# Newfound Metals Stainless Ports



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Has anyone had experience with the stainless NFM ports? Would like to hear pro or con before making the investment

Thanks in advance

Jim


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## h37skipper (Nov 7, 2002)

Installed ten bronze NFM''s. Have a friend who did the stainless. Except for the chrome finish of the stainless they are identical. Is your question specific to the stainless finish? If general about the quality, installation, and upkeep feel free to write to me. I can also give you my friend''s address for specific stainless questions.
Ed


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Thanks for the response. Was mainly interested in the quality. Have they leaked? Are you happy with yours?

Recently ran across a thread in another forum that was questioning their suitablilty for off shore work. Don''t plan to go off shore, but thought I should ask around for another opinion.

Jim


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Noticed my old Email address was on my response. New address is [email protected]

Jim


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## h37skipper (Nov 7, 2002)

Do not understand your comment about "offshore". I installed them exactly for that reason. These are heavy duty, bolt-through portlights with safety glass. And they look great. I installed six 7x14''s and four 5x12''s.

If installed and maintained properly they do not leak. The two dogs and two hinges are both adjustable to get a tight seal. Whenever I close one I run a damp cloth over the rubber seal and frame. It is a compression seal and dirt will allow leakage.

The downsides are: 1) expense, 2) difficult to install properly(write for detail), 3) require a hanging chain to keep open, and 4) they do not drain. This is a problem for me because of the sloping cabinsides. I sponge out the ones I plan to open when I arrive at the boat.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Thanks much for the information. 
I had already placed an order for 6 5X12''s and was concerned when I read something negative about them.

As with all things I guess, you can''t keep everyone happy all the time! Your comments are appreciated!

Fairwinds,

Jim


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## pcyc2 (Feb 27, 2003)

I would not recommend dealing with New Found Metals. They shipped the wrong ports (they Mixed up OD frame size for Inside Size) I needed 7 by 14 outside frame size and they shipped me their 7 by 14 ports which have a size of outside size of 10 by 18". I talked to the owner(Richard) prior to ordering and only gave him my old port outside frame sizes. Which is 7 inches by 14 inches long outside. So they have reshipped the correct ports, charged my Visa twice for the ports, twice for shipping, I have paid the duty into Canada twice, and he is giving me a hard time refunding any of the funds back. And to boot he yells on the phone, talks over you, blames me, is a complete jerk to deal with. I do not recommend doing business with New Found Metals what so ever. I have sent about 5 e-mails to them in this regard, about the same amount of phone calls, and the shipment is still incomplete. Screens paid for, still have not been shipped) And the large ports, which somehow he did get right, don't have the self supporting hinges. He did make 4 large custom made ports for me, and these look ok, they are missing the said screens and hinges. The original order was for 4 small ports for the v-berth, head and hanging locker on a Sabre 34 mark 1, and I had him make 4 large ports for the main sallon. He did get the large port made to the correct size(the outside frame deminsions of the old ports) but really screwed up the order on the front small ports, and now I have issues getting refunded my moneys owed to me. So be careful.


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

*None better..*

There are none better! When researching I dug into portlights to a very in depth level, as I usually do, and there are honestly very few portlights at any price that even come close to the quality of NFM. The NFM port lights represent one of the best values in the marine industry when compared to thier competition and their prices especially when you take quality into account.

The frames are solid cast stainless or solid cast bronze these are NOT cheap stamped stainless frames. The gasketing is bomb proof and the bolts are hidden from view and leaks. You would be hard pressed to find a more durable portlight for offshore work than NFM.

Richard and his wife were great to deal with if not a little bit spacey. You have to really look at the price to quality ratio though to get a full grasp of what a true value they are. If they made a mistake I'm sure they will correct it!

Aesthetically the NFM ports added thousands in value to our boat. This summer we had more gawkers than usual and people asking specifically about the georgeous ports.

Before you install these please take the time to read this very thorough installation blog (link below) on NFM ports. It takes much longer than you would think to do the job right.

When I get home I'll post some close ups of the quality and construction of these ports.

*Installing New Found Metals Stainless Ports (LINK)









*


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## ccriders (Jul 8, 2006)

*Beautiful boat*

Hey Maine Sail,
Every time I see a picture of your boat I think what a beautiful, well maintained boat. She will turn anybody into a gawker!
John


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## chucklesR (Sep 17, 2007)

I put in 8 of the tri-metal's on my hunter 31, pic's are posted elsewhere if you search sailnet for it.

It was easy all things considered, maybe 2 hours per. I've since sold the boat but since it sits in the slip next to my current boat I can positively say that 5 years later not a single drop of water has leaked in.

I'd do it again for sure.


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## mepsnbarry (Aug 2, 2007)

*How do the "automatic hinges" work?*

With reading on the website and looking at NFM's website, there's one thing I don't understand: How do these hinges work?

They are spring-loaded, and are supposed to open 45 degrees if I read correctly. They say you can open them more. They also have chains to hold them open. There was an older complaint about that in this thread. We tend to open our old ports all the way to the headliner (~120 degrees) to get them out of the way. At 45 degrees I'm sure some would be head knockers, and all would be visually in the way.

