Save-A-Boat - The Forum for Plastic Classic Rebuilds!

My next project is to install a pair of forward facing port lites (a la Triton) but keep the original Vega style and appearance. The new lites will be identical in size to those in the forward cabin.

The Vega lites are held in with a two piece rubber weatherstrip / locking strip combination.


I know this is not offshore quality construction, but it has worked well on most Vegas for almost 40 years.

Most of the Vegas I've heard about that went offshore were converted to an all-metal window frame bolted to the cabin sides. I believe "Berserk", the Vega that cruised from Scandinavia to the Antarctic, had stock windows and suffered a blow-out in a storm in the South Atlantic with almost disastrous consequences.

But for coastal cruising I'm happy with the status quo.

Mockup of placement, exterior:


Mockup of placement, interior:


(The size of the cut-out hole is smaller than the inside line on the mockups.)

These lites will give me good forward visibility while behind the dodger, or down below in the main cabin.

The original lites are made from 1/4" tempered glass. As the forward face of the cabin has a curve to it I'm going to use 1/4" Lexan, and give it a slight bend. The finished height of these lites is less than 3", so the Lexan should be sufficiently strong.

I guess why I'm posting this is that I secretly hope someone will point out a major flaw in my design before I get out the jigsaw and do irreparable damage!

Peter wrote:I guess why I'm posting this is that I secretly hope someone will point out a major flaw in my design before I get out the jigsaw and do irreparable damage!

Nope. Go for it! And kudos for accepting and acknowledging the coastal-cruising nature of your boat and your plans for her. Clearly, the existing port installation is more than adequate for these needs, and should work well for your new ports.

Peter - may I ask what you used to make the cross section illustration?
Very nice. Portlights and location look great, by the way.

Sorry. Looks good to me too. Break out the saw...

Actually, we want to learn the flaws from your mistakes!

Realy though. Sounds good to to me.

-Britton

I have found that the sight lines through these forward ports can be very different when heeled over. Your head positions changes and often all you can see is sky or water. As far as the inboard outboard placement of the ports i would want to see under the foot of the head sail to leeward for approaching traffic from the helm station behind the dodger when beating into the wind. I do not know if placing them further apart would improve any thing or if the views are good while heeled. You can careen the vessel by taking your main halyard a couple of slips over and winch her down to a decent heel.

just a thought

r

Mike wrote:Peter - may I ask what you used to make the cross section illustration?

I pinched that off StanPro's Website
They have nice sections of all their weatherstrips.

My CAD program of choice is AutoCad, as I used to make a living using AutoCad Map in surveying and engineering work. I dropped out of the work world around release 6, in 2003. I imagine it keeps growing every few months, like it did when I was working .... certainly a versatile program.

Robert The Gray wrote:I have found that the sight lines through these forward ports can be very different when heeled over.

Good point, and one I did not consider. I'll heel her over and try to see how effective the lites will be.

But I think there's no stopping now .... time to break out the saw :-)

Wow...that old Homelite looks just like one my Dad had when I was growing up!

One interesting thing I've noticed about the forward-facing ports on Tritons is that the view tends to appear magnified because of the angle of the glass. So looking forward is like having a very large pair of binoculars--pretty interesting.

Any view you get is more view than you've had before; the precise quality of that view isn't that important. Those ports are more about light in the cabin than anything.

Tim wrote:Wow...that old Homelite looks just like one my Dad had when I was growing up!

It was part of my father-in-law's estate. We both bought one at the same time, 1972, when we bought adjoining properties to build on. I still have mine, but have sold his.

In town today I managed to pick up all the pieces needed to install the lites, except ... the locking strip with the 'chrome' accent. I can buy a 50' roll at the wholesalers, but haven't yet found a local shop with a six foot scrap.
Ah, the chase is half the fun!

Peter,

I thought I remembered you referencing a different window gasket that they used on Series III Vegas (in some other thread), that guided the glass to overlap the opening, for a bit more seaworthiness. If I remember correctly it was also hard to find or get.

Well, I just ran across a coach glass place while I was looking for something else and I saw a molding that made me think of that, and I thought I'd post it in case it might be the one.

I can't get an image from it to post here, but I was looking at the "M-30" in the bottom/left corner of the page. I know you're probably not planning to run out and change your windows in any case, but I just can't help keeping an eye out for mystery parts :)

http://www.coachglass.com/downloads/Gasket_Guide.pdf

Rachel

Oh ... Ah ... just what I was looking for ... thanks Rachel!
I'll have to investigate this website further. I haven't done the forward-facing ports project yet. Other things needed doing first. But it's still on my mind. I like the overlapping idea, as it gives the window something to bear against if impacted from the outside.

Hey Peter, I sent someone here who is recently bought a Vega. Although I had never looked at this thread, I knew it existed. My friend reported back to me that the pictures are all red x's. Any chance you can refresh them for a fellow Vegan?

Oops, I see I put this at the end of the wrong thread but I think you get my gist.

Balance:
I'll check the thread and see what I can do.
Meanwhile, this linkhas lots of pictures of my Vega.

That works Peter! Thanks.