SOS Professor hull windows 47 cont
in order to get the whole picture here is the rest...thanks, J. Aorangi 47/047

in order to get the whole picture here is the rest...thanks, J. Aorangi 47/047

so sorry, forgot one important thing (at least it seems so to me). there are hairline stress fractures in all of the corners of the flange. how to handle these? they are visible on the "aft" photo. thanks. Jayne Aorangi 47/047

Dear Jayne,

I just want to wish you good luck and to tell you that I have done quite the same thing on Farouche few years ago and the result is very good. I am sure that Lars will have professional opinion about the whole think.

Good luck

Cheers/Philippe

Swan 47/50

Jayne:

Great photos and information. I am very interested in your project.

In April, we are pulling our boat out of the water and undertaking several projects. One of these projects is to reseal the same port window. We have a tiny stress fracture and some screws that look like they are not well sealed. This month, some drops of water came into the main salon during a light rainfall.

Any tricks or hints will be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Milo

s/v The Last of the Normal People

Swan 47(048)

Leaks are usually caused by a lack of sealant. It is important to have beads thick enough so they can flex a bit without cracking. Hot sun causes quite large expansion/contraction in a long window.

Lars

Prof:

What is a 'bead'?

We may call it something different on this side of the 'big pond'. Would you describe it please?

Cheers,

Milo

Dear Milo,
Will be happy to update you on this project, and look forward to Lars comments on what's being done along the way of course. Am including a new photo of the other window, as there was a lot of damage to deal with on the outside that created a new situation. In any case, so far
have removed all old materials from frame, flange and inside frame.
drilled 10mm holes in all old screw positions.
drilled small holes at the end of all fractures and sanded a wedge out of each crack to each hole.
rough sanded all and cleaned with vinegar and then acetone.
dried all for 5 days in the sun and heating blasting from the inside of the salon.
cleaned fiberglass frames and filled with epoxy and microspheres (as these could be placed in a heated environment)
have changed restructure material to fiberglass stucco as the weather conditions do not permit a sensible atmosphere for use of epoxy. (too cool and humid) first have filled in all of the holes and cracks with putty and started one layer of rebuild. next will be with a 7mm profile to rebuild flange shape on damaged window. all seems in good shape this morning. after finishing the rebuilding with fiberglass planning to use body putty to finish surface and create the sharp angles of the flange and frame.
I realize this is a real compromise from what I had planned but the important thing right now was to make a watertight seat for the windows immediately, as rain is imminent and the situation was critical. will update as to how the rest goes as soon as possible. hope you have warmer weather for your haul out.
am looking forward to hearing what a "bead" is as well from the Professor! cheers for now. Jayne Aorangi 47/047

When squeezing out sealant from a cartridge onto a surface a bead is formed, i.e. a long blob.

Bead is sealant manufacturer talk.

Lars

Cheers to All! Aorangi has new lexan windows, and they are watertight. after a week of slaloming through showers and drying things out over and over again, the most important part of the job is complete. a watertight seal. have attached a few more steps to the final product. certainly not perfect, but that's for professionals. missing the photo of the black primer on everything which really looked special! made one HUGE mistake that should be noted for anyone attempting this project. the frames are hollow for a reason, and if you fill them with resin the flange needs to be deeper, and you need to drill the holes AFTER the resin has been added and dried, as the frames shrink and the holes don't line up as before. but the seal in the end seems more logical because the two surfaces are flat and there is no room for gaps. (this is where the corrosion started on the old ones with water pockets in the frame)
for Milo: to continue following the steps done, after finishing the flange, had the windows cut and sanded the edges. cleaned flange and frame again with acetone, and lexan with soap and water. then masked everything ready for primer. primed the Lexan with 209N and the frames and flange with 206N both Sikaflex. waited 1 1/2 hours due to weather conditions. (aside. Lars mentioned the Sikaflex manual and it is very helpful and easy to download from their site. all timing, methods, and technical jargon are covered) used 295UV in white for bonding. first flange, then set 4mm spacers (using an 0ring cut into pieces) along the bottom and rounded corner to block) set in window and pressed. put very thin bead (Lars have learned lots about beads...)around the frame and set up with screws (ends dipped in sikaflex) tightened all screws, removed all masking and then ran a seal of sikaflex around the whole frame inside and out. (that was the best!) cleaned up the whole show with mineral spirits. I probably made a bunch of mistakes, and Lars have no problem hearing about them as they will help all of us for the future. will say, had I known how challenging this would be, I probably wouldn't have done it. so sure glad I didn't know as the learning process was amazing. Definitely a project for hot summer dry months! thanks for the support from all. fair winds (after all, this is about sailing) Jayne Aorangi 47/047