Leaks on boats are never a good thing. This client had an old badly designed opening center window with a foam type seal. The frame behind the seal was full of holes etc so this was never going to seal. The customer initially wanted us to refurbish the existing window however it was cracking at the corners and too far gone. So a new window was made with a rubber ‘bubble’ type seal with comes with a pinch-weld edge which can attach onto the new window. The new window frame needed to be carefully designed and made to suit the application. Offset hinges were used to accomodate the seal but still put adequate pressure on it to create a good seal. The catches from the old window were over-center type catches which were mounted on special brackets opposite the hinges to also squeeze down onto the rubber seal. All the holes in the frame were filled with epoxy to ensure a good seating for the seal.

The new window frame was made from an epoxy Nomex panel which was set to suit the curve of the boat cabin front. To provide an edge suitable for the pinch-weld a rebate was made and then reinforced with epoxy and fiberglass. Then the opening was cut out for the window panel. Once pre-fitted to ensure the operation would work appropriately, the frame was painted in PU. The acrylic window was cut to size and fitted. Where the old window had only screws fixing the hinges which were not secure, the new window was through-bolted with sealant.

After a final leak test the boat was ready for delivery.