window replacement

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Wow, you guys are WAY too good! Mr. 221. I can't recommend a manufacturer as I have never dealt with any BUT my personal preference for glazing would be laminated glass as opposed to tempered for the simple reason if EVER a piece breaks, tempered will leave you with a gaping hole and a handful of glass "niblets", whereas laminated will stay together.
Further laminated may crack and maintain integrity but tempered does NOT crack, it shatters/explodes.

 

[boatpoker]

I am in the middle of refitting my third boat with 17 (yes .... 17 ! )Bomon windows. Exceptional quality, terrific service, love the clamp-on system ... never seen a leak in 20 years. You can choose your own glass type and a variety of tints. My saloon windows are one way glass.

 

[psneeld]

Went with Wynne and 1/4 inch laminated glass.


Kinda on the budget side....but realistically...so is the rest of the boat.

 

[Greatlaker221]

Went with Wynne and 1/4 inch laminated glass.


Kinda on the budget side....but realistically...so is the rest of the boat.

Psneeld can you please post a few pics of your windows? I'm trying to figure out what makes windows worth a grand more.

If anyone can post pics of their replacement windows maybe we can see differences. I would love to see motion windows. All the manufacturers website pics are from a far.

 

[Greatlaker221]

Most of the opinions from this forum on glass seems to favor laminated glass. The manufacturers I talked to all favor tempered which costs more than laminated. They say laminated is easy to crack. When I bought my boat 11/16 windows were cracked, in place, but cracked. The replacement rate for tempered is much lower than laminated they report. It seems to me that big shards of glass even if held in place pose more danger than nibblets if your leg goes thru a window. The automotive industry sided with tempered, what am I missing?

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. 221. "...if your leg goes thru a window." Not beyond the realm of possibility but I think if you were in THAT sort of situation, your leg would be a ways down the "holy sh*t" list.
You mention 11/16 of your windows were cracked but in place. That's my point exactly. Glass that is properly mounted in a frame is very, very unlikely to spontaneously crack. It requires either an active (blunt force trauma) or a passive (extreme heat from a fire) force of some sort. I would strongly suspect the windows were improperly mounted from the factory. Perhaps the edge of the glass was resting on a nail or screw or the edges of the pane were not properly prepared prior to installation.
Granted, the force to cause failure is very much greater with tempered glass but when sufficient force is applied you get "niblets" AND a large hole.
As far as automobiles, the wind shield is most probably laminated whereas the sides are most definitely tempered. Use of laminated glass in the side windows would require a frame of some sort to protect from water intrusion along the edges.

 

[psneeld]

Psneeld can you please post a few pics of your windows? I'm trying to figure out what makes windows worth a grand more.

If anyone can post pics of their replacement windows maybe we can see differences. I would love to see motion windows. All the manufacturers website pics are from a far.

they aren't worth a grand more...just look at any RV or Bus and that's what they look like.

when I was shopping they were 1/2 to 2/3 the cost of others....

I preferred the clamp system rather than screws on the outside unless the windows were stainless or plastic.

 

[N4712]

We have Diamond Sea Glaze and they're some heavy duty windows. Although every couple years they need to be sanded and painted.

 

[psneeld]

We have Diamond Sea Glaze and they're some heavy duty windows. Although every couple years they need to be sanded and painted.

Powder coated or painted?

3 years on my cheapo painted ones with zero maintenance (I have little respect for older powder coating tech...new is better...but that is why I ordered painted)

 

[N4712]

Paint, just regular rattle can paint spray paint. Not sure what they were originally but we had them painted when we bought the boat. They add need it again in a year or two. It's cheap and easy so it's not a big deal. The two year number was an approximation.

 

[psneeld]

wow...may be worth pulling and having them done right so the cycle is more like 10 years not every couple.


....and I am a cheapo with lots of free time but working on bigger projects than redoing windows so frequently.


The aluminum needs to be properly primed which is a real BEAR in anything but an industrial setting.

 

[N4712]

wow...may be worth pulling and having them done right so the cycle is more like 10 years not every couple.


....and I am a cheapo with lots of free time but working on bigger projects than redoing windows so frequently.


The aluminum needs to be properly primed which is a real BEAR in anything but an industrial setting.

Ok, so just walked around and took a look at our doors and windows (all DSG) and the paint is only bubbling at places it normally does which is around un isolated hardware such as canvas snaps and door stops along with some parts where screws are on the windows.

So make that touch up every so often. Pulling them out isn't an option they have pretty veneer frames on the interior blending them in with the adjacent walls so that's out. It's easier every so often to have someone come in and touch them up or paint them totally.

 

[psneeld]

Cool...stay ahead...painted aluminum can be a challenge.....

 

[N4712]

Cool...stay ahead...painted aluminum can be a challenge.....

