Fixing leaky windows on 74 E27

[Jarod]

Hi All,

Going to tackle a leaky window or two on my boat this wkd, does anyone have any recommendations on what I might need to complete the job. I want to stay with the original look no lexan replacements. I guess i would like to know the basic idea before pulling out the window.

thanks

 

[Randy Rutledge]

Remove the screws from the inside and remove the inside trim ring, pry the outside frame from the boat be careful not to bend or torque the frame as you might break the glass. The outside frame has two flat tabs with screws holding the top and bottom halves together remove these screws being careful not to break the glass. You can buff the glass with any fine buffing compound to remove acid rain spots. Clean the frames and the gaskets and glass. I used butyl rubber to bed the gasket to the frame and the glass to the gasket (apply sparingly) reassemble and use a closed cell foam gasket 1/8" thick, (sold in rolls at the local hardware for camper shells and the like) to seal the frame to the boat. The foam is adhesive on one side use that to hold the foam in place on the frame (it will form around the curves) and after you have fastened the frame in cut off the excess foam gasket flush with the frame.
When reassembling do not use a power tool to start the inside trim ring screws as they can cut new holes if installed by a power tool. Don't ask how I know. I will be on the boat this weekend and can be reached at 404-441-8242 if you have question.
I hope to complete a couple of windows and rebuild the PH11 head this weekend, if the wind is blowing that will screw up the plans to work due to the well known fact that marine sealers and adhesives do not set properly when there is a good breeze blowing.

 

[Jarod]

hey thanks for the tips Randy, hope you have a good one out there.

 

[NateHanson]

So why not seal the aluminum port frame to the cabin house with polysulfide? Sell me a bit on using the foam instead.

Do you know how this foam will hold up to UV? Anyone had this in for a few seasons? What about using foam cut to within a 1/8" of the edge of the frame, and putting a bead of polysulfide around that to be an extra waterproofer, and protect from UV?

Nate

 

[maggie-k]

Used a Two sided 1/8 neoprene foam tape from a glass suppiler about five years ago . No need for and other sealant. No problems since with the frames. You might want to check where the leak is as I have had leaks in the glazing aroung the glass which I thought were from the frames. That is easily solved by scraping out what old glazing compound that I could reach and packing in some new compound.
Eric

 

[NateHanson]

You used that neoprene tape for the area where the aluminum frame flange seats on the outside of the cabin top, right?

What did you use for a glazing compound around the glass?

 

[Chris Miller]

depending on which...

we have the old style lewmars with the black gasket on left and right side of outer extrusion. We discovered that our leaking was because of this gasket failing, so we silliconed over the gasket and stopped the leak. Double check to make sure where you are leaking
Good luck,
Chris

 

[maggie-k]

Hi Nate .
That's correct the neoprene tape was for the frame. I used standard exterior window glazing putty I got from the glass shop between the glass and frame. Scrapped out what I could and packed in the new stuff. It was very inexpensive and it works great.
Eric

 

[Bob in Va]

Window tape

Recently I rebedded my portlights using a marine-specific dense cell tape I found at Lowe's. Ten feet costs 3 bucks - it is 1/2" wide, 3/8" high, is sticky on one side and compresses down nicely to about an eighth or less without bulging out much. It also works very well around bends. The brand is "md" and it is in a purple pack, in the section that has other weatherstripping, etc.

 

[sadie anne claw]

leaky window seals too

Hey I read these posts and they all sound like great suggestions but everybody I've talked to locally says that anything short of taking apart the window and ordering new gasket seals from the manufacturer will just get me through the winter. Anybody have a tried and true method to all of to resealing the windows. My leaks definitely seem to be coming in through the black seals on the inside between the glass and the metal frames.

 

[Loren Beach]

Hmmm.... it's around here, somewhere....

Hey I read these posts and they all sound like great suggestions but everybody I've talked to locally says that anything short of taking apart the window and ordering new gasket seals from the manufacturer will just get me through the winter. Anybody have a tried and true method to all of to resealing the windows. My leaks definitely seem to be coming in through the black seals on the inside between the glass and the metal frames.

I believe that there are other threads addressing this (common) problem with decades-old boats. You might want to do some searching on windows or fixed ports, or frames, or similar.
I find that using the Google search engine on most sites works a bit better than the built-in search functions.

Here's some info I saved from Mr. Frakes on the Macworld site on this subject:
A shortcut for Googling the current Website
by Dan Frakes, Macworld.com
Savvy Google users know you can restrict your search to a particular Website using the syntax site:[site] [search term(s)]. For example, a Google query of site:macworld.com "ipad case" will search Macworld.com—and just Macworld.com—for pages that include the specific phrase ipad case. While many sites provide their own search feature, I find that Google’s searches often provide better results.

Hope this helps a bit.

(Aside: Interestingly, several other huge sailing sites use the same software as EY.o -- and searching with more than one word seems to be a common shortcoming with this particular application.)


I just gave this a try and found several good threads like this one:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?1389-E-27-window-leaks&referrerid=28

Regards,
Loren

 

[bleeE25]

Dry Glazing with Vinyl Channel

I have yet to remove all my frames and strip the old paint and reassemble, but I feel confident this will be a long term solution, not just a band-aid. As a mechanical engineer, I have product design experience in many technologies, not so much in glass glazing - dry or wet.

This is a very straightforward solution with no special techniques: 1-remove the parts, 2-clean the parts, 3-assemble the parts, and (from what I've read on other portlight repairs with channel dry glazing) 4-apply a small silicone wet glazing bead on the outside between the glass and the vinyl glazing.

from a post on another thread...

My portlights needed refinishing and reglazing. In my attempts to find a new extruded vinyl to reglaze the portlight, every website I found, the glazing channel was too small. My next choice was to bed the DSB glass with butyl tape and rubber spline. I was not exactly sure which spline to get because of the unknown squeeze factor.

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I eventually found what I believe to be the right sized glazing channel for an E25+ 1980 fixed portlight. It is part number P-8174 from Prime-Line. You can't buy it direct, but Home Depot will special order 100' (min buy) for $20. Based on what little I know about o-rings and seals, this extruded glazing should be a low maintenance solution for many years.

Portlight aluminum extrusion frame channel = .342 wide X .410 deep

http://www.primeline.net/home4.wcs?c...1&cItem=P+8174
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