Replacement of Cabin Window Plexiglass

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richie30's picture
richie30
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Joined: 12/12/07
Posts: 168
Replacement of Cabin Window Plexiglass

Just wondering if anybody has replaced the side cabin windows, with new plexiglass? Any advice would be welcome, thanks very much, Rich.

Rich

Richard & Joan Bain
PAZZO Hull#1670
1997 Catalina 36 MK11
Bayfield, Ontario

My Day Job Below
www.richardbain.com
www.bineapress.com

pkeyser's picture
pkeyser
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Joined: 5/18/13
Posts: 679

Rich-
If memory serves me, search this web site, and I think you'll find numerous posts regarding cabin window replacement.

Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B

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KevinLenard
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Joined: 1/28/15
Posts: 224

Richard, it was a bit of a battle to get the old ones out and one did break. Turned out that those screws around the fixed portals are not long enough to have engaged the fiberglass behind them. They were simply screwed into the glue. I used Sikaflex 295 black and the 209 primer, but I am not sure that the primer had any effect. It certainly does not work on the aluminum frames of the hatches. It just peels off. I took all the old hatch acrylic and window acrylic to Plastic World in Toronto near Steeles and Keele street. I had to buy a half sheet of the thicker smoke acrylic and one thinner sheet for the side windows. They cut and buffed them to size and did not put in the holes for the small screws as those screws were useless. If you use a lot of blue tape very carefully you can peel it off after the glue dries and come out with a very clean installation. My two screw-ups were not using enough of the 295 on the hatches and so it didn't fill the gap properly and using the 209 primer made the acrylic pop right out. My other mistake was not using enough pressure to push the side windows in place while the glue dried. I used a trucker strap to try and pressure them in place, but I think an idea I saw someone else use of cutting wood to fit/jam between the lifelines and the acrylic was a better idea. In the end I ended up with a small leak on both sides that I filled with creeping crack from the outside and black latex acrylic on the inside. After a couple of attempts I have sealed them adequately I think! The bill for the acrylic came out to about $650 canadian. I did it before the shrink wrap came off in the spring and they took about 3 weeks to finish the job, however it would be easy to cover the hatches with plastic and clamp them shut to seal them, and use tape on the side windows while they are out.
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Kevin Lenard
"Firefly"
'91 C-36 Mk. "1.5" Tall Rig, Fin Keel, Hull #1120, Universal M-35 original (not "A" or "B")
CBYC, Scarborough, Lake Ontario, Canada

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