John Somerset, Cavelle
I recently updated my windows as follows-
1. Removed all frames and bond the outer and inner skins with 6mm
spacers for
strength and consistently thick openings. Then fair to give a
clean line.
2. The clears were replaced with 6mm "cast acrylic" (not
rolled) as it lasts 5 times longer than lexan (polycarbonate)
3. These were attached with double sided 12mm wide ~ 2.5mm thick
tape and a
bead of sealant and finally trimmed/sealed on the outside with
more sealant.
The 2.5mm tape
provides a consistent
gap for the sealant to allow movement of
thermal expansion and hull flexing. The tape also gives a good
finish on the
inside between the hull and glazing.
As shown in the pix it gives a nice clean finish inside and out. Materials
- Half a sheet of
6mm x 2400x
1200 tinted cast acrylic - $120 …. More durable than Lexan and
half the
thermal expansion. All professional boat builders use Cast Acrylic
or Glass.
Supplied by Plastral
-
Sealant - Dow corning 791N - $10 / tube
x2 ….Black, UV and salt water proof. 50% CTE. Supplied by Lincoln
Sentry.
- Vinyl Ester resin, fillers, glue and flowcoat ~$50 ….
Twice the
strength of Polyester and impervious to Moisture.
Supplied by AA Fibreglass supplies
-
Double sided 3M 4991 VHB tape $85/ 30m
roll (best quality) about 10m used. Supplier- HARRY DAINES PTY LTD
-
Paint- spray pack epoxy enamel black and cream. ….Black border on
the inside of
the glazing to hide the tape and sealant. Cream 25mm border on the
inside to
cover fairing work.
The skin joining and faring took about 10h per window plus 2h
fixing the
clears. A lot of work but great result!
Many thanks
to my consulting team Bruce Allen, Paul
Cracknell and Google.
The skin joining and faring took about 10h per window plus 2h fixing
the clears. A lot of work but great result!
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