Could not take the view out my crazed windows anymore, popped the port side out yesterday, took them to tap plastic in San Leandro so they could cut out new ones. Will be ready Tuesday, $220 parts and labor for the acrylic. If any one wants a set in the bay area, call Tap in San Leandro while the still have mine as templates , I am surprised they do not keep templates for such a common boat.

I guess I know what I am doing over the 4th of July.

Any tips as to the type of sealant and install tips would be appreciated.

Blair, welcome. And no need to delete the post. It's nice to refresh a topic now and then.

Larry,

Blair created this post back in March, I just opened tha subject again as I am replacing the windows on my boat and was looking for any tips. I was on my Iphone and took the easy way and just put my comments on this post.

I did find that Catalina suggests Dow 795 black as the sealant for the installation. Could not find it locally, Catalina sells it for $15 for an 8oz tube and suggests one per window. This is a fair price but in light of the fact I want to install the windows this Wednesday the overnight freight would cost as much as the sealant. I ordered it from McMaster Carr, their price was $9.35 per tube and I will have it in morning as they ship via California overnight. I have products at work that would likely do the job, two part polysulfide sealants are what are used on aircraft windows, pressure vessels and fuel tanks but, it is way more expensive, harder to work with and I had none in stock in black with the required UV inhibitors for this task. The polysulfide sealants run about $70 per tube, has a short shelf life so we dispose of (give to employees for home projects) about half of what we purchase. When I need some its gone.

If I have time I will take some pictures and send them to one of our technical editors, I here they are always looking for material. Hopefully these pictures will not include pictures of me with this sealant in my hair, beard or all over the curtains and interior of the boat.

I re did my head hatch and used white 795, was easy to work with and cleaned up was easy. You can get it at building supply stores

I just replaced all four of my non-opening ports in my 1991 C36. The windows were severely crazed. Crazed windows are also weaker windows, so there is a safety consideration here as well.

I had been dreading this project for years.

I bought replacement windows from Cruising Concepts. They have templates for all the Catalinas. They are the tinted acryllic. They now recommend, and sell with the windows, the Dow Corning 795 sealant/adhesive. Reportedly, this is what Catalina uses. The windows fit perfectly.

It turned out to be quite a job, to put it mildly. The hardest part was getting the old adhesive off the outside frames. I tried every product, tool and devise known to man, and ended up using putty knifes of various kinds, a Stanley knife, exacto knives, razor blades and elbow grease to take off the rubbery layer. To get the final silicone film off I used Goo-Be-Gone.

Once the frames were clean, the installation was straightforward. The 795 is very easy to work with, and cleans up easily. You do not need to use screws with the installation. The 795 is what they use for installing windows in buildings--it works. The only tricky part was prevening the corners from lifting away from the boat while the sealant cured. I used some sticks wedged against the lifelines to keep the corners in contact with the hull.

The first window took 7 hours! Of course, that included 4 trips to West Marine and hardware stores in a search (vainly) for easier solutions. The final window took 3 hours. Someone more skilled could do it a lot faster, I'm sure.

Of course, the moment of truth will come with our winter rains. But so far, I'm dry down below.

The result is jaw-dropping. I actually can see through the windows! Who knew what we were missing!

Good upgrade.

--Nelson

Nelson,

I feel your pain, I finished replacing my windows on July 4th, the blistered skin on my knees has finally fell off, for two weeks they looked worse than the bottom of my Topsiders.

I have put together a technical article including pictures of this event for the next issue of Main Sheet. If you have anything to contribute in the way of pictures or discription of the process, I would be happy to include your thoughts.

Steve

Steve:

I'd like to add my thoughts, if useful. I contact you off line.

--Nelson Lee