2007 40MY bow porthole/skylight

[Razorbackdad]

Hey all,

New to forum and our family is proud owner of new to us 2007 40 Motor yacht, model 3808. So the learning has begun as this is our first cruiser... loving the adventure!

An interesting one that I can't find in manuals or videos... The bow cabin has a porthole/skylight with an inside "1/2 1/2" cover that slides across the opening. One half is screen and the other half is blackout shade. But the latches for opening the porthole are on the other side of the cover and not obvious how to "open" the cover. I've tried some additional force on the tabs of the two covers but they don't want to separate and I don't want to break the whole cover...

Anybody have suggestions for what I am doing wrong here?

[Razorbackdad]

Looking closer at these today, this is a Bomar Sea breeze shade screen... But still no luck going full open so I can access the hatch locking clamps.

[Midnightsun]

Pretty sure I have the same unit on my boat just going by your description. Ocean air Skyscreen on mine then again looking at the Bomar unit I may have that! They are virtually identical so maybe one took over the other? Regardless, they function in the same manner. The only thing that holds the screen side to the blackout out side is a magnetic strip. No latches or hidden locks. My guess is it is just stuck together, you are going to need to get something between the 2 and pry a little.

Little tip. I took mine completely apart for the simple reason there were old dead mosquitos and some stains from them on the screen section. Although the unit works great, if there is debris on the screen when you open it it gets squashed when it rolls up. I damaged one of the screw covers on the 4 corners so be careful if you decide to remove it. They are really not designed to be opened for screw access which is a poor design.

This video should help. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd3HWCd6W64

[Razorbackdad]

@Midnightsun called it correctly. I used a paint scrapper and was able to get between the magnets and release the screens from one another!
Not going to have to fully disassemble the shade for cleaning at this point but now have access to the bottom side of the hatch. Thanks again Midnightsun!

[Midnightsun]

Clean up the magnets and maybe apply some WD 40 to a rag and wipe the magnet down. Glad I could help.