Summary
(please click on any of the pictures for a larger one - use the BACK button to come back)
The pilothouse windows that were in the boat when I got it were pretty much useless. Rainwater would run down the sides from both the bedding and the sliding glass track. There was at least 6lbs of silicone pressed into every conceivable corner. The interior trim rings were completely trashed from being screwed down in so many different places. No screens to be found anywhere for the sliding windows.
At the same time, I wanted to simplify the hulking bronze porthole-look of the aft ports, and I might as well replace the forward ones as well.
The pilothouse windows were ordered from a Canadian company after many, many emails and measurements. I used Beckson plastic fixed ports for the 6 round portholes.
It took FOREVER to get the windows from Canada. What else could they have had to do over the winter? ;)
Lots of things were being held up, because I couldn't "seal up" the boat from the weather until all of the windows were installed.
One thing I could do was prep the installation as best I could. I ground out the core between the two fiberglass skins and filled it with thickened epoxy to reduce the possibility of water getting in there later.
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Once the windows arrived, I had to get some wooden panels up inside.
I really didn't want to put any wood up inside yet, but I had to because of the way the windows clamped to the bulkhead for installation.
Since the panels were going in so early and might be exposed for a while, I put a sacrificial coat of varnish on both sides of each panel for protection.
I used the old panels as templates for the cutouts.
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Here are some of the panels being installed.
The cored construction is kind of good for some things. You can put screws into the fiberglass a short way without coming out the other side of the bulkhead!
I'll be using mostly cherry plywood inside. It is a good deal cheaper and easier to get than teak, and if varnished right, will blend really well with any teak moldings or other panels.
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Here are the windows installed. The black trim rings clamp to the bulkhead and hold the windows in.
I plan to make teak trim rings for all of the round ports. |
A HUGE problem I had was that the side bulkheads were not flat along the length of the window.
The previous windows had been "pulled in" to conform to the side of the pilothouse and that is probably what contributed to their leaking. In addition, when you curve the window so much, the sliding part, well....., doesn't.
What to do. What to do.
I ended up splitting the difference of the curvature fore and aft, and making shims to go in behind the window flange. The maximum thickness of the shims at th worst point on the window was about 3/16". This however, made for some ugly bedding and caulking of the silicone I used around the window frames.
You can just see the curvature and my "fat" bedding at the aft end of the window here. The bedding looks recessed in the picture but is is really not, it is plenty proud of the window frame. That drip rail may come in more handy now!
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Lessons Learned
A lot of flat surfaces really aren't flat.
Black silicone on light colored paint ain't fun.
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