What are these portlight closures called?

[Spot]

Nice pictures Matt! I see the stylish looped dog from the old boat and the wing nut looking dog that you wish to replace from the new boat. Are the ports in the in pics the old ones or new-to-you ones?

The critical dimensions (threading and mating surfaces) should be checked with a caliper to remove any foreshortening effects in the photos. Sounds like you got the threads done already.

The other question would be the mating surfaces. I thought they were cone-shaped, they look more rounded in these pictures. Since this is sort of the raison d'etre it would be nice to get them right or close enough that a little spit and polish takes care of it. In my head I am pressing something (Playdough, modelling clay, thick pancake batter, 5200...) into the dished mating area on the new ports, letting it harden, and cutting it up to measure it more accurately. Or use a caliper on whichever dog fit the new ports the best. I am open to suggestions on this procedure as well.

[Spot]

If you back up a little and get the object and tape measure in the same plane that might be enough to capture the mating surface shape of the KP's current wing nuts or the old dogs. This would also be more accurate for outer dimensions as well. It is actually a little tricky with a phone since the camera and screen are offset.

[wsmurdoch]

Originally Posted by Spot

WSMurdoch, thanks for the weight, and same ? for you: does the conical nose on the port dog engage into a conical recess on the port frame?

On my ports, the eye nuts have an apparent conical lower surface and the forks into which they fit have an apparent spherical surface. As would be expected the contact area between the two is rather small. If I had a little valve grinding compound (alas, I don't), I'd polish the contact area up a bit more to make it more visible. But, here is a photo.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by GILow

Last one...Attachment 256479

I have 4 bz portlights here with the w8ng nuts so basics of what we are crafting is already here to mold off of .

BTW anyone in the market for 4 really nice bz oval portlights.?

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

On my ports, the eye nuts have an apparent conical lower surface and the forks into which they fit have an apparent spherical surface. As would be expected the contact area between the two is rather small. If I had a little valve grinding compound (alas, I don't), I'd polish the contact area up a bit more to make it more visible. But, here is a photo.

You have toothpaste. Colgate works best .

[wsmurdoch]

Originally Posted by newhaul

You have toothpaste. Colgate works best .

Photo subject enhanced with 100 tightenings and Colgate Optic White Renewal toothpaste on the advice of a palm tree mechanic. it worked.

There is really not much contact surface between the conical surface on the eye nut and the depressed spherical surface on the opening port fork. My boat is a 1988, and it is my guess that the nut began its life as a nice cone and since has worn to its present sort of rounded cone shape. I doubt that the exact shape of the eye nut cone would make much difference with my ports. The nut just runs down to the lowest spot along the milled slot.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

Photo subject enhanced with 100 tightenings and Colgate Optic White Renewal toothpaste on the advice of a palm tree mechanic. it worked.

There is really not much contact surface between the conical surface on the eye nut and the depressed spherical surface on the opening port fork. My boat is a 1988, and it is my guess that the nut began its life as a nice cone and since has worn to its present sort of rounded cone shape. I doubt that the exact shape of the eye nut cone would make much difference with my ports. The nut just runs down to the lowest spot along the milled slot.

Not palm tree mechanic retired shipwright and ase certified mechanic .

But got that trick from my logger grandfather many decades ago

[Spot]

I went through Matt's second round of pictures and pushed and pulled to get a better job matching my CAD to his images, so no need to redo pictures. Weight is almost the same as WSMurdoch's weight from before.

Sounds like Newhaul has samples from his portlights. I can still send CAD if provided an email and file format preferences (1st and 2nd) via PM.

Who-d-thunk toothpaste? So clever, so minty...

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Spot

I went through Matt's second round of pictures and pushed and pulled to get a better job matching my CAD to his images, so no need to redo pictures. Weight is almost the same as WSMurdoch's weight from before.

Sounds like Newhaul has samples from his portlights. I can still send CAD if provided an email and file format preferences (1st and 2nd) via PM.

Who-d-thunk toothpaste? So clever, so minty...

Thanks for the design assist pm sent

[GILow]

One of the odd things about time zones is that I go to bed only to wake up and find that a lot has happened while I was sleeping. Seems there has been some pretty high power thinking going into this while I was snoring away.

Anyway, to catch up… the photos I posted show the new-to-me port lights on the Kelly Peterson and just as wsmurdoch noted, the portlight has a hemispherical set of lands while the eye-thingy is closer to conical. It all just kinda works.

Looking at wsmurdoch’s photo I’d say his port lights are a similar design or vintage to what came with the Kelly Peterson (1978). The port lights on the Swanson were retrofitted in the late 80s and have a squarer set of lands, not as elegant as the older style.

[coopec43]

Geez! Where are we heading!

Years ago people were building their ferro/wood/steel yachts and seeking technical help from fellow forum-ites. You'd see their projects in backyards and boatyards and once their yacht was built they'd take off around the world.


These days they don't have to do that as they can watch others do it on YouTube


And now this thread is seeking "technical" help on port-light latches on someone else's yacht! AND there are 70 comments


I'm moving on.......

[Dieseldude]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

Photo subject enhanced with 100 tightenings and Colgate Optic White Renewal toothpaste on the advice of a palm tree mechanic. it worked.

There is really not much contact surface between the conical surface on the eye nut and the depressed spherical surface on the opening port fork. My boat is a 1988, and it is my guess that the nut began its life as a nice cone and since has worn to its present sort of rounded cone shape. I doubt that the exact shape of the eye nut cone would make much difference with my ports. The nut just runs down to the lowest spot along the milled slot.

Can you make yourself a bevel gauge with two tiny metal bars drilled through at an end and secured together with say a number 6 machine screw and nut? Hold it over the nut taper and set it to match he angle. Measure the angle with a protractor.


See if the angle is the same as a counter sink angle. If so, true up the seat by running a counter sink bit in it. The most common chamfer angles are 82° and 90°, but most screws have an angle 82°. Countersinks are available with cones shaped to create six distinct chamfer angles — 60°, 82°, 90°, 100°, 110° and 120° — designed to match a particular screw's head angle. May need to true up the nut taper on a lathe though, and this would be a machine shop job.

[Uncle Bob]

Guys, I am truly impressed how people from across the world have come together to offer to assist with the production of what is basically a cosmetic commodity, albeit an improvement on the original, for the portlight dogs on an older boat. This demonstrates, to me anyway, the true value and camaraderie of this site.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Guys, I am truly impressed how people from across the world have come together to offer to assist with the production of what is basically a cosmetic commodity, albeit an improvement on the original, for the portlight dogs on an older boat. This demonstrates, to me anyway, the true value and camaraderie of this site.

Not least because I started just wanting to know what they are called.

Now I’m trying to figure out a way we can all get rich from this idea… but i haven’t worked it out yet.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by GILow

Not least because I started just wanting to know what they are called.

Now I’m trying to figure out a way we can all get rich from this idea… but i haven’t worked it out yet.

Not me and as the foundry I'm just looking for how to make enough to afford a cup of coffee.

Forget about a gallon of diesel.