Leaking windows

[martinchaplin]

Hello all,
My Vega was built in 1972 and as far as I can tell still
has the original rubber window seals. These seals have finally given
up the ghost and are leaking. I have considered replacing the windows
with aluminium frames but this is too expensive for me at the moment.
Therefore I want to replace the rubber seals. Can anyone recomend a
supplier for these window seals here in the Netherlands? Or mabe a
mail order company?

Many thanks,

Martin Vega 634

 

[stevebirch2002]

Hi

The window seals can be obtained in the UK but the cost of the seal, locking
strip and tool comes to just under £100 (150 euros). It is a tough job if you
do not fit windows the whole time but a few have done the job in the UK. Think
again about the aluminium windows as they really offer a much safer and robust
window and look really great. Quite a few have changed in The Netherlands to
the aluminium windows. Contact Arend Schram for any details, he knows the
Vegas
backwards and lives in Den Bosch.

Regards

Steve Birch

At 09:20 07/10/02 +0000, you wrote:

 

[wxt8981]

Hi Martin;
my Vega is a bit older- and I'm, too, planing to replace the windows in
a few months.
I talked to a boat-builder and he advised me to cut new plexiglas about
one inch
larger than the opening, remove about one inch wide strip of the paper
covering and paint
that strip with a silver (or similar) paint. The remove all the paper
and just screw
the plexiglas to the fiberglass- about every six inches. The painted
strip will look like
a frame. It's on the inside! (Oh..don't forget to put a good sealer
between ).
The whole thing will cost you far less.
Wilhelm V-257

 

[pjacobs55]

I read that you have to drill the holes oversized so the window can expand
and contract - otherwise you get cracking.

Journeyman 1171

 

[pelagicasd]

Wilhelm. Bad advice! Other folks have tried it with Lexan and did not have
good results. Problem is with length of the ports and different thermal
expansion rates for plastic and fiberglas. Our boats get longer when they
heat up in the sun and shrink when they cool. Folks who have tried this in
the past have had problems with the seal giving way and the plastic cracking
where the holes are drilled for the screws. We put some new glass in the
middle of Lyric's cabin ports and she now has 2 shorter ports on each side
of the cabin. they're made of 1/4" Lexan and are held in place by fiberglas
flanges that are through bolted to the cabin. they are gasketed with
Ensolite (3/8" closed cell foam used as a sleeping pad by backpackers).
There are no holes in the plastic to crack and the foam gasket compresses
when the flange is tightend. We have never had a leak. If you ever read the
book "Out of the Blue" about the Vega circumnavigating the Atlantic you will
recall that the owner took a knockdown and almost lost the boat when one of
the ports gave way. Those big long ports let in a lot of light and have the
potential to let in a lot of water too! Think about it. Walt, Lyric

 

[wxt8981]

Hi Walt;

your advise is well taken! I still have a few months to think about on
how to do it. I
plan to haul the boat some times between December an January, it's not
that hot then
to work on the boat.- I'm in Southern Florida. I plan on repainting the
whole boat
(the bottom I do every year, also around that time). Until then, I
keep on looking
on how to reset (or renew) the ports. Right now they are tight, but look
ugly from
all that Silicon-whatever......
By the way, I've had a few knock-downs myself- it's scary at the very
least. Lucky I
always use a safety harness.
Have a safe sail.... Wilhelm V-257

walt/judy brown/allore wrote: