Albin 27 FC BECKSON ports & screens

[JT48348]

Just discovered several of my opening ports are broken. Appears it's the tabs where the hinges are or where the dog ears tighten down. Never opened them until now. Looks like plastic failed from age? Anyone else have this problem

I'm considering trying to find just new parts from Beckson. But wondering if I should change up to diff material.

And I need to convert to at least one closed port.

[sail149]

JT and don
Great to see you getting you ports fixed up.
Really like the job you did JT with the coosa board arround the fwd windows.
You asked a while ago what thickness marine plywood in the same application
I was using and it was 3/8".(7ply no voids).
Note this is not "american " so called marine plywood using Doug fir and southern yellow pine.
My ply is Import Plywood made to the British standard "BS1088" using waterproof glues and all
untreated Tropical Hardwoods Mahogany "type" layers , gaboon ,okumne, etc. This is tested for complete immersion and other high standards , hopfully this will be good enough.
But the Coosa board and it's light weight is very attractive sounding.
Sorry for not responding sooner but like you JT we had the winter from hell to deal with and I also had to make 2 trips to uk to deal with issues arround the death of my parents in January.
The couple of weeks of transition weather from too cold to too hot were occupied with getting other boats in the water etc. Also could not come up with a plan to have boat under solid cover to work on.
I'm hoping to get back to boat work soon.
Warren

[sail149]

JT
Re port material, mine do seem in good condition but some were replaced I was told. Alternatives are only more expensive like stainless, bronze etc and aluminum unless in fresh water are questionable. I think 15-20 year durability is of for the Becksons as long as you can replace if you have too.
But is is questionable whether opening ports is really required if you are going to add AC........then you options change.
Warren

[tego]

JT, Mine are in excellent shape. I've never had a problem with plastic opening ports on any of my boats because I replace the gaskets every 5-6 years. The problem comes when people crank the ports down too tight because the gasket is just not sealing anymore. I've replaced a lot of them over the years for other people and I always tell them to do a PM replacement every few years. It's a hell of a lot cheaper and very easy. Metal ports are better, but you can expect to pay about $400 each for our size port. I will be replacing the lenses on mine in a couple of years. They were pretty crazed when I got this boat but I managed to polish them out pretty well. They're far from perfect but I can see out of them now. The metal ones don't have the UV problem, being real glass. Did the ears on your lenses break or was it the ears on the frames? Good luck, Ben

[don123]

JT, Mine are in excellent shape. I've never had a problem with plastic opening ports on any of my boats because I replace the gaskets every 5-6 years. The problem comes when people crank the ports down too tight because the gasket is just not sealing anymore.

That's my experience as well - Don't over tighten the latches and replace the gaskets when they fail to seal. The newer Beckson portlights with the cam latches make this easier to do - You adjust the latch once and it seals with the same pressure every time. The older units with the knobs make it hard to get even pressure all around when you close the port

My Beckson portlights all came with the optional internal rain shields - Instead of the panel just being a screen, it's also a rain proof vent, so you can leave the ports open even when it rains so long as the wind isn't blowing too much. I have these on all six main cabin ports and the four in the fat cabin as well

http://www.beckson.com/irs.html

These can be purchased for earlier ports which did not come so equipped - The rain shields replace the standard screen panel

Don

[JT48348]

So I've been experimenting with cleaning the Beckson ports for re-install. With the hefty price they charge for components and individual units it makes sense to try and recycle whatever parts can be had.

One problem my ports had is the white plastic port housing and knobs have turned slighted brown or yellow. Not uniformly, but it appears its maybe age or UV.

I had luck sanding the trim rings and painting them but felt this was too aggressive for the interior port unit. Plus with sanding I couldn't get into all the nooks and crannies.

I tried Aceton on a paper towel. I suspect the ports are made of a PVC type plastic. With some Aceton I was able to "wipe" off a top layer of aged plastic and get to new material. With q-tips I could get into nooks and crannies. You will note the Aceton makes the plastic sticky to the touch but if ur careful you can give it a nice "wipe" then let it air dry. The key is a clean non transferring rag or papertowel and wear gloves so there's no fingerprints of ur crime.

