Replacing Portholes

[Mike Goodwin]

Tim,
I think yooz zackly right , isza Ranger .

BTW, I have a photo of a local Triton coming for you too . Can't locate the owner , yet .

My question is , why the windows ?
it's like a '59 Caddy , everybody sees the fins , when we all know it's the tail lights on a 59 that really make it a classic .

Too many boats have those same windows , enough to confuse folks on this list about what they are looking at and they all weren't designed by Alberg . So maybe that is not 'his ' signature , it is Pearson's , Bristol's , Rangers , Columbia's et al.
 
They are to boating , what the wide whitewall tires of the 50's were to cars .
 Or maybe it's like a zit on the end of somebody's nose , you can't help but notice it.

Or maybe ......it's your boat and you can do with it whatever you want .
I was thinking about a bow decoration like was on the 'Flying Tigers'  of WWII , big ole snarly shark's mouth . Or maybe flames along the waterline , that would be 'period' correct like on a California custom from 'Big Daddy' Roth's shop .
Why are all our boats painted so sedately ? Mine is because my wife was going to kill me if I did any of the above , which I had considered BTW .
Some of the boats in the Volvo Round the World Race had some cool paint jobs , why don't we ?
Or how about a 'Dazzle '( camo ) paint job from WWII .
Or something simple like red on the port side and green on starboard , it's been done , used to race against a J-24 painted that way . It really did confuse the race committee a bit .

Come on folks , wake up and get noticed and not just for some big ole non functioning ports .
Thank goodness Hunter never used big ugly ports , I might have to hurt someone if they called my boat a Hunter !

I feel much better now , carry on .

Mike G

[Brent]

Actually, I was thinking about a pair of eyes on either side of the bow. The ancient Greeks (Phoenicians? Egyptians?) added them to guide the boat through danger to safety.

I might be able to get away with that, but if I tried anything else, my wife would, too, kill me

Besides, I guess I am a bit biased toward the traditional, that is, after all, why I chose the Ariel in the first place

Bill, I did see the bit on the Go Windows in the manual, but I'd rather not go the plastic route. Cheap to be sure, but not the look I am after.

Steve, Whose catalog did that page come from? I've been looking at Defender, West Marine, Sailnet, etc., but haven't seen that layout. All of the above give part #'s, prices & specs for the white/clear, but only note that black/smoke is available, and don't offer the same details.

[glissando]

Mike,

I have to agree with what you said...that the large ports are more a trademark of the era, rather than the designer.  As with all "looks", large ports in a raised doghouse were simply how boats looked back then.  That trend began long before Pearson started building sailboats.

Today, boats all have smoked black narrow windows--it's the current "look": the "Celebrate Plastic" look.  Barf-o-Rama.

Perhaps I and others were incorrect to call the large ports in our boats an Alberg "signature"...you are right:  they are more a signature of the builder.  If one looks closely, Bristol, Alberg 30s, and Pearsons, while sharing very similar looks, all have slight differences in the large port design.  Close, but not identical.  It seems to be a builder thing.  Frankly, I doubt that Alberg even had a hand in the specific design of the port shapes, beyond a  general concept.    

And look how long Pearson carried those basic ports forward even after Bill Shaw began drawing the boats-- Renegade, Coaster, Wanderer...boats that should never be confused with an Alberg design.  (but, sadly, are...maybe because of the port design!  :eek: )  I think I just proved your point, Mike!

If my large port frames weren't nice bronze, I probably would have felt it less important to keep them.  Fortunately, they  are bronze, and that makes 'em pretty cool.  

And when I sail down south I'll probably be bitching about the lack of ventilation, too!

Whatever anyone replaces the large ports with, just stick with something metal and classy.