I don't care if I have to push them open, I just want them to stay up. Do these ports need a chain to do that or not?

FYI, our background is that we're in the middle (argh!) of removing the (two year old) Beckson plastic ports on our boat. We aren't very impressed with the ports, but they were installed badly enough to leak, so they gotta come out for sure. Might as well do all nine of them, even though some may not be leaking (yet!) Half-way through we're ready to continue removing, but may skip the idea of re-installing them, and these NFM ports 5x12 SS model are looking pretty attractive instead.


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

The springs hold our 4 X 14 NFM's hold them up darn close to the head liner..

*Installing NFM Ports (LINK)*

Here's a photo taken during installation the sprigs are holding it open:


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Maine Sail said:


> The springs hold our 4 X 14 NFM's hold them up darn close to the head liner..
> 
> *Installing NFM Ports (LINK)*
> 
> Here's a photo taken during installation the sprigs are holding it open:


Bought 7 ports from NFM yesterday at Strictly Sail. After reading up on the ports and Maine Sail's fantastic photo log, two questions:

First - any truth to the rumor that rainwater collects on the lower lip of the port, only to "gush" into the cabin after opening? Seems like the "scuppers" ought to drain most of it away, leaving the typical drips and trickle you get with opening any port after decent rain.

Second - newbie question for Maine Sail - it doesn't look like you did any cleanup of the "butyl ooze." True? Or just no photo?

Thanks!


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## Skipper7Doug (May 30, 2006)

*New Found Metal Ports*

I have just had one of the fasteners that hold the toggle post to the inner frame, snap off. Obviously there was severe corrosion of the stainless post. I cannot tell if the post is threaded into the assembly. New Found Metals has not responded to my inquiry. We have just finished a 1200 mile off shore passage. This would have been a disaster if it happened at sea as the ports are in the hull and are regularly washed with salt water. The ports are three years old, so I am suspicious of all of them now. Has anyone else had an experience with this? 
Thanks,
Doug
GS SM 40


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## RecoveringRacer (Oct 23, 2009)

I have their ports in my Oday 30 and have had no problems, even though the boat was in saltwater for three years before I moved it to Lake Superior. The threaded boss on mine is integral with the outer ring. I did grease the threads when I installed them, though, and carefully sealed the outer rings to the cabin sides. One thing--the bolts are a metric size; could someone have used an SAE threaded bolt?


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## SanDiegoChip (Jun 12, 2007)

*NFM ports also*

We have also installed NFM SS ports with the teak rings. Love them. It took my wife and I a year to install them. We both work full time jobs. We would install one over a weekend. We followed a set of instructions on the web.
We got tinted ones.
None leak and they are quite nice looking. I think the new IP has ports similar.
NFM is also nice to deal with.
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## SanDiegoChip (Jun 12, 2007)

*peek-a-boo blinds*

We also got the peek-a-boo blinds for them, the ones in the state room. They are the room darkening ones.
My wife also likes the privacy they afford at the dock etc.
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Chip


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## asdf38 (Jul 7, 2010)

I just read Maine Sail's entire how-to which was fantastic. I plan on getting two although I can tell it will take a ton of time and I may not get to it until next year.

But one thing I was surprised at was the use of the 3M101, why use an adhesive sealant at all when there is so much butyl and mechanical fasteners?


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

asdf38 said:


> I just read mainsail's entire how-to which was fantastic. I plan on getting two although I can tell it will take a ton of time and I may not get to it until next year.
> 
> But one thing I was surprised at was the use of the 3M101, why use an adhesive sealant at all when there is so much butyl and mechanical fasteners?


3M101 is/was one of the lightest bonding sealants. I was only used to keep the black butyl that NFM sells from bleeding. If I had to do it again I would NOT use the black NFM butyl and would use my own and no sealant....


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## asdf38 (Jul 7, 2010)

Maine Sail said:


> 3M101 is/was one of the lightest bonding sealants. I was only used to keep the black butyl that NFM sells from bleeding. If I had to do it again I would NOT use the black NFM butyl and would use my own and no sealant....


Thanks, that's good to know.


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## cygtoad (Oct 10, 2011)

Questions on the teak trim rings...
Are they available from NFM?
If not where did they come from?
How thick are they? do they need to be added to the thickness calculation?


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

cygtoad said:


> Questions on the teak trim rings...
> Are they available from NFM?
> If not where did they come from?
> How thick are they? do they need to be added to the thickness calculation?


You buy them from NFM and they are 3/4" thick. You need to account for them in your overall bolt length/thickness calculation. They are used to prevent the spigot from sticking out too far on thin cabin sides.


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## asdf38 (Jul 7, 2010)

I'm gearing up to replace my portlights this year (it's been on my list for 3) and I've been planning on going with New Found Metal because it looks like their price/quality is excellent.

However I have a few concerns
1) Cabin thickness. At 26' my Contessa is pretty small and I'm concerned either about the spigots sticking out too far or the teak spacer sticking out into my interior if I go with them..

2) Handles
I'm also worried about the handles which look fairly large on the inside. Are these concerns at all valid for a small boat? I don't want it to look like I jammed the wrong portlights on the boat. I've seen one other Contessa with NFM and I noted the spigots sticking out pretty far.


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