With the aft stateroom vents installed, I can finally install most of the formerly hateful portholes that have been sitting around collecting dust since I re-assembled them back in 2016.
It looked like this would be straightforward
The mahogany panels have been ready to install for five years
But then Chris Craft threw me a 50-year old curveball
The plywood backer panel that surrounds each porthole is inset 1/4″ so the 1/4″ mahogany panel will be flush with the porthole…hole…that’s welded to the hull. But when I tried to install the interior porthole here, the upper right corner was floating 1/4″ proud of the mahogany panel. I could push that corner flush, but then the lower left corner would go 1/4″ high.
I could force the aluminum porthole frame into place, but that would put a twist in it, and the glass would shatter the first time I tried to lock the porthole window closed.
With this scrap board, I finally figured out the problem: Chris Craft didn’t weld this hole in square. I can’t fix that now without welding more 1/8″ aluminum plate to build up the edge. But that would destroy the paint, and I don’t want to do that. So after staring at it for a long time, I came up with a plan.
Spacers behind the plywood backing surround moved the upper right corner 1/4″ proud of the porthole…hole
On the left end, the mahogany plywood is flush with the edge of the hole
Because I sealed all of the plywood edges and back face with epoxy, and I sealed all of the edges of the porthole…holes…with Awlgrip aluminum primer, there are two good surfaces for sealant to adhere to. I don’t think it will be difficult to make this watertight.
Next I positioned the porthole and taped off everything
I’m using Pettit AnchorTech clear hybrid sealant here
The porthole frames got a generous bead of sealant
The porthole frame is inset 1/2″ inside the porthole…hole, so the sealant will have plenty of contact with the exterior paint and should keep water out of the mahogany panel.
I also ran a generous bead of sealant around the edge of the porthole opening and put a dollop on each screw hole
I like this crystal clear AnchorTech sealant. But you’ve got to work fast. It starts to gel within 10 minutes.
One down
What looks like a crack in the glass in the pic above is a wire hanging from the tent frame outside.
Port aft portholes are done
Port transom porthole is installed
Port closet porthole is a wrap
Starboard aft portholes are in
Perfect clearance for the vent tubes.
Aft head portholes were done next
When installing the portholes, it was always nice to see a bit of sealant squeeze out around each screw head
A plastic squeegee takes the sealant off clean and leaves no way for water to get in there and make a ruckus.
The V-berth portholes were up next
Done
Last up were the round portholes
The previous evening, I touched the 316 stainless screw heads to a buffing wheel in my garage
The ones on the left are polished.
Polishing a screw head only takes a second but they look a lot nicer shiny
Vix bit centers the drill in the screw hole
Same caulk treatment as the others
Nice!
It’s tough to get the lighting right for pictures in the V-berth
The last one posed another challenge
The porthole sits flush up against the top of the porthole…tube it attaches to. But this tube wasn’t welded in square either, leaving a 1/4″ gap to the porthole on the bottom.
A super-generous bead of caulk on the bottom half should work fine
When pressed in place, there’s plenty of sealant to work with to fill the gap
But you’ve got to work fast with this Pettit AnchorTech…it kicks very quickly
Nice!
I’m using nylon washers to avoid scuffing the paint when I seated the panhead screws. It’s not as clean a look as if I’d just used the screws, but all it takes is one nick through to the aluminum below and water (even humidity in the air) will start destroying the pretty paint from underneath.
If you stand up on the bed and put your head to the ceiling, you can see the green Awlgrip primer through the clear sealant
You can’t see the primer from the outside. If anybody ever complains about how unsightly that is, I’m kickin’ ’em off the boat. 😉
That’s almost a wrap for portholes. I’ve got the V-berth head porthole ready to install, and I’m doing some custom stuff for the laundry closet porthole. I’ll have those done before the boat launches in late October 2022.
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Installing the Swim Platform.
1969chriscraftroamer46 