Window removal on a Princess 32

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tillergirl

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My neighbour has a Princess 32 with leaky front windows and wants me to renew the rubbers for him this winter. I see the pairs of screws in the 'outer' frame. Does anyone know if there is a special trick to getting these out. Do you 'just' unscrew the screws and remove the window. Being there 30+ years, I'm sure it won't want to come.

Any advice appreciated.
 
Did this on an old Birchwood and they were just self tappers.

Guess best bet is to give one a try?

Good luck.............Rich
 
I did this for a friends Project 32 ( same boat but older ) Although a while back it was not too difficult, but have a thin scraper handy to help ease the frame etc. away from body. Also make sure you cut around window frame before trying to remove or you may find you are lifting any coating or sealing that may have been applied in the past.
Best of Luck!
Roj
 
Having done this job on my aged P33 a few years ago,be very careful not to break the almost certainly corroded hidden little alloy "bars which hold the frame together
at the four corners when you break out the glass from its frame.
Mask off the surrounding glassfibre before removal this will help when refiiting also so that on replacing the window you can get a satisfyingly neat and thin line of Silkaflex or whatever around the window and the frame.Silkaflex is real bugger to get off and will adhere cheerfully to anything and everything.
It is possible when totally dismantling the window to reassemble slightly it out of kilter /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif,so double check the frame is the same shape as when it came out before refitting.
 
Did you see sudays top gear? they were window removing from 2 cars, the quick way!

Now the boaty bit, looking forward to the run up the thames with clarkson and co.
 
I think the screws get locked in by a little corrosion between the screw and the frame. The screws on the P32 I recall being those which have an internal and external component. One side male & one side female. the screws have a name (is it INTERSCREWS?) and you -can- buy replacements. Try
www.a2a4.co.uk
They prob need a gentle 'tap' with small punch to break the seal .. or if that fails drill out and replace the screw I would suggest.
 
I saw the professionals refurbish the windows on a friend's boat. One trick that I learned was that they did not remove all of the windows at once and take them back to the workshop. Instead, they did one or two at a time to avoid the cabin distorting. The windows add to the stiffness of the structure and the GRP alone can drift out of shape.
 
Now you tell me /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Unfortunately I made that very mistake on my Birchwood and I'm having a pig of a job trying to get the front windows back in for that very reason , so I would definately second the removal of one at a time comment
 
It is probably a good idea to have a window sized sheet of plastic handy along with some gaffer tape this will allow you prevent rain from soaking the cabin when(and you will) have to leave the boat for days to try and fix the window before refitting!!!!!!
 
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