Cracked glass replacement

[GMandGW]

Hello all!

Unfortunately we have damaged a sliding glass window on our sun deck, port side. We have an 87 Nova trawler, curious if it’s possible to remove the cracked glass, get it measured and replace? The frame seems to be one piece, so I’m unsure how to approach.

Thanks!

PS: Apologies for the flipped pics, but I think they still convey the idea.

 

[jgwinks]

The windows in my boat have the one piece frames with plastic runners in them. If you lift the glass up the bottom will clear the track and you can lift it out. It's very tight, but I was able to get the plastic runners to flex enough to clear the glass. The boat's 49 years old, I'm sure the plastic was more flexible when it was installed. A little heat would probably help.

 

[Prairie Salt]

Typically you would remove screws and carefully cut away the silicone (or marine sealant) holding the frame in place. That would expose the track the window is in.

Clean out all the sealant to get a good seal when replacing. Careful to take your time and not bend frame when removing.

I assume these are tempered and will need to be custom made. Automotive glass replacement is a source for that.

OR....call automotive glass company and have them do it all and take all responsibility.

Caveat: I don't own a boat, but have 30 years of RV and trailer ownership experience and changed a few of these windows in my day. Frame looks 'same-same'.

 

[jgwinks]

#1 on having the shop change them and take responsibility. One of the commercial boats I ran dates back to 1964, and several of the windows were cracked. All of them were milky. (There's like 30 total.) We had a glass shop start on changing them, after they broke several they changed the deal and said they'd make them but we had to install them. We broke a couple too. Hopefully yours are easier.

 

[DSC]

The 1987 Nova shares some similarities to our 1987 Lien Hwa and perhaps the windows are similar. The photos look similar. The track on our boat does not allow the window to be lifted up and out to remove the pane. We have replaced a few windows and it is difficult, particularly if the slider is behind a fixed pane. Basically, on our boat you cut the black seals inside the outer frame on the outside of the boat. This is tough hard work using a box cutter blade. If there is a fixed window, it has to come out first. The sliding window is in a track that is held at the forward end by a bent piece of aluminum (this is behind all the black seals / gaskets). This is bent up and then the track holding the top of the window can be rotated out at the forward edge permitting the window to slide out.
We had replacement windows manufactured (ours were 6 mm laminated but we were told by our glass installer that some new boats are going with tempered laminated glass which is more difficult to break but when it breaks it shatters so that you cannot see through it.
You can either make a pattern and try to get it pretty close to perfect or remove the old window and seal the hole while your window supplier makes up the custom glass using the old pane as a template - a week to a few weeks.
Installation is the reverse. The new seals should be formed from commercial grade window sealant (comes in a very large sausage that needs a commercial gun) or Sikaflex 295. Our window installer told me that most other products will not handle the UV. The seals are an art to get right - our guy used a lot of gloves that he changed constantly. The process to replace our port slider took several hours of pattern making, about 3 weeks for the glass to be made, and the window installer took about 5 hours to remove the fixed glass (there is a risk of breaking the glass), removing the slider and then installing the new glass and the old fixed pane.
We have replaced several cracked panes and redone the seals on most of the boat using a commercial installer that specializes in boat glass. We found difficulty finding someone that wanted to tackle the job. I understand that the early Ocean Alexanders have the same windows as ours if you are looking for an installer. Good Luck

 

[rwidman]

It's certainly possible to replace the windows but you will either have to figure out how on your own or hire a pro to do it. I have replaced two on my boat.

 

[GMandGW]

Hi DSC,

Thank you so much for this information. My wife and I will start the look for a commercial installer as this is definitely not a job we want to tackle. I appreciate the detail which allowed us to make this decision easy.

GMandGW

The 1987 Nova shares some similarities to our 1987 Lien Hwa and perhaps the windows are similar. The photos look similar. The track on our boat does not allow the window to be lifted up and out to remove the pane. We have replaced a few windows and it is difficult, particularly if the slider is behind a fixed pane. Basically, on our boat you cut the black seals inside the outer frame on the outside of the boat. This is tough hard work using a box cutter blade. If there is a fixed window, it has to come out first. The sliding window is in a track that is held at the forward end by a bent piece of aluminum (this is behind all the black seals / gaskets). This is bent up and then the track holding the top of the window can be rotated out at the forward edge permitting the window to slide out.
We had replacement windows manufactured (ours were 6 mm laminated but we were told by our glass installer that some new boats are going with tempered laminated glass which is more difficult to break but when it breaks it shatters so that you cannot see through it.
You can either make a pattern and try to get it pretty close to perfect or remove the old window and seal the hole while your window supplier makes up the custom glass using the old pane as a template - a week to a few weeks.
Installation is the reverse. The new seals should be formed from commercial grade window sealant (comes in a very large sausage that needs a commercial gun) or Sikaflex 295. Our window installer told me that most other products will not handle the UV. The seals are an art to get right - our guy used a lot of gloves that he changed constantly. The process to replace our port slider took several hours of pattern making, about 3 weeks for the glass to be made, and the window installer took about 5 hours to remove the fixed glass (there is a risk of breaking the glass), removing the slider and then installing the new glass and the old fixed pane.
We have replaced several cracked panes and redone the seals on most of the boat using a commercial installer that specializes in boat glass. We found difficulty finding someone that wanted to tackle the job. I understand that the early Ocean Alexanders have the same windows as ours if you are looking for an installer. Good Luck

 

[fryedaze]

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15744

Maybe some insights