 |
| View from Tintamarre to St. Martin in background. |
I've spent the last few weeks pulling together the various threads of my life to make way for a month in St. Maarten. What started as a whim and the beginning of a five year plan was realized in 10 months. It means I won't be able to work on PocketShip nor be able to afford the sails and hardware when I return. No matter. The boat will be in my garage, waiting patiently, and I'll have a lifelong set of memories. Fair trade!
 |
| Bavaria 39' - this ain't no pocket cruiser! |
I am intrigued by your Vetus portlights. Though expensive, I might decide to spring for them. You did say, though that the mounting holes line up with the precut groove, which you filled in. This leads me to believe that you purchased the PQ51 portlights which have an inner diameter of 5" and an outer diameter of 6". The PQ52 (about $5 more) has in inner diameter of 6" and an outer diameter of 7 1/8". That might be a better fit although the actual opening inside the flange might be greater than 6", requiring a bit of work. Which model do you have? If you bought the PQ51, do you think the 52 might work better?
ReplyDeleteHi, Dana. Yes, they're the 51's. I'm as cheap as they come, but this is one thing that I knew I'd splurge for some day. Besides looking fantastic, they're functional, too. The ability to open them up and look outside was the main selling point for me. As for 'better,' 'better' is a relative term. PocketShip has relatively low freeboard. Meaning, it's pretty close to the water and exposed to the elements. That extra inch adds 9" of area per hole, and 36" overall. That's 36 more inches of water possibly getting in. The 51's are cut basically the same size as the original kit, so proportionally, it should look balanced. The 52's present a bug-eyed risk to the boat. If the praying mantis look is what you're after, great. The larger diameter, too, would get dangerously close to the topside/hull seam where the extra fiberglass is. I didn't want to risk that. Finally, I've seen the 51s on s/v Solitude III and they're fine. More than fine, actually. But I am curious as to what the 52's would look like, so don't let this diatribe stop you from building what you want on your boat!
ReplyDelete