Tim

[ebb]

didn't all those guys get their start in Alden's office.  They all drank martinis after work, smoked Camels,  and played shuffleboard together.  Maybe the era was just a bunch of nerds interacting in the local bar.    What do you do with a two hump coach roof and a sweet sheer?
Does anyone really believe that Rectangular Acrylic Ports is the answer for the salon?  Or round manholes.  Maybe if you chopp and channel the salon  for a nice sleek line and the headroom of a Commander.   Hell it's your boat, screww it up!   That's what I'm doing to mine!  But I hoisted a few with Carlos first.  Yes I did.

                                        *      **      *
Got those opening ports from Spartan.   Next to the prim and proper bittie aluminium ones these look like they came off a LIBERTY SHIP.   The glass at the most is one square inch larger, but the bronze ones are absolutely huuumoungous!   4 1/2 pounds compared to ounces (the aluminum ones don't register on the bathroom scale.)

The Spartan's have a spigot you could mount in your living room wall.  Well,  in your front door.  So most of that will be cut off.  Come out a pound lighter at least.   Great for the ultimate storm.
Maybe they'll mellow.  They are a fine yellow.  The finish is smooth right on ballsy, but if you want it to shine you have to pay $100 per each more.  Chrome, you're outa luck.  More description on the piece? ask me.

[Janice Collins]

I've emailed Rostand R.I. concerning a quote for a replacement for the v-berth opening port.  I  hope I can get that prim and proper  bittie aluminum one.

When I'm swimming around Wayward Star, admiring her for all she's worth,  and look up at this area,  I always comment how pretty she looks and  see / feel her life in those dophin  like eyes.  Its the color , shape and size of the port that gives this particular effect.

And as far as ventilation,  I quess again I'm lucky because  MOST of the time  there is a breeze with the hatches  open there is a great cross breeze,  In more protected areas,  a wind scoop worked for us, but I can count on my hands the number of times we used it all those years living aboard. A small fan was used more often .     And when we were anchored in  the Hurricane Holes,  hiding from the likes of Tropical Storms and Hurricanes, well nothing could keep you cool then.  That is what I am sure Hell feels like.
 
Wayward Star  is either anchored or moored, not in a slip,  so maybe its cooler for me for that reason.

[ebb]

awwww...

[Mike Goodwin]

You old square eyed devil !
Didn't take a picture , but the chill checker was hovering between 95 & 100 with 4 fans ,an awning and all ports & hatches open .
It dont look nuthin like a Hunter , there is shape to the shear .

[commanderpete]

Here is my Dad and I passing a big ugly Hunter.

I love doing that.

[Mike Goodwin]

And passing to leeward of him no less , 'how imbarasskin'as Popeye would mumble .

BTW ,
 'ugly hunter' is redundant .

[glissando]

Congratulations on passing him...

But the real question is:  did you have any bathing beauties on the deck like those that seem to be strewn about the Hunter?

Now the REAL reason you sailed so close becomes apparent!:)

Tim

[commanderpete]

Hey! This thread is about portholes, not port hoes.

Besides, this is what they call a bathing beauty up in Maine

[commanderpete]

OK, here's one for you old married guys.

Badda bing, badda Boom

[commanderpete]

I better not go there, or someone will report this post to a moderator.

[Brent]

Thus far, my every attempt at saving those %&*@!!# "camper-trailer windows" has failed.

It would appear that the stainless steel screws have welded to the aluminum frames. I have tried WD40 as well as a penetrating oil (forget the name, but the folks at Home Depot thought more hightly of it than WD40) several times, but none of the screws will budge.

I've tried manual screwdrivers, as well as a bit in my cordless--I actually broke the bit trying

For the hell of it, I tried drilling out one of the screws, but my bit (a nice, new, shiny Craftsman in the chuck of an 18v cordless) barely made a dent.

How can I get these things off in one piece? Suggestions?

[Bill]

Lay the boat on its side and soak the fasteners with Liquid Wrench . .

Heat works, sometimes.  I was able to salvage some of the original frames when the screw heads twisted off.  Might be a way to go.  

When all esle fails, asks the people at the yacht yard or machine shop for suggestions.