Issue 17 : Mar/Apr 2001
The traditional portlight is best fitted into a cabinside or hull with the hinge at the top. This guarantees maximum closing pressure at the bottom where water is most likely to enter. In the open position, the portlight can be held up with a simple lanyard from the deckhead. Unfortunately however, this arrangement can be too obtrusive in a small cabin — a fact that encourages the fore-and-aft installation illustrated here.
In this position, a plain, rigid tender bung, or hard rubber plug, can be used to jam the porthole open, as shown. The plug is screwed into the cabinside with long, slim stainless fasteners after first being drilled.
The system is foolproof, unobtrusive, and secure, although it can fail in a violent seaway. Since all ports should be closed during such conditions, this is of little consequence.
Alan, an Australian from New South Wales, has been cruising for 40 years, primarily south of the equator. He and his wife, Patricia, have built or restored all eight of the boats they have owned. The most recent of these project boats is a 50-foot fiberglass modified Chesapeake Bay skipjack. Alan is the author of several Australian cruising guides.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
