My leaking windows....

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burgundyben

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My cabin sides are 1/2 ply, the perspex windows are fitted in a 1/4 inch rebate with a chromed brass frames covering the perimeter with about 100 4 by 3/8 screws.

They leak.

Poly sulphide wont stick to the plastic (I've proved that), polyurethane means if the windows have to come out the plastic will have to be wrecked and it will pull the ply to bits (previous owner went there).

I'm considing white lead (or maybe red?). Or maybe sealastik?

Advice please.
 
hi ben.

I don;t quite understand the arrangement but i do understand leaky windows.

I fixed the windscreen leaks with black caulk from a sealant gun, which disappears to the eye. I masked up either side and then rammed the stuff in the gap, finish quickly with finger, lift tape fairly quickly and don't touch till next morning. The stuff fixes nicely to glass, plastic, metal, it seems.
 
hmm....quite sure I could fix this with polyurethane which many of the goo in a gun type things are (most variants of sika for instance), trouble is, when previous owner did this window removal turned into plastic cracking wood smashing affair...
 
I did my first ever proper job on a Contessa 32 on Sunday, I had to replace all of the windows and gunk them cos they were leaking. We took the windows out - the whole thing including the frames, re-sealed the glass to the ally frames and then used some weird putty stuff around the back of the rebated window frame and then screwed the windows back to the boat, as we did this the wierd sticky putty stuff was squeezed to the outer edge of the frame, this obviously seals the window. We ran some water out of a hose directly onto the windows about 4 hours later and there wasn't a leak in sight.

I will check to see what wierd sticky putty stuff we used. I'll be back
 
Have the same arrangement on my boat, albeit with glass instead of plastic.

They leaked like sods when i first got hold of the boat. In the end, I had made up a rubber gasket to fit under the chromed brasss frames from a boat window repairer.

I used a little marine silicone (dow whatsitsname one) too between the wood and glass, and that seems to keep my cabin dry (apart from the leaks in the roof!)

The 'marine' silcone seems to stick better than any b&q crap, but not so fierce as stikaflex, so it gets my vote. Useful stuff.
 
Is there room in the rebate to use a u shaped rubber channel such as those sold by Seals Direct here ? just redid some old leaky windows on a mates boat with this. Used glazing sealant from Screwfix to stick rubber to glass, and plenty around outside of rubber seal. make sure the join in the rubber is at the centre of the top edge. Let it all set for a day or two and then carefully went round with a blade removing all the excess. Result - no leaks. I think if you can get a solid seal around the glass/plastic you'll get better results as the rubber seems more resistant to movement. Whichever method you choose, or are forced into by the size of the rebate, use twice the amount of sealant you think you need then remove the excess afterwards. It's not a job anyone wants to have to do twice, but when it works it's great to sit in a dry cabin! Now if anyone can tell me how to trace the source of the persistent deck leak that drips on my telly.... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif <span style="color:blue"> </span> <span style="color:blue"> </span>
 
Had the same thing, leak in deck dripped into headlining, and out of a light fitting, straight into the back of my tv with the obvious consequences!!!

Tracing leaks is a pain. I had many that seem to be comming from windows, but in fact appear to be comming under the old fiberglass sheat to the cabin roof. (some idiot used polyester resin. The entire roof was saturated by the capillary action of water getting into badly sealed edges and working its way across the entire roof. Where the ply roof meets the cabin sides, the poorly sealed gaps let the water in, and hey presto, annoying drips you cannot trace (until i removed the old roof covering on the weekend!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Im repairing it all now, and fiberglassing the old, worn out leaking strip planked decks with epoxy, so it will look better and stay much drier!
 
My first thought would be some beeswax, melted and softened by the addition of a little paraffin. Stir it all together to get it well combined, allow to cool and smear on the joint. Because it has been softened, the excess will squeeze out, and because it is a wax, it will be hydrophobic. I tend to find that I like the old-fashioned materials.
Peter.
 
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