Replacing cabin windows

[Woody]

Our 'new' 72 Albin 25 has badly crazed front and aft cabin windows. These are plexiglass, and I'd like to replace them with lexan. Has anyone experience removing/replacing these windows?

[Riverjohn]

I have done this on my A25, which may not have the same gasket material your 27 has. To get the Lexan right, I took the old windows to a plastics vendor and had them use the old windows as patterns to cut out the new. Good luck.

[Woody]

John,
Our boat is also a 25 - so probably uses the same gaskets. Any tips for removing the old window?

Thanks.

[hrifraf]

I am also thinking of replacing my front and rear cabin windows. Would like to do the job myself, if possible. Any tips would be appreciated.

From some of the other threads it appears that no one is re-using their rubber gaskets.
Does anyone know of a source for the rubber gaskets in the Vancouver, BC area?

Thanks.

[Woody]

See this thread...
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=3775
Good tips from leProf.
I'll be doing this next spring.

[rwcoulter]

I can't help with advice re: trim for your windows, but I do have a lot of experience with plastics and I can tell you that if I were doing this job, I would not use Lexan. It doesn't age well as it has poor UV stability and will discolour as well as craze, eventually cracking. Acrylic plexi-glass is well suited for use as boat windows and is available from a number of manufacturers. I used an automotive headlight restoration kit to polish the original acrylic port lights in my '84 27FC last year with great results. Lexan is a very good product, but its biggest claim to fame is strength, not long life.

[Woody]

Thanks for the tip. I've used lexan for indoor projects, but never thought to check it's suitability for outdoors.

[geosizmic]

Woody,I have a 75' Deluxe that I bought 3 years ago and had the same problem as you.After fretting about doing the replacment myself I found an auto glass place here in Thunder Bay (Floyds) who's owner was a boat guy.He replaced my windshield ,front forecabin and back aftcabin windows with weatherguard plexiglass as they required bending.The two side windows in the helm got straight safety glass.All windows got new rubber molds which he had in stock.I brought the boat to him and he was done in about 4 hours.Cost about $850 but it was worth it.In hindsight I wish I had a slider beside the wheel.P.S. -any other beading in the rubber trim that had turned yellow and cracked was replaced as well.

[Woody]

Thanks for replying, geosizmic. Nice to hear from a fellow Albin owner out of season.
I found an auto-glass repair guy nearby who claims he can do it for me next spring. I don't have a trailer, so will probably have to pay him to come to the marina, but it's only a half hour away.

A slider next to the helm would be nice - I've seen a few posts by people who have installed one. It would be good to have fresh air and shade both at the same time.

Your boat looks great! Ours is a bit scruffy, but I hope to clean it up this spring.

[hrifraf]

I just replaced the front and rear cabin windows on my A25. It wasn't an easy job, but the new windows are in, and look great. I am located in Vancouver, BC, so I ordered the weatherstripping from Hi-Tech Glazing in Surrey, BC. (http://www.hitechglazing.com). More expensive than Perfect Fit in Seattle, but not enough to warrant a special trip to Seattle. As others have mentioned, you need the weatherstripping, the insert strip, and the special tool to install the insert strip. I also bought a tube of 3M bedding compound.

Taking the old windows out was easy. Pull out the chrome insert strip, then pry out the windows using a couple of small screwdrivers - like taking a bike tire off a rim. I took the windows to a plastics shop and they cut new ones using the old ones as templates.

So with new windows, weatherstripping, tool, and bedding compound, we were ready to go. You need at least two people for this job, maybe three. We fit the weatherstrip and cut to length according to the instructions - 1/8" longer for every foot of length. The rear window amounts to about 8', the front one is 9' of weatherstripping. Then we put some of the black bedding compound in the weatherstrip grooves, and tried to insert the window. That turned out to be very difficult, and soon we had bedding compound all over ourselves and the window, with a lot of foul language in the air. At some point it became obvious this was not working, so we gave up, tossed out the weatherstrip and cleaned the goop off of ourselves and everything else with varsol. Then we tried again with a fresh strip, no goop, and lots of soap and water. Still no go.

It turned out that the new weatherstrip was 1mm thicker in the middle section than the old strip, and the new window was about 1mm bigger all round than the old window. So the next day we took the windows back to the plastics shop, who graciously trimmed them down by 2mm all round. Back at the boat, things went much more smoothly. Lots of soapy water applied by spray bottle - careful use of a small screwdriver and thin scraper, and we were able to insert the window without too much trouble. The bigger window was harder, as the weatherstrip kept falling out of the window. This was where a third person would have been useful to hold everything in place from inside the cabin.

Once the windows were in, the insert strip needed to be, well, inserted. The weatherstripping was so tight that it didn't look possible to get the insert tool into the groove. But applying lots of soapy water was the key, and amazingly, the rubber stretched out to allow the tool into the groove. It took some effort, and care, to slide the tool around the groove. Push too hard and the tool would jump out of the groove, and then leave marks in the rubber where it was re-inserted and the strip pushed into place with a screwdriver. I have new respect for tradespeople who can insert a window without leaving marks on the rubber.

We didn't bother with the bedding compound in the end because we didn't think we could use it without making another big mess. The rubber seal is so tight that I am sure it won't leak, but time will tell. Right now I am amazed and pleased that the new windows are in. Its' still a surprise to go into the cabin and see out the front, which was previously so cracked and hazed that you couldn't see out at all.

[hrifraf]

If there is anyone in southern BC who is thinking of replacing their front and rear cabin windows, I have enough weatherstripping left over to do the job. I had to buy 50 feet of the stuff, and used less than half of it. About 17 or 18 feet is enough to do both windows. I have the weatherstrip, the insert strip, and the special tool that I would sell for a good price. I am located in Vancouver, BC. hrifraf at gmail dot com

[Hempman]

I'm thinking of replacing my front cabin window and replacing the weather stripping on all the cabin windows. Let me know what you have in mind for a price.

[Brian]

Hi Tech Glasing in Surrey BC has the rubber for the windows...I have not bought any yet but am thinking of doing this too.
Brian