the old sealant |
In my case, the new porthole matched almost perfectly with the old. The one adjustment to be made was where the drains fit. Again, out came the Dremel tool. Using a routing bit, I was able to clear out the needed space. Wear safety glasses, and don't breathe the dust. Wipe the whole thing with mineral spirits.
Adjusting for the new drains |
Using the porthole as the template, I drilled the holes using the appropriate (1/4") drill bit. Use a sharp bit and don't force it. Let the bit do the work. Clean the area using mineral spirits and remove all of the dust.
Drill the trim ring to match the porthole holes. The twist was that the trim ring holes had to be one bit larger (5/8") to accommodate the barrel bolts I was using to sandwich the assembly together. I used the porthole as a template and drilled the holes to the 1/4" size and then separately re-drilled the trim ring to the 5/8" size.
Once done, test fit everything BEFORE opening up the tube of sealant. This way you will escape the trap of getting sealant all over the place and then finding out that one or more of the holes don't line up. Don't ask how I know this. Just trust me.
Now you're ready to get really messy.
For this step I suggest not working in direct sunlight or in the heat of the day. The sealant will skin over quickly, reducing your working time.
Apply a wide bead of sealant to the area around the porthole. Be generous. You want the stuff to squeeze out around the trim ring to indicate full coverage.
Make the assembly and install all of the bolts. Tighten them as needed.
Use a tool to remove the excess sealant from around the trim ring and use mineral spirits to clean the rest of the sealant from the area. The use of mineral spirits will keep the sealant from drying too quickly and when finished, will give a professional finish to the job.
The finished product |