Cockpit Port Shelf

It's two projects in one! The old port from the aft cabin to the cockpit leaked,
the gasket was shot and the port was too scratched up to see through.
I thought it was a Bomar, so I used my Sailnet SailPerks bucks and picked one up for $30 off!

The real reason for replacing the port was because it had to be done before I could make this little shelf for a handheld GPS and cockpit VHF speaker. Just trying to keep the cockpit tidy!

The previous port wasn't a Bomar, or else Bomar has totally changed in the last 20 years! So I had to do some surgery on the bulkhead. Most importantly, the new port wasn't designed for through bolts, just screws on the back side. The bulkhead design requires through bolts, so I needed to add these six bolts to hold the face plate on and make the whole thing sturdy.

Here's a look at the shelf when not installed.

I routed a big groove in it so that it won't put any pressure on that little plastic lip that keeps the bug screen in.
The front edge of the shelf rests on the edge of the port to hold it steady.
If somebody leans on it, I don't want to break anything!

Here's how it looks from the inside.
The shelf is actually an inverted L shape,
set at a 15 degree angle to match the port.
The dogs match slots to hold the shelf in place.
That's why I had to replace the port right now!
I didn't want to cut slots to fit the old port.

Obviously this isn't an all-weather type of solution, but it's really nice for keeping these two handy items out of the way while just putzing around on a nice day.

Note how the port is held to the bulkhead with screws. I added the through bolts, topped with crown nuts, because of the way the bulkhead is constructed. They really won't do much to keep the port from bursting in if I get seriously pooped by a wave, but if that happens there will be much bigger problems to solve..

I'm really not that impressed with the design of this Bomar port. The window has a lip that's guaranteed to hold water in a way that can't drain, so it will always dump an ounce of water on the quarterberth. But the price was right!

Later, I screwed this little mahogany block into the bulkhead. It keeps the shelf out of the way when not in use. One feature of note is that the slots for the dogs don't go all the way through at the bottom -- this leaves a little lip of wood that holds the dog out from the bulkhead, so that it doesn't bang and rattle (and drive me nuts..)

These knurled knobs with integral bolt are also from McMaster-Carr.

I looked around, and couldn't find any ready-made dogs, so this will do.

The dogs are made from stainless steel coupling nuts from McMaster-Carr. I drilled a hole through one end and slipped a cotter pin through. After lining everything up just right, the pins are held in place with some thick epoxy putty.

This worked for a couple of years. Then, I added a built-in GPS when I built the Nav Station, and added a wired VHF remote with integral speaker at the helm.

So now, the little shelf just lives on it's little bracket.
Oh well. At least I always know where my backup GPS is!