New S&S Swan 411 Portlight

hI all, the port portligth of my S&S SWAN 411/39, who recently acquired to rehabilitate was stolen (as almost the starboard one (see photo attached)).

Can anyone tell me where I can purchase it?. Unfortunately I have not had any response from Swan spares.

Fair winds!

Dear Dalonso

they are goiot ("tradition" line), made in France,

Fair Winds

Matteo (38/067 Only You)

Dear Matteo, thank you very much for your quick and precise answer. Among the types of "traditional" included in Goiot page I can not find any who have  screws. Do you mean these portligths are custom model?.

Many thanks, David.

Dear David,

I think the model has changed over the (nearly 40...) years, but the overall measurments should be the same, should check with the one which has not been stolen.>br>
As far as I know Goiot does not make custom items

Fair winds!

Matteo (38/067 Only You)

You should download the page on the Goiot site:
http://www.goiot.com/pdf/p42-43b.pdf
I do not have the actual measurements with me right now but the portlight of the type 34.18 looks almost identical to ours.

Daniele, 411/004

Dear Daniele, Thank you very much for your answer and references. Goïot traditional portlights are best fit to the measures I took in the boat.

The restoration of my 411/39 will cover nearly all items because just only her hull is ok (...), but I would like to be as much as possible accurate with the original. I know that it will be very difficult because as Matteo said, there was nearly 40 years since she was built and for that I will have to change both portligths. On my case Goïot 34.14 is closest to the measurements I took than 34.18.

I also have to put the two cockpit portligths ( I must say I have to put all hatches and port ligths..) and I cannot find any equivalent into  the “traditional” ones. I suppose both are also Goïot, as a friend already told me, but I do not know what type. He also told me they can be opened. I would like to confirm this in your case, because it has a very important influence on the value of the STIX number.

Fair winds!, David

Hi David,
as I wrote I could not be sure whether 34.18 was the right size and, after your post, I cannot but agree that 34.14 is probably the right one.
In my case the cockpit portlights are exactly the same Goiot of the side ones and they can be opened inward also. There is a small difference that, wisely enough, was devised by Nautors, I think.
It consists of an additional frame flange screwed on the outer side of the side portlights that fixes better the perspex panes.
Indeed the perspex is only glued to the original Goiot frame and, with sufficient pressure, can be pushed outward. The additional frame prevents this possibility only on the side and more vulnerable portlights.
There is another thing I would like to add: as written, the original cockpit portlights open inward. Due to the inclination of the surface it often happens that fresh water (or worse) spilled by careless crew enters quite easily the cabin. Maybe a better accomodation could be devised...

Good luck with your restoration and, apart from the cost that unfortunately may become high, I am sure that you will end up with a great boat as the original.

Daniel, 411/004

Very helpfull and interesting points. Kind regards, David.

Daniele

The amount of water coming in when opening an inclined porthole can be reduced by taking care that the frame drain holes, visible at the lower corners in the picture above, are open. In some cases it may be necessary to change the angle of the drains.

If the glass is recessed into the frame an added wedge of Perspex or mastic at the lower edge would also prevent water from standing there.

Best regards

Lars

Lars,
thank you for your comment. Indeed the porthole drain holes must be checked once in a while for spiders and bugs but Nautors made them with the right slope and they do their job well.
What I was trying to explain not clearly enough is the fact that the cockpit portholes are most of the time open and even a small spillage on the deck above them tends to find its way into the cabin. Maybe a small canopy or something alike could solve the problem but I do not like the idea of changing the original aesthetics. I wonder if, for example, having small hatches that open outward would be better.

Daniel, 411-004

For whatever it is worth - the previous owner of my boat thoroughly refit her. For his own reasons, he favored stainless steel, and many items that were originally aluminum on the boat are now stainless, including the portlights.

Whether or not you agree with the idea of broad use of stainless vs aluminum, and for my part, there are limits (since the weight of stainless is 3x that of aluminum, and furthermore 316 and similar grades can present their own corrosion issues), I can say that I like the way these look and fit on my 411. They are made by Hood Yacht Systems, and sold in the US by Pompanette, all easy to find on the web.

I only posted b/c I thought you said you were going to do all of them, which is the only way you would want to shift material and look on a part like this. If you like I can take a few photos - I should be aboard later today of tomorrow.

Geoff
Corazon
Swan 411 #41