Result are excellent. So if your knobs or ring is showing age you might try this.

[JT48348]

JT, Mine are in excellent shape. I've never had a problem with plastic opening ports on any of my boats because I replace the gaskets every 5-6 years...Did the ears on your lenses break or was it the ears on the frames? Good luck, Ben

It's the ears on the lens. $60 each for replacements. Ouch!

[Beta Don]

Later model Beckson portlights came with cam latches instead of the knobs like you have and that helps the lenses live a long life without cracking

With the cam latches, you adjust them once for a good seal with a new gasket and then each time you close the portlight, the exact same pressure is applied, whereas with the knobs, you either under or over tighten them most of the time - It's hard to know when to stop tightening the knob

You can retrofit your old knobs to cam latches - That and new gaskets should solve your lens breakage forever. I was lucky in that the previous owner replaced all ten portlights with the newer model 'Rain Drain' units which came standard with cam latches - They really are a huge improvement over the knobs

Don

[JT48348]

Side project: Fwd Cabin Escape Hatch

Some PO cut a hole in my forward hatch and mounted an AC unit in the plexiglass. Well the AC was rusted. The forward hatch was destined to be replaced.

This was scored on Craigslist for $25. Can't identify the brand, but it fits the Albin 27 hatch hole perfectly (19.75x19.75"). I liked the hatch since it has a double pane acrylic lens that actually has structural ribs joining the two pieces. A lot more robust than a $400 new Bomar

I figured I might be able to rebuild it and paint it. New gasket material on the way.

[sail149]

Looks like the panel is 'twin wall' polycarbonate, one trade name coroplast ( look up coroplast boats)
Good stuff. Great for see thru roof panels for leantos or green houses
Variations on same stuff used for all sorts of things like post office mail boxes,
Paneling in my van with some thin carpet on it. I was wondering about it as a head liner material.
Almost un breakable
W

[JT48348]

Great thanks so much. That's a good lead

[rnummi]

Does anyone know if there is a plug and play stainless steel port replacement for the becksons?

[Beta Don]

I'm sure there probably is - Brass port lights in the sizes we're talking about would probably be $500 to $600 *each* - Stainless just add a couple hundred more!!

Easy to see why Albin went with plastic ports

I replaced the dead light in the center of the aft cabin with an aluminum opening one. List price for that little one was a little more than $200. I snagged a used one which had never been installed on eBay for $75. A matched set of 4 (aluminum ones) for the aft cabin would run about $1K. For the larger ones in the forward cabin, replacements (aluminum ones) would probably be close to $2,500 for the 6 of them

The previous owner of my boat replaced the 6 forward 7 X 14 ones and the 4 aft cabin 5 X 12 ones with the new Beckson 'rain drain' cam latch port lights (Thank You!!) and he added the rain proof screens, so you can leave them open 24/7 without any water getting in. I think if you want to replace yours, you'd probably be happy with these - Your originals lasted 30 years and these are a major improvement over the old style ones.

The 5 X 12's are about $150 each - The 7 X 14's are about $175 each, so for less than $1500 you could replace all ten of them - http://www.downwindmarine.com/Beckson-O ... 92064.html

Don

[rnummi]

Thanks.... I'm trying to divert my attention from pilot house and sole issues. I have port light leak too. Seems like every thread on the AOG A27 Board, I go "yep, that's the same as me". I feel the same as sprig when he gets depressed (i.e. "My boats the pits"). The good news is sprig is far ahead of me in repairs. The better news is you guys have been there done that, very comforting to know you guys are out there. I love the boat design, I'm becoming aware of its very very bad construction.

Just wondering if anyone had found a port with factory bolt through construction. Saw the one with fill in the holes, painted and drilled new matching holes to bolt through.... I was just looking for a shortcut. Are the sizes of ours the same as the 30fc 28te etc (w/ stainless ports).

[JT48348]

Fed hatch rebuild complete. Came out very nice if I do say so myself.