So after removing the ports, taking them apart, resealing with the Catalina kit, replacing the wood veneer, and reinstalling them…they still leak! I had little to no confidence in the window’s ability to keep water out after taking them apart and seeing how they worked, but actually seeing the water drip down the newly finished plywood was maddening to say the least. From what I can see there’s a few places water is or will be getting in; at the joint where the two halves meet (mine didn’t have a gasket there so I placed some silicone one side before joining), at the seal where the glass meets the U channel (I used silicone in the Catalina kit on both sides of the provided gasket, but the glass didn’t seem to be cut correctly to force the gasket all the way down to the bottom of the channel, and along the flange where the window mates to the boat (the inner ring is bent and distorted from previous owners over tightening the screws, so there’s some places where the cabin top FRP and plywood aren’t thick enough for the ring to catch). The flange seal is my biggest concern, but I'm willing to bet if I fix that, the other 2 areas will be a problem in the near future. I’m thinking I have 3 options:
I don’t really like any of the options, but I’m tired of these damn things leaking. I’m leaning towards the Lexan or Acrylic option. I’ve read a few threads on here about people successfully rehabbing their old windows or installing new Bomon, but no too many on replacing with Lexan. Does anyone have any tricks on getting the old flanges to seal or advice on replacing with plastic?
- Try more butyl tape or a neoprene foam gasket on the old windows. I think it would also be a good idea to make a plastic shim that goes around the windows so the inner ring has more depth to clamp on to.
- Accept boats, even my tiny E25+, are in fact a hole in the water…. and buy new ones from Bomon.
- Have Lexan or Acrylic windows cut out and through bolt them in Dow 795 (I’d have to come up with a good looking ring on the inside to make this work)
I don’t really like any of the options, but I’m tired of these damn things leaking. I’m leaning towards the Lexan or Acrylic option. I’ve read a few threads on here about people successfully rehabbing their old windows or installing new Bomon, but no too many on replacing with Lexan. Does anyone have any tricks on getting the old flanges to seal or advice on replacing with plastic?