Installing acylic frameless windows

[@michielderuyter6011]

Finally a channel without ads. Thank you

[@xavierali4874]

Doesn’t look “home built” looks more like a great upgrade!! Good work my man!

[@garysouza2277]

I'm an advocate of the 3M double sided sticky tape method. That stuff is tenacious! Did the portlights on my sail boat 22 years ago and they still don't leak. Only thing I did different was put the tape about 1/8" in from the outside edge of the plexi. Then I masked it all off and applied marine silicone in the groove that was created. Neat clean and leak proof. Holes are bad. No holes and you've eliminated the expansion /contraction problem Only takes one leaking to ruin your day

[@jonascabrera8230]

Hey, can I ask which one of the 3m double sided tapes would be best to use?

[@atomvoyager]

It's called VHB for Very High Bond.Here's a link to a discussion of it: plasticclassicforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=5671&p=47672&hilit=3m+double+sided+tape#p47672

[@cheapcigs9772]

will it withstand boarding waves without screws?

[@garysouza2277]

@@cheapcigs9772 Yep. The plexiglass is bigger than the cutout, so no problems.

[@garysouza2277]

@@cheapcigs9772 Yep. It’s a 23’ sailboat with little freeboard and hasn’t given me any problems …

[@n7gn]

Circumnavigators seem to have a good grasp of details. Thank you for taking the time to share all of the details and reasoning. My racing helmet shield is Lexan, but rocks/shrapnel is a huge risk. It does scratch and can't be polished out, another good reason for using Plexi in your case.

[@wilsnich02]

You really covered the topic well in such a short time. I have a Carter 33 with long tapering windows approximately 3 meters long about 400mm wide tapering down to 40 mm at the tip. Currently fastened in the traditional way with screws and sealant but I would like to replace without the screws for that nice clean look. A shipwright friend told me about the 3M double sided tape but it is only available to the trades and not to the general public (here) but I am told it is excellent. As you covered the Perspex expands and contracts at quite a large amount and with such a large area could be hard to adhere with just the 3M tape and sealant alone. He suggested that whilst I make it look like one piece, I make up the window in two or three pieces so it sort of has expansion joints. I liked the way you blacked out the window against the fiberglass with the gasket tape..... I always really enjoy your updates - your results are always clean and simple.

[@atomvoyager]

I agree that cutting it into 2 pieces with about 1/4" gap will help the Dow 795 keep its adhesion. I'm assuming your fiberglass frame is not 3 meters long but has separate openings where you can place the joints. You could try placing fasteners only in each corner and then smear some black 795 over the heads to help hide them. Or you can come up with some other plan to support the windows until the sealant dries. If done right the sealant will hold without fasteners, if the frame is inset to allow sealant contact on the edges as well, but I like the belt and suspenders approach whenever possible.

[@garysouza2277]

McMaster Carr sells rolls of the tape. Available on line from them

[@SuperBullyone]

nice work, makes the boat look newer Primo!

[@jpnm81]

I used a heavy duty construction like caulk and can't remember the name. but I did a nice bead around the port lite then when it dried cinched the nuts down for a tight seal

[@RaptureMeSoon]

That will look good on my Cargo Trailer to RV conversion.

[@davidjackson2115]

Many good tips and points thanks.

[@cumbis123]

Awesome! Gonna do this on my ‘79 Catalina. I’ll be godda**ed if I’m gonna pay $1300+ for a pre cut set! Thanks.

[@MR-yp7mu]

I wonder if butyl tape would work for acrylic or polycarbonate...

[@atomvoyager]

I think some people have done that but I don't because I rad somewhere about the possibility of butyl being incompatible with acrylic and causing it to craze after a few years. Not sure if that's true or not. The other thing is you need a large amount of sealant and it can ooze out somewhat in hot weather and I didn't want to deal with that. But it might be worthwhile to try it since the installation would be simple. Some people use double-sided 3m ultra high bond tape with or without some sealant around the outside edge. But since Dow 795 works so well I haven't tried that either.

[@MR-yp7mu]

@@atomvoyager Good points. Thank you.

[@johnwood9914]

What type of gasket do you use??? The video is very helpful...fixing my 1979 Pearson 323!

[@atomvoyager]

I have some hard rubber gasket laying around something like this 1/8" thick gasket: www.amazon.com/Small-Parts-Neoprene-Sheet-Gasket/dp/B0075ZMFME I stick it on with 3m super black weatherstrip adhesive. You only need a minute amount so you sould glue it on with any glue but the 3m stuff is also useful to apply weatherstripping under opening hatches.

[@svZia-Switch51]

Nicely done!

[@Cruiser2B]

Great video, would to see a video of the modified cabin top spray hood area.

[@fishboat6244]

Nice job! Where do you get the black rubber gasket you put around the inside edge? Who makes it?

[@atomvoyager]

It's Dow 795. You can find it on Amazon or sometimes your local auto glass shop will sell it it if they also sell plexiglas. It's not a rubber gasket but but does create something like a gasket when hardened. For the little spacers to hold a gap between the plexi and fiberglass so all the sealant doesn't squeeze out when tightening the fasteners you can use four little pieces of 1/4" black weatherstrip from Home Depot or online.

[@ForSeTiTrimaranAvalon9]

Nive. Going to do the same on my build. Thanks

[@RicardoAmaro123]

What paint did you use to paint the edges of the windows? Thanks

[@atomvoyager]

The fiberglass sides of the exterior cabin sides are in two-part off-white Perfection and interior is single part latex EZ Cabin Coat. The acylic windows have no paint. They are grey tint Plexiglas with the edges rounded over with router and then sanded. The reason it may look like a paint is because the black Dow 795 sealant hides the white paint underneath.

[@RicardoAmaro123]

@@atomvoyager Thanks for your reply. So if I understand correctly there is still a big part of sealant... I say this because it seems that the black strip seems to be at least with 3 cm.

[@atomvoyager]

That's right, 3 cm or 1.25 inches for strength and a good seal.

[@RicardoAmaro123]

@@atomvoyager Many thanks!

[@SVLOKEE]

I'm going to do this, what size round over bit did you use on the 3/8 material in your router?

[@atomvoyager]

1/4" roundover. I routed a test piece and adjusted the bit so the bearing wheel did not go over the 3/8" plexi and make a gouge. Even so, it wasn't perfectly smooth so I finished up with a belt sander then 120 and 220 paper on a small sander.

[@SVLOKEE]

OK, thanks for letting me know..I was going to do a test piece first but I figured I'd ask you what size, so I could pull the right bit the first time.

[@riddledwithadventure7873]

Great and informative video. Just bought a 1968' Buchan 37' that I'm fixing up myself. Going to be doing my windows this way! Do you order yhe glass to size or cut it yourself? What tool to cut it, if you cut it?

[@atomvoyager]

I've been picking up full 4x8' sheets at Farco plastics in Jacksonville, FL because they are too expensive to ship. You can order 1/4 sheets from online plastics suppliers that are not oversized shipping. I cut them with a jig saw using a plastics cutting blade or a medium tooth wood blade and then straighten the cut with a belt sander. If you don';t want to cut them yourself you can take your patterns to a local window supply shop. They can usually order the acrylic for you as well.

[@DonHarden]

very nice!