Portlights

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Mon May 22, 2006 10:55 am

Does anyone have any recommendations for what brand name portlights to either use or to stay away from. I am going to convert the deadlights on my Hughes 25 to opening portlights and I have been looking at Lewmar, Bomar and Seafit models. Any reason to stay with or stray from a particular brand? Thanks.

Ryan

Ceasar Choppy · Post by **Ceasar Choppy** » Tue May 23, 2006 12:05 pm

I think it depends on quality, materials (i.e. stainless vs aluminum vs plastic), price, and how much work you will need to do to modify the new ones to get them in there.

Haven't heard any bad things necessarily about any portlights in particular except that some are more cheaply made than others-- but you get what you pay for.

what are you looking to do exactly?

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Tue May 23, 2006 12:25 pm

I am glassing over the old openings in the cabin top and I will be cutting new holes for the whatever portlights I end up going with. So, the amount of effort from one brand/style to the next really isn't any different since I am starting from scratch anyway.

I'll be using either stainless or aluminum. No plastic, and bronze doesn't match any of the other hardware on the boat.

Post by **Tim** » Tue May 23, 2006 12:50 pm

I'd probably choose stainless over aluminum, since I like the look better. But in the end, your budget tolerance and personal preference for the looks and feel of any given port will be the final call.

Curmudgeon · Post by **Curmudgeon** » Tue May 23, 2006 4:05 pm

A lot of people in our boatbuilding club have used New Found Metals portlights. However, they used to cast their own - now they are importing from China. That said, the quality still seems to be there, and the prices look reasonable.

Curmudgeon · Post by **Curmudgeon** » Tue May 23, 2006 4:06 pm

Sorry, forgot the link... they are here: http://www.newfoundmetals.com/

FloatingMoneyPit · Post by **FloatingMoneyPit** » Tue May 23, 2006 7:47 pm

I installed a Newfound Metals (NFM) 5x12 opening port on my boat about 3 years ago. It looks nice and functions well and was good quality for the price, but...
1-I had to place the order twice. I ordered online and got a confirmation page, but the order never reached their system. Called them after a week of no confirmation/shipping email and placed the order anew via phone.
2-As mentioned, they are manufactured in Asia (wasn't China at the time, I think Philippines or Malaysia), and I was never informed that there was a 3 month process time from order to shipping.
3-No hardware is included, which is fair since every boat is unique, but the threads are metric. So find a stainless metric bolt source and prepare to order a few test sizes to see what fits. I used boltdepot.com and love them.

Please bear in mind this was my personal experience, and it was several years ago when the company was growing quickly (I think). I like the product and would recommend it; just make sure you order via phone and get an ETA on shipping. It was considerably less expensive than other brands, too. Good luck.

Post by **Tim** » Wed May 24, 2006 5:08 am

Mariner's Hardware makes some high quality and finely crafted ports to die for. (And other good looking stuff too.)

Capn_Tom · Post by **Capn_Tom** » Wed May 24, 2006 6:59 am

I installed 10 ports from New Found Metals last year and was very happy with them. They do sometimes have a very long delay in shipping but they will know their inventory when you call and will give you a fair estimate on arrival time. The nice thing is when you call you always get the same person who is very well informed. They have excellent installation instructions and can supply all of the hardware at a reasoable price. Their ports are self opening eliminating the chain and catch required for other ports. Whoever you use, you should use New Found's caulk recomendation and use butyl strip caulk. It fills gaps completely and never hardens.

Ceasar Choppy · Post by **Ceasar Choppy** » Wed May 24, 2006 10:54 am

I myself have been searching for replacements for my 6 opening forward portlights.

I've heard great things about Newfound Metals but they don't make OVAL portlights. I talked to them extensively at the boat show in Annapolis, where they expressed much interest in reaching the "Pearson" crowd... but after they took a pattern and pictures of the old aluminum ports I brought in, I never heard a peep. I suspect that because they don't make ovals, I'm SOL with them.

The Mariner Hardware ovals look good as do the Hood models... but what I have found is that the older Pearson portlights are small and small is hard to find-- especially in stainless. 5 x 12 seems to be the smallest.

I've also looked at the Vetus aluminum ports, but when I ordered a couple last year to try them out, I gave up after waiting for 9 months for them to arrive. I now see Vetus makes stainless as well but they are too big.

dboboc · Post by **dboboc** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 2:16 pm

My experience with Newfound Metals wasn't good, thought it didn't involve portlights. When they were into making custom fittings, I sent them a set of drawings of a fitting I wanted made. They lost some of the drawings and didn't even offer to compensate me. They just basically said, "uhh..sorry".

Same thing with Port Townsend foundry. I sent them a fitting to have duplicated they claimed there was "no problem" to make. After over a year, they never even sent me an estimate. Then I tried to get my part back from them, I still haven't received it. That was over two years ago...

I guess if I lived nearby, I'd get better service.

Dave Boboc