In the large scheme of things it's not a big deal. Were I building a new boat I would take appropriate precautions to make sure everything was right, isolated and the whole shabang.

 

[Greatlaker221]

Thanks everybody for the input. I went with Motion Windows, tempered,powdercoated, dark gray for the owners cabin. $3100 for six windows. Not the cheapest, not the most. Now I have to get the boat ready for the water by the time to windows come in 8 weeks.

 

[Sea Gull]

This thread has been very helpful, thank you. We've pulled our aft cabin long windows (leaking so very badly) and followed your lead and contacted Peninsula Glass; got our templates done yesterday! Any input on tinting colors? Which are good or not so good choices? We're thinking solar cool bronze, but would appreciate a 2nd opinion, thanks.

 

[raymond.goff]

I may following your lead. One of our main cabin Windows is leaking badly. Didn't realize it until we put our new mattress under the window. Our windows our original an exterior trim was glassed over so new may be way to go.

 

[rwidman]

If $ was no object, I could consider polycarbonate. But then if $ was no object, despite loving my Californian, I think I might have a different boat.

Polycarbonate does not hold up well to UV light. It yellows. I would stick with glass.

 

[rwidman]

................. Glass that is properly mounted in a frame is very, very unlikely to spontaneously crack. It requires either an active (blunt force trauma) or a passive (extreme heat from a fire) force of some sort. .......................

My boat's windows, like the boat, are 16 years old. All but the windshield were covered with a tint film when I bought it. Since the AC could not keep up with the heat loss on hot sunny days, I had a tint shop install 3M's most expensive, high performance film on all the windows, even the front. This film is supposed to pass nearly all the light and reject most of the heat.

Well, a couple months later, a crack appeared in one of the rear windows. This window is under a canopy and doesn't normally receive direct sunlight.

The crack grew over time and now extends over the entire window. There's a possibility that the crack is in the film not the glass, but I'm expecting it to be in the actual glass.

The boat is blocked now being bottom painted but I plan on calling the tint shop and having them come back to the boat to see.

Since the glass was fine until it was tinted, I have to think the tint had something to do with it cracking (if it's the glass and not the film).

 

[rwidman]

We have Diamond Sea Glaze and they're some heavy duty windows. Although every couple years they need to be sanded and painted.

That's a project on my list this winter.

 

[Aft Deck Capt]

Sea Gull, we went with Motion Windows/Peninsula Glass as well. Jeff was great to work with.

Detail where the aft head wall divides the stb window and they will proportion the glass to have the frame align with the wall and mirror the layout for the port side.

The "clear" we chose matches the existing glass and has somewhat of a tint naturally.

Got the port window in before winter arrived. The stb will be one of the first exterior projects come spring. In the mean time the are plenty of items to address on the inside.

 

[Restitution]

Just picked up my new windows from Peninsula Glass today. They look very nice. I ordered with slight tint. $1,400.00. The existing windows had leaked slightly over the years, but boat has been kept under cover so damage has been mnimal. I am in the hopes that the unseen dryrot is also minimal. The deciding factor to replace them was when the Admiral tossed a dock step onto walkway and cracked the window. Now that I see TG has raised the bar with his craftmanship, he has motivated me to perhaps do likewise. This may inded be more than a weekend job now.

Sam

 

[Donna]

Just replacing the glass with grey lite 14. 9 windows with me taking them out and installing them, $2,800.00 That quote is from glass doctor in Daytona Beach. I got higher quotes elsewhere. I would like a dark tint not laminated..

Does anyone know of a place near me? Palm Coast, Daytona, St. Augustine? I feel like I’m being ripped off because I’m a woman?

 

[Aft Deck Capt]

"Now that I see TG has raised the bar with his craftmanship, he has motivated me to perhaps do likewise."

I hear ya Sam! I just don't have the time right now to dive into that particular project. Hope you achieve results similar to TG's.

 

[Restitution]

The Admiral is a help!

 

[koliver]

The Admiral is a help!

I recommend making that picture your Avatar pic.

 

[Edelweiss]

The Admiral is a help!

Isn't that a fun project. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed ripping out the old wooden frames and scraping the conglomeration of numerous layers of sealants. Which included at least one misguided application of 5200.

But on the bright side, once it's done, 40 years of misery are behind you.

Looking good!!

 

[Restitution]

It was a pip alright. Good thing our plan wasn't to simply replace the broken pane. There is absolutely nothing left of the tiny pieces of framing after scraping and breaking off for numerous hours. Where are you located Larry?

 

[martymar]

42' aft cabin windows

So do the new windows from Peninsula glass still have the option of being able to open them? Thanks Martymar 42' New Horizon

 

[Pau Hana]

So do the new windows from Peninsula glass still have the option of being able to open them? Thanks Martymar 42' New Horizon

Yes- you can have windows made to open.

We purchased windows from them last year. As they manufacture on site, they can customize pretty much anything.