Ericson 34 fixed port lexan replacement

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Paul & AnneMari

Member I
Replaced Ports

To improve ventilation on my 1971 E29 I replaced all four of my small ports with Lewmar standard opening ports. The biggest headache was resizeing the openings to accomodate the larger ports. A large flat rasp was the tool of choice.
Due to cracks & crazing, I likewise replaced the glass in two of my main salon ports with tinted safety glass which I had cut & installed by local glass dealer. The 1st one ended up leaking due to a lack of compound in & around the frame joint which required extraction & rebedding. The cost per port was $45.00, plus my work.
Paul & Amy Huch: :egrin:
 
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CaptnNero

Accelerant
Tom, thanks for the math. I need to check that sqft cost. Last year when I looked into it, the cost for our large hatch lenes (about 2'x2' each) were going to be a little over $100 a piece, so my $125/sqft must be high. It's probably really about $25/sqft. I just looked up cell cast acrylic (the best stuff) at www.delviesplastics.com and it was $30 for a 24"x24" 1/2" thick clear sheet. Of course we want gray or bronze tinted. The Annapolis shop was charging for the machining.

The figure they gave me was just for the duplication of the lens. I was to do all of the removal and installation labor. I once bought a small Lewmar just like ours at a consignment shop. I experimented on it so I already know how to disassemble and re-assemble.

I can't find the name of the place in the yellow pages but I'll stop in there this week. They are on Severn Ave on the left after you pass Backyard Boats.

Tom Metzger said:
Neal - Doing a quick calculation - 19" hatch x $125/ft2 = $313. Are they then installing the lens or do you have to do that?

Do you have the name of the place and/or their website?
Click to expand...
 
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CaptnNero

Accelerant
Tom, here's the Annapolis hatch lens fabricator:

Maritime Plastics
110 Severn Ave
Annapolis, MD 21403-2612
(410) 263-4424


Tom Metzger said:
Neal - Doing a quick calculation - 19" hatch x $125/ft2 = $313. Are they then installing the lens or do you have to do that?

Do you have the name of the place and/or their website?
Click to expand...
 
wheelerwbrian

wheelerwbrian

Member III
Tormar, a quick question... I have my portlights off the boat and am about to start taking them apart for cleaning and resealing. Do I just pull the two pieces apart to get the glass out? The plastic piece that you mention having to fabricate an aluminum replacement for is not in your pictures, but your replacement is on the "outside" -- is that where the plastic piece is or is it inside the frame, next to the "glass". I'm hoping to not have to replace the shim because I want to get the ports back on the boat.

Thanks -- I'm trying to benefit from others experience...
 
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TorMar

Member II
Fixed port replacement

The plastic pieces are inside the thickest part of the frames. I broke the one on the very curved ends of each of the portlights. On the straight ends of the portlights, the plastic pieces stayed intact, so I re-used them when I put the windows back together. The metal piece I made for each portlight was screwed onto the outside of the frames, not within the frame where the broken plastic retainer still resides. Note, when I say outside, when you position the window onto the cabin top, the fabricated metal retainer is actually on the 'inside' of the window - the part that seals against the cabintop.
I also found that I ended up removing a bit of the broken plastic retainer so the two halves would join tightly. I think the raggedness of the broken ends of the plastic interfered when I first tried to put the the halves of the window frame together.
Hope this helps. We are very happy with the results on our boat. Good luck.
Tor
 
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kevin81

Member II
Fixed port replacement

Has anyone heard of a Canadian company called Bomon? They custom make ports. A local marine repair contractor told me about them and showed me a Saga 43 that had its' ports replaced with the Bomon ports. The local contractor was impressed by the quality and their prices.
Kevin
 
wheelerwbrian

wheelerwbrian

Member III
At the Annapolis boat show I was talking to the guy from Mariner's Hardware (when I picked up a couple of low profile stainless cowl vents to replace the dirty white nicro ones on the stern) -- he said that they were about to make available a line of fixedlights to replace the Ericson custom Lewmars. For what its worth.
 
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kevin81

Member II
Thanks for the info. I will also contact Mariner's Hardware and get a quote from them. As soon as I receive the quotes I'll post them.

Kevin
E34
 
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