1990 E32 Port Lights

Good Afternoon.

I am a new Ericson owner and have a few questions.
1. Aft Port Light replacement: Before I tear into the
port lights, is there somewhere they can be bought?
I would like to have them in hand so the replacement
can be quick. (I searched other threads but didn't find
anything about the topic.)
2. The cockpit drain seacock- I haven't ever run into
a design such as this. The only thing I can think of is
the suction while underway will increase water drainage
thru the seacock. Am I on the right track?

Thanks,
Jack

1. Take a photo of the portlight so they can be identified. Also go to pompanette.com and lewmar.com to try and identify them.
2. Not sure what you are asking.

thanks.

I will take I pic and hopefully have it up tomorrow.
I was referring to the large trapeziodish (?) port lights
at the aft end of the coach roof. The glass is crazed.
Was wondering if I could replace just to plexi or if the
entire thing would need to come out.

About the cockpit drains. I was just wondering if my
understanding of the system was correct. I been on
many boats and never seen a setup like the Ericsons.

Jack

Jack,

I have a '88 E34 which is very similar to the E32. The ports and hatches for that matter are from Lewmar. I don't believe that the particular model used on my 34 is still in production, but the new ones fit the openings of the old. Do check it out before tearing them out. I know replacement parts are available if you want to try and refit instead of replace.

By cockpit seacock I assume you mean the cockpit scuppers, at least there is no seacock on the cockpit scuppers on my E34. I wouldn't be too worried about the cockpit draining, it drains just fine and I've not seen anyone complain about drainage in your vintage Ericson. It is actually pretty hard to get enough water in the cockpit to worry about slow drainage and if you do manage to fill the cockpit up with green water you have probably been knocked down and the lazarettes [sp] are filling up and we don't even want to go there.

If you are talking about the slanted non-opening portlights I don't think they are replaceable, but could be wrong. My opening portlights were made by Bomar (Pompanette) and I have replaced them.

My boat has seacocks on the drains. If you heel enough on a port tack, water will come into the cockpit and risk flooding the engine panel. That's when I close the seacock (or reef).

Geoff Johnson said:

[snip]

My boat has seacocks on the drains. If you heel enough on a port tack, water will come into the cockpit and risk flooding the engine panel. That's when I close the seacock (or reef).

Click to expand...

Are your drain lines crossed e.g. port cockpit drain goes to starboard seacock? This is the way my prior E-27 was, and Emerald is, and I don't think you could get water back up through the drains, but if I uncrossed them, I could see it happening easily.


.

Yes, I do have the scupper drains. But I also have two drains
inboard of the scupper drains that "T" together. This line drains
through a seacock below the galley sink. I know this is a factory
installation because I have the original schematics provided by
Ericson for the boat.

The port lights, are they a single unit or can the plexi be replaced
and the frame reused?

Jack

I went through this last summer -- the fixedlights are probably Lewmar and were custom jobs for Ericson -- some have been able to use another stock Lewmar, but it depends on how tight the holes were cut in your cabin top. I'm not sure of the configuration of the 32 but for the 38 there are four fixed lights, but the two rear ones are different than the two forward ones, even though they look similar.

You will have to remove the fixedlights from the boat to get the lens out anyway. If you replace with acrylic lens, do not use a vinyl gasket -- they will craze. Unfortunately they don't make the rubber gasket anymore. If you replace them with glass, vinyl is fine, but be careful reinstalling -- if you overtighten, you will break the glass. There's an outfit in CN, http://www.selectplastics.com/, which will replace and regasket your windows with vinyl and glass and send them back -- I didn't use them but I've heard good things about them.

I did talk to a guy from Mariners Hardware during last falls Annapolis sailboat show and he said there were planning on manufacturing a series of fixedlights that would fit the Ericsons -- you might want to check with them.

Sailboats -- nothing is easy...

More portlight info

Jack,
Here is another thread on this site that includes a reply with some photos of a similar-sounding repair situation.
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=3272&referrerid=28
I found this thread, along with quite a few related ones, by clicking on the Search word above these messages in the light blue bar on this page. I put in the words - Lewmar port - , and clicked on Go.

Lots of good commentary. Try different sorts of related word(s) in your searching. Get a cup of coffee ready and a comfy chair and get better acquainted with all the info in these growing archives.

Good luck on your repairs and happy "hunting." :nerd:

Oh yeah, and remember that you should try to post some photos of the work in progress, if you have a digi camera.

Best,
Loren

Thanks for the info. I'll check out the thread
mentioned. I'm sure I'll have more questions
in the future.

Reguards,
Jack