Replace old Perspex windows

[collinsp]

Hi All,

I need to replace 4 cabin Perspex windows as they have crazed so bad they are hard to see out of. Does anyone have a good recommendation for someone that will cut new ones based off a template that I can draw on heavy duty brown paper??

Cheers

Paul

 

[Tranona]

Plenty of suppliers on line. These are two that aim at the boat market hadlowmarine.com/Pages/Introduction.html projectplastics.co.uk/boat-windows.html but you may well find a plastics supplier or sign maker local to you.

 

[[70521]]

You don't say where you are. If you are anywhere near Plymouth Nu Sign Marine is the place to go.

 

[VicS]

A couple of suggestions............. beaten to both by Tranona

Project plastics may have been where I had mine made.
If l wanted them now I'd go toHadlow Marine because its local

Also look at Eagle Boat Windows Frameless Windows | Washboards | Cut Panels | Eagle Boat Windows.

And Seaclear in Maidstone Boat Window and Hatch Repair and Refurbishment, aluminium framed boat windows, acrylic boat and yacht windows, Maidstone, Kent, Medway, Essex, Sussex, lewmar seals

If your windows are very curved get the new ones "drape moulded" using the old ones as patterns, especially if fitting in rubbers

 

[Dipper]

I got mine made by a local sign maker.

 

[VicS]

I got mine made by a local sign maker.

Did they have the tinted acrylic that we normally use for boat windows?

 

[Dipper]

Did they have the tinted acrylic that we normally use for boat windows?

The firm I went to did. If I remember correctly they had several different tints. Another sign maker made my instrument panel using black plastic engraved with all the labels. Useful people for boat owners!

 

[PeterV]

Hampshire Signs and Plastics made mine and are very used to supplying boat windows in the correct grey tint.

 

[Aquanaught]

Rather than trying to draw the design and the exact fixing holes on brown paper just remove one of the windows and take to your manufacturer to use as a template - much easier. Fill the hole with a piece of acrylic taped over the frame externally. However if you are sailing now and the turnaround is extended then it may be best for this to be a winter project!

 

[owen]

I took the old windows out, ordered new tinted acrylic from a plastics company of which there are many on ebay.
I then used a router to make the new exact shape . I was surprisingly easy once the router was set up. The difference is amazing, so clear now

 

[Stemar]

A rectangle of Perspex bought online is a LOT cheaper than a window cut to shape by the supplier, and it's easy enough to cut with a jigsaw and a fine blade on a slow speed. Masking tape for the saw plate to rest on will help prevent scratches.

If you have to drill holes, drill oversize for the screws you're going to use and put masking tape over the hole to be. Drill through at a slow speed using a standard HSS bit and little more pressure than the weight of the drill. Start small, and work up to the size you want.

Lots of how-to videos on Youtube

 

[BobnLesley]

A rectangle of Perspex bought online is a LOT cheaper than a window cut to shape by the supplier, and it's easy enough to cut

Wot e sed! I shaped and drilled four new ones using onlt hand-tools and a power drill in a short afternoon sat in the cockpit; about 1/10 of the cost of pre-made ones and it allowed me to relocate all the fixing hole positions to ensure that the screws bit into solid fibreglass.

 

[coopec]

Hampshire Signs and Plastics made mine and are very used to supplying boat windows in the correct grey tint.

I get my perspex from the recycle bin at "Productive Plastics".

As Stemar says it is very easy to cut and drill

 

[KAM]

As others have said by the time you've made templates you might as well cut your own. It's easier than the removal and refitting process. I would also consider just glueing them on. I glued the windows on a hard top a couple of years ago and it was very simple and has been totally successful. I recently helped someone with a van conversion and the heavy glass windows were just glued on. Looked extremely unlikely but worked. Plenty of info on line. Adhesive bead thickness is the critical thing.

 

[jamie N]

As above, I did all of mine on my Folkboat without trauma a couple of winters ago, and it really was very easy. I did take my template from the 'previous' ones, and where it needed fine adjustment I simply used a wood plane, set to a very fine cut. Installing the windows, I used CT1 as a sealant, and haven't experienced a single leak.
It should be said that my coachroof is wooden, with the windows set into a recess, and held in place by a screwed on outer frame.

 

[collinsp]

Thanks for all the replies, some great advice and now have a clearer way forward