Brass Portlight in Head

[Barry Cohen]

I have a R-27 that was delivered just last September. The brass portlight screen in the head is literally rusting away.

I would have thought the screen material to be nylon or fiberglass, like the rest of the screens in the boat.

Is anyone else experiencing this?

 

[bbrh842]

I am as surprised as you are Barry. I would contact Andrew Custis at the factory. C.U.

 

[Barry Cohen]

I have sent Andrew a PM. Thanks.

 

[PhilR]

I have a new R-27.....what screen?

 

[Barry Cohen]

There is a round screen in the round brass portlight in the head.

 

[Stella Maris]

Most folks have removed these screens if they use their boats in salt water. We have on Karma as they do rust. We left them in on Solitude since we used her in fresh water and never had an issue.

 

[doke01]

We pulled the screens out of every brass porthole but the one in the bathroom since we open it for ventilation. The others are now spares since we only open the saloon port holes on beautiful days 😉

 

[JohnH]

Yes, the screens rust quickly, at least in salt water. They are easy to remove (squeeze the ends of the retaining ring). I assume that most folks, after learning the reality, remove the screens and store them dry for use when needed. I was lucky enough to notice the rust before they disintegrated completely. I assume(?) that it is possible to replace the screen with rust-proof material, but I have not tried.

-- John H

 

[Barry Cohen]

I have received a response from Andrew and they have changed the material used for this screen.

Alternatively, I have learned that you can buy fiberglass replacement screen from Home Depot for $8.97 a role. Pull the retaining ring, cut it to size, put it back. Set it......and forget it!!!!!!

 

[knotflying]

I just got mine and it is already showing signs of being attacked by the salt air.

 

[JerryE]

My solution:

1. Remove round screen from port hole in bathroom. Set aside as spare for use when other screens rust out. Use sky light with screen installed to vent.
2. Replace shower head (looks like a telephone receiver) with an On/Off switch model. These cost about $8-13 and are available in RV stores but not marine stores. They come in white, silver and biscuit colors. Buy a silver one.
3. Buy a Thetford 36670 Spray Station holder for $6. It sticks by suction to the fiberglass wall under the porthole in the cockpit. They come in white and silver, buy a white one to match your fiberglass.
http://www.americanrvcompany.com/Thetford-36670-Spray-Staytion-Trailer-Camper-RV_p_4445.html#
4. Enter head and set shower water temperature where you want it, then turn off water flow at the shower head.
5. Snake shower head out the port hole. Exit head, open big glass door, and sit in cockpit close to dangling shower head. Insert shower head in Thetford holder (which should have been previously affixed to the exterior wall under porthole; refer to instruction #3 above as needed). Turn on water. Shower. Rub vigorously! Turn off water while soaping to conserve.
6. Hose hair, follicles, skin fragments and other debris that falls off your aging body down the scuppers. (remember to clean scuppers once a year, or just before you sell the boat.) For very large fragments of mung, remember you have a powered raw water washdown nearby.
7. When done, reverse process and drop your new shower head into the existing holder inside the head, which, is still dry and hair free.
8. If you want to shower on the swim platform rather than in the cockpit, purchase a shower hose extension(s). They come in 6' long lengths so you may need two.
9. The above procedure, while complex, does lend itself to having a cold beer sitting nearby during showering to ease the process. Leave cap on bottle to prevent inadvertent beer dilution during showering. Feel free to print, laminate and affix this step-by-step guide in the cockpit to ensure steps are followed in proper sequence, if several beers are needed to complete process.
10. Remember wife's rule: Shower every Saturday, whether you need it or not!!

Detailed instructions, like above, for use of a composting head will be offered later. WARNING: these will not be for the faint of heart! Photos may be included!

 

[knotflying]

Hey Jerry,

I thought of another way to have a hot shower and on the swim platform.
1) Buy a sun shower
2) Fill the sun shower with hot water from head or galley
3) Hang shower from biminy and enjoy.

You can also use the sun shower the conventional way by just throwing it on the roof and not use your precious water supply, but then again we Airhead guys have an extra 40 gallons of water and no macerator pump issues either!

 

[walldog]

I just got mine and it is already showing signs of being attacked by the salt air.

I just checked mine and there is no rust to be found. Of course maybe it is because there is no screen installed.

 

[Stella Maris]

We have used the solar showers for years. We had one on our Catalina 25 and as well as Karma. We now have two 10 gallon models as well as two 5 gallon models. We took them to Desolation last year as a way of extending our water supply. With the overhead hatch in the head, you can simply drop the hose into the head compartment and shower. Or, if you are not rafted or in a crowded anchorage, the swim platform or cockpit plan works also saving the clean up of the head compartment.

This is a great way to add additional water when traveling to remote locations such as Desolation. You can use the solar shower not only for showering but for washing dishes also.

 

[commander bill]

Actually the softer material is not a good idea for the porthole. But mine appear to be stainless steel mesh and are still good after 3+years with no cleaning. Of course 90% of my time is in fresh water.

 

[abcandjrc]

This is illustrates a statement a friend of ours made when were were complaining about rust specks on our stainless-steel stanchions years ago. He said the problem is with perception of English phrases. Some steels are Stain More and some are Stain Less.

I suspect you have the same basic ports and screens that we have in our R-21. You may find that the screen is fine and it is actually the retaining rings that are rusting away. The lower rings on our boat essentially disintegrated leaving just bits and pieces and lots of rust. They weren't even as good quality as Stain More. The screens cleaned up fine with a bit of Barkeeper's Friend. You can use any cleansers that have Oxalic Acid in them to disolve the deposited rust.

We just push ours in and trust that the gasket is sufficient to hold them unless we were to try to reach through the port from the inside while the screen is in place.

I got the tip to use Barkeeper's Friend from a German cruiser in Alabama when I showed him some charts we had and helped him plan a route. He felt he had to give me a tip in return. As he sailed away he shouted "Barkeeper's Friend is great for removing rust!" And a darned good tip it has been.

 

[JerryE]

Hey Mike,

You could even eliminate Step #2 [2) Fill the sun shower with hot water from head or galley] by just leaving it hang from the bimini in the sun. I have found the sun showers to work very well, sometimes even producing overly warm water. It would be heavy but could easily lay on top of the cabin tied down to the rack...

Of course, since your R27 does NOT NEED A SEPTIC tank (being equipped with a composting head) you can carry tons of extra water in that aft 30 ga tank. I did wind up pumping overboard some excess water since I lost close to 2 knots of speed with the tank full.

 

[JerryE]

BTW, you can find Bar Keeper's Friend at Walmart. Right next to Comet®, usually.

 

[knotflying]

Yes Jerry, we Airhead guys have the problem of loosing 2 knots because of too much potable water, but think about it, you can still loose 2 knots because of your black water and you can't necessarily dump that when you want to.

 

[wefings]

Ahh the Airhead debate ! Lets get her started !
BTW if you have access to an ultrasonic parts cleaner , they work great for those screens .
Marc