Removing deadlights which do not have bolts or brackets

[Cookie]

Hi,  Does anyone have advice for removing the "newer" style deadlights (MKII  1997)?  I've looked on the site and FAQ but these post seem to be targeting deadlights/fixed ports that are bolted in place.  The new ones appear just sealed in place and I'm wondering if there is a trick to removing them (e.g. heat gun).  Thanks, Doug

[Jon Schneider]

If you don't get an answer here, either call Kent at CY, who knows everything, or call Cruising Concepts.  CC makes replacements lenses for the deadlights and use the same adhesive material that CY uses, so maybe the owner (I get the feeling that it's a one-man operation, and he'll answer the phone if he's not packing boxes or manufacturing stuff) knows how to remove what he sells. 

[Jeff Kaplan]

doug, i replaced mine 2 seasons ago. it is a very time consuming ordeal, but the end results of putting in new lites is great. i started working from the outside corner of the front starboard side first, until i penetrated some of the gelcoat. at that point i did all the work from the inside. you will need a good stiff scraper, and a lot of patience. i got a watson 8 in 1 scraper at lowes and it worked the best. you must get in at a corner and just work the scraper back and forth slowley as you break the bead of chalking. i don't exactly know how a '99 is set up, but on my '86, the p+s aft lights are in the main cabin go into the head and aft cabin so you will have to work from both locations. the hardest part is seperating the lights at these columns. just keep pushing and pulling. once you get one done, the other 3 fall in place. once all are out, make sure you clean off all the remaining compound. acetone worked the best, followed by some type of goo gone. . be very patient with this job to keep any damage to the gel coat to a minimum. you can e-mail me and i will give you my # to call, i talk better than i type. again, the new look of smoked, lexan or acrylic, lens make the boat look new. good luck...jeff

[Stu Jackson]

We'd had the boat for six months, back in December 1998.  It'd never rained before since we'd bought the boat in July of that year, and we were out at anchor.  Good thing, too.

The port dead light started raining all over the nav station.  We always have tools and repair materials on board.  In the rainstorm I went up on deck, removed the dead light and slathered the joint with silicone.  Pushed it back in, without the screws - too hard a rain.  It stopped the water intrusion.  A few weeks later I removed it and replaced it in a neater manner, did the starboard side, too.  We have a few screws, don't know how much help they are.

Unless you're going offshore, there just isn't any magic to it.

[Ken Juul]

I had a hard time getting the portlights to stop leaking.  Must have had them off and on two or three times, scraping, cleaning, resealing etc.  Stumbled across this bit of information quite by accident, only 100% silicone will stick to the Lexan/acrylic.  I had been using what ever was in the locker, which was probably a silicone/polysulfide mix.  The straight silicon did the trick.