I finally pulled the trigger and bought 8 new windows for my cabin. I originally had 6. When I bought 2 small Lewmar for the vanity/head section (mid-ships) to replace the original sizes, I second-guessed myself and decided to make them larger because I could. Instead of sending the small ones back, I kept them and decided to place them all the way forward to get additional ventilation in the V berth.
All new windows are larger than the originals so cutting out cabin sides was necessary. This I didn't mind because I anticipated some rotted core. What we found was a cored wall with plywood and fiberglass at 3/4" thickness and a 1/2" gap between the liner and the wall. The builder just marginally filled this gap around the window edges with some filler material. We figured that the air space would need to be filled around the edges and planned on it.
When it finally got done, the contractor basically filled ALL of the space in the cabin wall with at least 5 gallons of vinylester resin and filler. This took about a month with the boat in the tent all this time. I was a little astonished and disappointed that it took this long. It's going to be a huge bill, I'm guessing. The biggest hurdle is that the new cut-out for small windows forward was a bit of a surprise. The cored wall transitioned from plywood core to a thinner fiberglass section without a core right before the wall ends. The liner stays consistent so it meant far more filler material between.
If I was to do again, I would have NOT installed the additional windows up front. Let me know what you think about it. Was it a bad move to add 2 windows, given that they are so close to the front? Now that the holes are finished and the windows are ready to go in, I'm certainly not turning back. The walls have room for the windows to fit but it does look a bit crowded. I'm happy about the aluminum framed windows. A much greater expense, but I hated the old flimsy plastic ones, and I'm pretty satisfied that the walls are now substantially built up with material. I was very happy that the wood core was much better condition than I anticipated. Before, I was afraid of what I would find.
All new windows are larger than the originals so cutting out cabin sides was necessary. This I didn't mind because I anticipated some rotted core. What we found was a cored wall with plywood and fiberglass at 3/4" thickness and a 1/2" gap between the liner and the wall. The builder just marginally filled this gap around the window edges with some filler material. We figured that the air space would need to be filled around the edges and planned on it.
When it finally got done, the contractor basically filled ALL of the space in the cabin wall with at least 5 gallons of vinylester resin and filler. This took about a month with the boat in the tent all this time. I was a little astonished and disappointed that it took this long. It's going to be a huge bill, I'm guessing. The biggest hurdle is that the new cut-out for small windows forward was a bit of a surprise. The cored wall transitioned from plywood core to a thinner fiberglass section without a core right before the wall ends. The liner stays consistent so it meant far more filler material between.
If I was to do again, I would have NOT installed the additional windows up front. Let me know what you think about it. Was it a bad move to add 2 windows, given that they are so close to the front? Now that the holes are finished and the windows are ready to go in, I'm certainly not turning back. The walls have room for the windows to fit but it does look a bit crowded. I'm happy about the aluminum framed windows. A much greater expense, but I hated the old flimsy plastic ones, and I'm pretty satisfied that the walls are now substantially built up with material. I was very happy that the wood core was much better condition than I anticipated. Before, I was afraid of what I would find.
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