Bob is a very handy practical man, a fact for which I am
eternally grateful. Over the years I
have managed to become somewhat at ease with a hammer, chisel, saw and
screwdriver but working with these tools is by no means second nature to me. So here we are living on an old (classic)
sailing boat which in the way of all boats, needs ongoing maintenance and
repairs. As in our land life, we usually
strive for economy and self-sufficiency and do any needed work ourselves. (Hence our intense months of home renovations
over the last year or so – or was that just some nightmare I had...)
However nautical maintenance can present a whole new
learning curve. So whenever a new
project comes up we do lots of research, talk to anyone who we can corral and
try to figure out the best way to go about doing what needs to be done. The problem with this approach is that if you
ask 10 sailors what is the best way to do something, then you will get 10
different answers; each given adamantly that their way is the best and only
way.
The project planned while we waited for the new engine was
to replace the six large windows around the aft cabin. The seals around these had broken down and we
were getting some water leaks. For now
we only had to contend with a bit of rain but we did not like the thought of the
windows on the stern leaking in a following sea. (First rule of sailing: Keep the water on the outside)
We embarked on the project full of confidence from our
successful re-sealing of a deck hatch last year. http://shamballacyc.blogspot.com.au/2014_10_01_archive.html
I happily removed the old windows (they practically fell out as soon as we
removed the screws) and chiselled away the old sealant (see last post). The old windows had a bit of cracking and crazing
so we thought we might as well get new plastic as well.
Now the learning curve starts. Who in Marmaris makes plastic boat windows
and when we find someone will they speak English well enough that we can
communicate exactly what we want? Then
what type of plastic is best – polycarbonate or acrylic? Each has advantages and disadvantages and
each person we talked to and every web site read swears by one and damns the
other. Then how do you attach the
windows? Do you use Sikaflex as we did
with the hatch or use silicone? Do you use double sided tape to help attach the
windows evenly? Do you also add
screws? After scraping away the old
sealant we discovered an extra 18 screw holes per window filled with epoxy and
wondered why our windows only had six screws each. And if you use screws do you countersink them
or drill a bigger hole and use a smaller screw with washers to allow for heat
expansion? Then once you install the
window how do you clean up the black gooey overflow? Do you wait until it dries and carefully carve
away with a Stanley knife, risking scratching the window or hull or do you wipe up
with paper towels and metho as you go along?
And is metho the correct cleaner for the job? What solvent cleans up the sealant without
damaging the plastic?
Faced with so many questions we reacted in the best
Wilson-Phillips tradition and prevaricated.
We thought we would sleep on it for a day or two. Then we might as well have a second cup of
coffee in the morning before we start anything.
Then it was a bit too late to start anything as it was almost time for
lunch at the canteen. Then after lunch
the wind would start to pick up so maybe it wasn’t the best time to do anything
with sticky goo and open windows. Then
we convinced ourselves that we were simply suffering from ‘on the hard
lassitude’ (see the great parody novel The
Ascent of Rum Doodle http://www.rumdoodle.org.uk/
) and anyway weren’t we retired with no time clock to punch?
Meanwhile we had no windows so we taped some plastic over
the window openings to keep out the mossies and now fairly infrequent rain
(Mediterranean climate of wet winters now moving into the dry summer.)
 |
| Plastic sheets over the windows while we overcame our 'on the hard lassitude' |
Then we had a relapse of ‘on the hard lassitude’. Unlike the hatch we repaired which was a flat
surface, all the windows on the hull have a slightly curved surface onto which
a flat piece of polycarbonate is fitted.
Will the goo just ooze out in the middle making a huge ineffectual
mess? Finally we rang up Vedat and asked
him to stop by for a few minutes the next time he was at the marina. We asked him to give us a quick demonstration
of the best way to attach one of the windows and we would do the rest. Vedat graciously gave us a demonstration
which took less than 5 minutes and was done exactly the way we thought it
should be done. So resummon some
self-confidence and get on with it you lazy slackers! Here is the process we used taking about 10
days from start to finish.
1)
Remove the old window and give to Vedat for
templates (each of the six windows were a slightly different shape).
2)
Clean off all the old sealant from the window
frame.
3)
Tape sheet of plastic to the window opening
until ready to install the new windows.
4)
Remove the taped plastic sheets and carefully
move and stick them to the inside of the window to protect the interior from
all the black goo and soot.
5)
Place masking tape around the outside of the
window frame.
6)
Add a thick smear of silicone to the window bed.
7)
Remove the internal protective plastic cover
from the polycarbonate window.
8)
Carefully place the window in the opening and
gently and evenly press into the silicone for a nice even seal.
9)
Put in the six screws per window in the holes
made during the cutting of the polycarbonate.
10)
Let the sealant dry for at least 24 hours. (‘On the hard
lassitude’ set in again at this point and the 24 hours stretched to more like
72 before we proceeded to step 11.)
11)
Take off the outer protective plastic coating from
the window and carefully apply masking tape around the edge of the window.
12)
Carefully cut away any overflow of the hardened silicone
with a Stanley knife to have a smooth surface between window and frame.
13)
Add a thin smear of silicone to the gaps between
the window and the frame, smoothing with a soapy coated rubber gloved finger
for an even finish.
14)
Immediately and carefully remove the masking
tape around the window and hull.
15)
DONE.
 |
| Waiting for the sealant to dry |
 |
| Ready to cut away the excess silicone |
 |
| Finished window |
We now have solid, leak proof new
windows but I am not 100% happy with the end results. Whereas probably only noticeable to the
practiced eye, the windows are not set as flush and neatly as I would have
liked. Lessons learned? Doing it again I think I would have made two
changes. I would have used the larger
holes/smaller screw and washer method instead of the countersunk screws and
would have used double sided tape plus silicone to make the windows more
flush. Ah well, all part of the learning
process.
