Furler Chafe and Hatch Acrylic Replacement

[holmek]

2 questions in one. First. ; advice on replacing acrylic in Lewmar hatches. How to get the old one out and what sealer to embed the new acrylic in. And secondly;; Harken Mk4 no.2 roller furler; chafes at the haylard restrainer at the masthead.Why? My solution; Parcel the chafe spot with webbing and stitch a messenger line just above the chafe point to save losing the halyard down the mast. Any comments welcome.,.. K.

[GordMay]

Does the Harken Manual (pages 25 → 27) address this?
➥ http://www.harken.com/pdf/4418.pdf

[marc2012]

Bomar recommends silpruf/ I bought the 4000,states must be very clean.Ue isoprpyl alcohol,anything stronger will screw up plastic.Will post results when finished if you,waiting on good weather.If that ever happens.marc

[Hi Ho]

To remove the acrylic I use just a utility knive to remove the caulk, really not a bad job. You must really clean the frame of any old caulk and what I found to work best is a razior blade in a holder. Just before you install the new lense make sure you clean the frame and acrylic with alcohol, use rubber or latex gloves so you don't contaminate either surface with oil from your hands. I uses two layers of VHB tape to set the acryilic in and then caulk with Dow Cornings 795 caulk. I have enough gasket material left for one more Lewmar Ocean Hatch if your interested. Hope this helps.

S/V Hi Ho

[thinwater]

I've found a small wire brush (1/2" x 1") works well on the old caulk, for what the knife misses.

[Mark Johnson]

I also recommend ONLY Silpruf silicone. (AS did GE, to be used with their Lexan products) It comes in colors, and when I used it, had to be ordered by the case of 12 tubes. We used it on ALL of the ports on our Searunner, as well as the dodger, 16 years ago, NONE have leaked.

With plastics, bond is not as important as flexibility, because plastics expand and contract at several times the rate of the rest of the boat. Unlike every other silicone I have used, Silpruf gives WELL over 30 minutes of working time. That alone makes it SO much better than the hardware store stuff. It has a shelf life, so sell or give away your left over tubes!

About your halyard restrainer chafe point ... I would swap out the halyard for a smaller dia. but MUCH less stretchy halyard of N.E.R.'s T-900. At the area where it goes through the restrainer, and say 3" above and below, I would put a 6" piece of Anchor brand THICK "battery wire" adhesive lined heat shrink tubing. (in black)... This has worked for me as chafe protection, and the lifespan is over 10 years!

On your roller furling halyard, the use of a line like T-900, which to thin and stiff to be easy to work with, becomes a moot point, because you only use it twice a season, (to install or take down your jib).

Mark

[marc2012]

Can order single tubes on ebay.marc