Leaky window rubbers

[Ross D]

Does anyone have any tips on stopping window rubbers leaking. I had very old and stiff rubbers on my windows which were starting to leak a little. So I removed all the windows on the boat and have changed all the rubbers. It was a horrible job but I felt very pleased once it was finished and looking nice...until it rained and they all seemed to leak worse than before.

Any advice on solutions?

 

[dylanwinter]

glue gun

the slug has aluminium seals around the windows

some have corroded

I squeezed some hot glue gun glue into them

works a treat - looks horrible

but you might be able to make it look nice

Dylan

 

[tigr]

Yes, I've done the same. Replaced all the rotten rubbers with a lot of effort and then had leaks so inserted silicone adhevise sealant all round and now no leaks

 

[Giblets]

Captain Tolly's Creeping Crack Cure.

 

[maby]

We were reluctant to use anything that would set since this would just make a future repair more difficult. We ended up beading the windows into ordinary silicone grease and that worked very well for a couple of years - sold the boat, so it could still be fine for all I know.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Does anyone have any tips on stopping window rubbers leaking. I had very old and stiff rubbers on my windows which were starting to leak a little. So I removed all the windows on the boat and have changed all the rubbers. It was a horrible job but I felt very pleased once it was finished and looking nice...until it rained and they all seemed to leak worse than before.

Any advice on solutions?

I replaced the windows on a Leisure 17 which had perspex windows fixed into the single skin GRP. I used a rubber moulding from seals direct and invested in their insertion tool. I used a minimal amount of Sika in both sides of the seal and had no further problems with water ingress. You don't say what type of windows you have but the key thing in my case was to use the correct rubber profile.

 

[Fantasie 19]

Yes, I've done the same. Replaced all the rotten rubbers with a lot of effort and then had leaks so inserted silicone adhevise sealant all round and now no leaks

Me too but I still have some leakage - so I'll finish off with Captain Tolly this winter...

 

[VicS]

Fitted my windows originally when new

Replaced the windows and rubbers after abut 20 years because the Perspex had crazed and the rubber beginning to perish

Originally no problems. One small leak 2nd time round ... probably due to using the incorrect rubber .. but cured with a leak sealer, although not Capt Tolley's.

Rubber must be correct for the panel thickness as well as the glazing thickness and for the radius of the window corners
It is important that the correct rubber is used.

It is important that it is not stretched around the opening but cut over-length and pushed into place.
No sealant is necessary if fitted correctly.

See http://www.sealsdirect.co.uk/bbCMSrenderPage.asp?intPageId=9#section4 for some advice on fitting window rubbers

 

[KellysEye]

>Captain Tolly's Creeping Crack Cure

Agree, it works.

 

[Gordonmc]

Capt. Tolleys has helped slow leaks in my US made deadlights as a stop-gap before I attempt a longer term fix or replacement.
I don't have rubber seals - the perspex has been bedded onto some form of black silicone which has gone hard. In anticipation of the permanent fix I bought non-setting butyl seal which goes on like double-sided tape.
Its as sticky as a sticky thing and the long term benefit is in the name - it doesn't set so should flex with the perspex, coaming and frame.
Just an idea if you can't get the right rubber profile.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Re Bed Glass Into Frame With Sikaflex 296

My windows consist of an aluminium frame with the glassed fastened on one side with a double sided sticky tape and on the on the other side a large O section seal. I know that this type of seal worked well over many years. The seal has now failed and the windows are being fixed.

The windows were removed from the boat and the frames split in two. Each frame half is connected with small aluminium screws to fish plates. Most of the aluminium screws and fish plates have actually corroded away significantly.

The glass is a very loose fit in the frame without any O ring in place. After cleaning up the frames and glass use small sections of rubber to position the glass in the centre of the frame. Then seal the glass to the frame with Sikaflex 296 for glass (its black and UV resistant). Fill the frame and make sure you make a chamfer so that rain and spray runs off the frame and does not gather in a depression.

Remount the window using a bedding tape not Sikaflex (white stuff). The windows look good and work brilliantly and the job was very easy but time consuming. I would never go back to seals now after using this product. I would add that the original seal O ring OD was not available from any of the suppliers and there was all sorts of alternative seals offered.

I wonder though if the new assembled window with Sikaflex is still as stiff with the old O Ring assembly and if it makes a difference.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ross D]

Thanks for all the advice, in the end I squeezed in "Plumbers Gold" (sealant in a standard cartridge) around the seal between the glass and the rubber, it seems to have solved the problem.

The best part about it is that it will stick underwater or to wet surfaces which meant we could do the repair while there was still water around the mating face of the glass and rubber.

Unfortunately it only comes in white, but that is a small price to pay for sticking so well and solving the leaks.

Ross

 

[Billjratt]

Dip-End-Whip, the liqiuid PVC stuff for dipping ropes into, works very well as a seeping sealant, and dries reasonably clear.
I was advised that a similar PVC product is used offshore to protect welded areas.

 

[Kelpie]

Ross- am I right in thinking you have a Vega?
I've often wondered about whether the windows could be better designed. I know there is a very expensive aluminium frame kit available but that seems a bit too far.

I've toyed with the idea of replacing the windows with oversize acryclic panels, one on the outside and one inside, through-bolted to one another with domed nuts for aesthetic reasons. A clear sealant would be needed, at least on the outside. The idea is that this would give stronger windows and some sort of 'double glazed' effect.

Stupid idea? Or worth a try?

 

[Ross D]

Hi Rob,

Yes we do have a Vega, the windows aren't great, replacing the seals with new and then gluing them in with sealant seems to work. It's not a long term solution as the rubbers will degrade and need replacing in about 10 years cost us about £100 including buying the insertion tools (definitely worth it I have fitted a window seal with screwdrivers before, never again)

Not sure about the double glazing idea, I think you would get fogged windows in between the two layers (remember the cheap plastic stick on double glazing that came out about 25 years ago for houses?).

I would probably go for an oversized plastic window (polycarbonate?) with an aluminium/stainless flat plate ring frame around the outside bolted through. Get it made up locally from an engineering firm, costs would be the sheet materials and cutting. But that is hopefully 10 years time, which might just be time enough to finish the list of jobs we have at the moment.

Ross

 

[ghostlymoron]

Hi Rob,

But that is hopefully 10 years time, which might just be time enough to finish the list of jobs we have at the moment.

Ross

You'll never get to the end of your todo list. Jobs get added to the bottom faster than they disappear from the top.

 

[wazza]

I've just changed our windows as they were scratched/cracked. New perspex and sealant around.. no probs.(I hope)

 

[Ross D]

You'll never get to the end of your todo list. Jobs get added to the bottom faster than they disappear from the top.

Of course, what I meant is that after owning the boat for only a 2 1/2 years I have at least 10 years worth of jobs on the to do list

 

[webcraft]

Hi Rob,

Yes we do have a Vega, the windows aren't great, replacing the seals with new and then gluing them in with sealant seems to work. It's not a long term solution as the rubbers will degrade and need replacing in about 10 years

We must be extrememly lucky or have abnormally good rubbers fitted to Fairwinds. They have been in for at least the eight and a half years we have had the boat and have never leaked a drop, even when 'pressurised' by having the space between them and the stormboards filled with water on a few occasions. As far as I know the previous owners - who had had the boat at least three years - had not replaced them either.

(Whoops, shouldn't have said that - what's the betting they start leaking this season!)

- W

 

[BERT T]

Window sealant.

Try a product called CT1 it is available in clear, black, grey, brown and white, and can be applied to wet surfaces. It is an adhesive as well as a sealant,I've been using it for a few years now for various jobs and no complaints so far.