Installing opening portholes, part 1

The old portholes on Whimsy did not open and were starting to leak, and were too small. So I'm replacing them with 8 opening Lewmars, providing plenty of ventilation hopefully.

The medium Lewmars compared to tiny old oval portholes

Too small for ventilation, what was the point?

Some of the new portholes were smaller than the original portholes by a couple of inches. So the old portholes had to first be removed, and the holes they left had to be filled-in before the new portholes could fit in.

Outside: glassed-over old portholes, to be filled and faired.

Inside: piece of foamboard to fill in the holes left by the old portholes. 

Cutting additional sheets of 1/4" foam to the shape of the old portholes...

The old portholes will be covered with vinyl headliner material.

Interior shoulder-level teak handrails

Used the chance presented by removal of portholes to access behind headliner, and install interior shoulder-level teak handrails that are bolted through cabin liner, with backing plates epoxied to the interior cabin sides

I love these stainless steel flush tee nuts. Combined with pieces of G10, they make great backing plates for fixtures in tight spaces. They also come with their own "washer".

Stainless steel tee-nuts and backing plate.

Once the interior painting is done and the vinyl is attached to the interior cabin sides, I'll cut out the new space for the portholes. It will be nice to see outside of the cabin again, and get some air circulation back!