New acryl windows for Fjord 26 Cruiser

[JiiPee]

Dear fellow Cruisers and all other proud owners of Fjord boat!

Couple of weeks ago I purchased 26 Cruiser, model -80. Although she is a fine and seaworthy boat, the years - and less than thorough upkeep - have left their marks. One of the many jobs will be renewing the acryl (PMMA) windows to get them to hold the weather and sprays.

If any of you have done that already, or have any experience on this kind of operation I would be very grateful for any tips and advices you could give.

I’ve been searching the web for pictures of 26 Cruiser to see which kind of fittings they have. So far I have noticed:

1) The acryl windows in forecabin have two sections, long and short, separated by rubber strip. In most of them (including mine) the longer one is actually two-piece window. It could be that this was the original arrangement for these windows. Then there is this one neat 26 CR with new tinted windows, with longer section made of one piece only.
How is this section done in your boat; one or two pieces? Any problems, like cracks due to hull strain?

2) How did you seal/glue the PMMA window to hull; by polyurethane adhesive or by acryl glue? Did you use rubber seal band?

3) Then the fastening … In my boat the main reason for leaks is that screws have lost their grip from GRP. The holes could be refilled, or screws replaced by bolts and nuts (I think). How did you solve this?

I really appreciate all comments and suggestions!

Best regards,
JiiPee

P.S. Please feel free to answer in swedish if you like. I can read swedish much better than I can write it. Norwegian requires some guessing, but there are good web dictionaries available

[Björn Rilegård]

Hi, I can not help you with your questions, but I have a similar problem. The front window to my Fjord 21HT, year 1979, is crashed and I need to find a new one, including sealing. I have problems finding a source and have received negative respons from Fjordboats (present Fjord) and Colt Industries (windows) in Norway. Fjordboats do not manufacture spare part windows to my type of Fjord. Colt do not manufacture the shaped type of window I need, but only straight window.

Maybe Colt can help you!

I have started to consider a polycarbonate (PC) or acrylic (PMMA) window, or other type of plastic solution. Have you found any sources to your search for acrylic windows and can help me?

Regards, Björn

[JiiPee]

Hi Björn,

I haven't been on 21HT, but took a glance of some pictures of the 21HT model I found.

It looks like the windshield is curved only horizontally, but not vertically. If so, you should be able to replace the glass with organic glass like PC or PMMA without too much effort and cost.
Since you probably have a windshield wiper(s) I suggest hardened PC. PMMA or unhardened PC scratch easily!

A company specialized in car/boat glazing should be able to cut and possibly bend you a peace of PC (bending requires an oven).
If the windshield is bended on both directions then an oven and jig is definitely needed to form the organic glass. Maybe your current windshield could be used as a jig, if it isn't in pieces.

Vink has good info pages on different materials. Your local site would be www.vink.se
Foiltek refers to www.arlaplast.se for additional material info in swedish.

I assume that the 21HT windshield is mounted using aluminium frame. Can this frame be dismounted (i.e. inner and outer frame are joined with screws)? Either look for a similar rubber seal as has been used previously, or replace it with polyurethane sealing.

Unfortunately I can't point you any local providers of rubber seals. I would use a local company, but they don't have shops in Sweden. And you really need to go to the shop with a sample of the old seal.
As a last resort you could take a look at www.ot-kumi.com/eng/index.php You can download their catalogue and send enquiries via web site. Some local boating stuff shops seem to sell their products. I believe that minimum delivery is 25 meters ...

Polyurethane is a good alternative for sealing and bonding glazing. Just make sure that you (or the person you hire for the job) are using the right products and method. The substance has to tolerate both sea water and sunlight (UV).

One important thing to notice is that organic glazing has higher Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) than the boat hull (GRP).
CTE of GRP is ~10E-6/K , and CTE of PMMA and PC is ~70E-6/K.

As an example:
Boat is docked outside during winter, which around here means that temperature of the glazing easily varies from -20C even up to +60C during the year.
This means that GRP will shrink/expand 0.8 mm for each meter, and glazing 5.6 mm/meter. If the bonding is stiff and doesn't allow movement, then something will definitely break …

There are no similar issues with real glass, since it has almost the same CTE as GRP.

At least Sika, Tremco and Owatrol have these kind of sealing/bonding systems available for Marine use.
To get the idea visit http://www.sika.se/manualer.asp and download the manual "Limma och täta rutor av organiskt glas".


Hope this was helpful.

Last autumn I didn't have a clue of any of this. But then again, before last autumn I didn't own a boat with leaking windows …
My solution was to replace the windows with tinted PMMA. This time they are bonded with PU, and all those dozens and dozens of screws with dozens and dozens of through-hull holes were left out. Bonding adhesives have improved a lot since the 1980's.

With regards,
JP