I am about to replace my main cabin windows ['79 27']with tempered glass units.I now have acrylic units that i put in in 1991 that have deteriorated to the point of almost opaque,since the cost is not that much more than acrylic and the life span so much greater i figure this is the way to go. Now to the down side,there is a slight curveture to the cabin side and glass doesn't like to bend. I have been assured that resealing after installing will take care of the problem.What i hope is that someone out there has gone this route and will share their opinion as to looks and sealability. hoping for a response- Carl
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Aren't you concerned about breakage?
Carl: I know that they use tempered glass in portlights like the New Found Metals, but with such a large opening aren't you concerned about the possiblity of breakage. How thick of glass are you going to use?
Carl: I know that they use tempered glass in portlights like the New Found Metals, but with such a large opening aren't you concerned about the possiblity of breakage. How thick of glass are you going to use?
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Carl Foster
Breakage
I am having these made by the succesors to Go Ind. who made the originals. They have 30 years experience and assured me that breakage is minimal problem.The tempered glass is just under 1/4"[metric]and i am not their first venture in this.
I am having these made by the succesors to Go Ind. who made the originals. They have 30 years experience and assured me that breakage is minimal problem.The tempered glass is just under 1/4"[metric]and i am not their first venture in this.
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Bob Padlowski
Salon ports maker
>I am having these made by the succesors to Go Ind. Who is the supplier and/or manufacturer of these ports? You can email me if you prefer at rpadlowski@hotmail.com. Bob
>I am having these made by the succesors to Go Ind. Who is the supplier and/or manufacturer of these ports? You can email me if you prefer at rpadlowski@hotmail.com. Bob
Glass vs plastic deadlights
I would NOT go with glass for anything that might see actual seagoing use. Lexan is theoretically unbreakable under even extreme seagoing circumstances (1/2" stops a .38 bullet-- so I am told). There are varying grades of Lexan-- some are UV-resistant and therefore would last a long time before yellowing. Count on many boatbuilders especially in the '70s to have used cheaper stuff. At Cherubini we had problems getting good Lexan for the skylights-- it would have bubbles inside it (since all acrylic is essentially in a liquid state). They took away nothing from practical strength but looked awful. The plastics guy tried to blow it off-- 'well, I could see it if it were a museum showcase.' I said, 'Buddy, for all your practical purposes a two-hundred-thousand-dollar boat IS a museum shoecase!' The moral: don't compromise about what's right-- just insist that you get it. Plexiglas is breakable but it is better optically-- if flat it does not distort (the Germans sanded the curved corners of Messerschmidt fighter-plane windows so the pilots would not look through the distorted parts!). Lexan is the seagoing sailor's choice. The deadlights (non-opening) on something like an H-27 should be about 3/16" or 1/4". Bed them with 5200 or some other sealant. The 5200 is made to give with the temperature changes of plastic-to-plastic. I don't know about glass (and it's NOT good for aluminium). As far as safety glass goes-- if it did break, then what would you do? Think about under what conditions it will break (because it's WHEN, not IF). Do you want broken glass pebbles in your bunk and a gaping hole open to breaking water in THAT weather? And how would you fix it? --with plastic you could drive sheetmetal screws right into it to fasten a patch-- if it broke at all. Remember, it's a boat, not a porch. JC 2
I would NOT go with glass for anything that might see actual seagoing use. Lexan is theoretically unbreakable under even extreme seagoing circumstances (1/2" stops a .38 bullet-- so I am told). There are varying grades of Lexan-- some are UV-resistant and therefore would last a long time before yellowing. Count on many boatbuilders especially in the '70s to have used cheaper stuff. At Cherubini we had problems getting good Lexan for the skylights-- it would have bubbles inside it (since all acrylic is essentially in a liquid state). They took away nothing from practical strength but looked awful. The plastics guy tried to blow it off-- 'well, I could see it if it were a museum showcase.' I said, 'Buddy, for all your practical purposes a two-hundred-thousand-dollar boat IS a museum shoecase!' The moral: don't compromise about what's right-- just insist that you get it. Plexiglas is breakable but it is better optically-- if flat it does not distort (the Germans sanded the curved corners of Messerschmidt fighter-plane windows so the pilots would not look through the distorted parts!). Lexan is the seagoing sailor's choice. The deadlights (non-opening) on something like an H-27 should be about 3/16" or 1/4". Bed them with 5200 or some other sealant. The 5200 is made to give with the temperature changes of plastic-to-plastic. I don't know about glass (and it's NOT good for aluminium). As far as safety glass goes-- if it did break, then what would you do? Think about under what conditions it will break (because it's WHEN, not IF). Do you want broken glass pebbles in your bunk and a gaping hole open to breaking water in THAT weather? And how would you fix it? --with plastic you could drive sheetmetal screws right into it to fasten a patch-- if it broke at all. Remember, it's a boat, not a porch. JC 2
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Greg Kinzel
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