Ports

I would have to say that working with the old bronze ports was one of my favorite tasks on this project. They were in such poor condition that the change between the before and after images was remarkable.

The workbench!

We had removed fourteen of them from the old cabins: four twelve-inch round, four rectangular and six eight-inch round ones. The piles ended up on this workbench where I utilized a bench vise to hold the parts, a bench grinder to use abrasives and polishing compounds and lots of rags.

Disassembled old bronze port.

The first task was to completely take them each apart, removing the worn out gasket material and cracked safety glass as well as the hinges and large screws used to fasten them shut.

Second part was to put each piece through a series of abrasives that would remove old paint and verdigris bronze and finally restore the golden lustre of polished bronze.

Refinished ports with polyurethane protective coating applied. The slabs of Honduras mahogany would be cut up for the cabin sides. The stack of old drawers and cupdoors would all be stripped and refinished.

Thirdly, all the polished pieces were laid out to coat them with a urethane to slow down the oxidation process and keep them bright for a longer period of time. All the while keeping each port together with its bits as they were not exactly interchangable!

Replacing the gaskets and glass in the refinished ports.

Then back to the workbench, carefully padded with clean cloths, they were reassembled with thick new glass and rubber gasket material.

Completely refurbished twelve inch port.

The spare bedroom in the house was carpeted and perfect for lining up all our completely restored boat parts until it was time to install them on the ship.

Once the cabins were completed, we could cut the holes in the cabin sides and install these amazingly beautiful ‘windows’ or portholes.