Installing a Inspection Port on a Laser

J

JoeS

New Member
I'm planning on installing a 5'' Viking inspection port on my laser, and was just wondering, from someone who is knowledgeable on the topic, or has done it before, what tools ill need. what length screws, and just any tips on how to do it well.

Thanks,
Joe S
 
Most use a drill to create a hole to get a jigsaw blade in and cut the hole with the jigsaw..

If you use fasteners, suggest bolts, not screws - length depends where you are installing, if on the angled wall of the cockpit on either side of the daggerboard trunk, 1" is fine, if thru the cored deck anywhere 1.5"

Silicone caulk, lots of it..

You will find two schools of thought, those that use fasteners and those that just use silicone (or 3M 5200 or epoxy, both of which are more permanent (but can be removed with additonal effort))


There are a number of threads already posted about it, such as...
http://sailingforums.com/threads/inspection-port-questions.19694/
 
Exactly as been said above. I must confess I did use stanless self tappers to keep mine secure and it has not moved since it was installed. I do have the bolts to through bolt it just not had the time (or the inclindation) to do it yet.

The only other thing I would add is to use a fine tooth jigsaw blade and take your time over cutting the hole to get it as neat as possible. Then sand the edges of the hole as if you are putting the hatch in to do some internal repairs the sharp edges will shred your hands very quickly!
 
One additional tip for cutting the hole is to lay masking tape down on the area, draw your circle on the tape and cut thru the laminate and tape.. The tape helps just a bit to keep the gelcoat from splitting/cracking..
 
I replaced some ports recently that had degraded from the sun. They were hard to remove, and this time went with silicone only. It worked well, and I'd do it that way again. I think there are lower stresses on the boat and port, and they are rock solid, with a lot less trouble and effort than through bolting.
 
to cut a perfect hole use the right size hole saw for the port, if you can't find a big enough to buy/borrow, use a smaller holesaw to cut a hole in order to fit a jig saw in to cut out the outline of the port hole, the hole doesn't have to be perfect but you don't want it to be too big so cut carefully, install the rivets then silicon it up and check for leaks once its dry

I did the jigsaw method because I needed to repair my boat in time for a race
 
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