Buccaneer 24 Builders Forum

Be sure to leave some room for expansion as the plastic moves more than the wood. I'd gently try to convince you not to as the inset method adds weight and rot risk. The plastic overlapping the cabin side stiffens things up.

The real trick is the patterns as they layout your window and the cutout hole and the temp blocks for positioning to take out the guess work..Some compound curve is allowable as the plastic has some flex. Too much and you'll have to get into thermal forming.

Cutting plexiglass takes time and steady nerves, about a day for my cabin windows. I put on Kate Bush CDs for really nerve wracking jobs and it took most of her play list. Interestingly I found blades other than the plexiglass ones to work best in my Bosch jig saw. Sanding the edges is straight forward.

I used some sealant adhesive around the inner lip too for condensation protection. The Dow Corning goo was really easy to work with and could be sanded after curing.

 

I was considering using lexan because it is easier to cut. But, I'm not sure if it is as durable as plexiglass.

 

It will yellow and opaque but is stronger. On a boat where you spend time looking out the windows I'd go plexiglass, It really isn't hard to cut but you have to match your saw speed with your cut rate and blade. Too fast and things start to melt. I wound up using a bi'metal 101 Bosch I think. Metal cutting blades also seemed useful.

 

just thinking, wonder if theres a rubber U channel made somewhere with say 1 1/2 inch flange, you could run it round opening and bit of butyl glues it to window, then ya fill rest of hang with other stuff. and it would still allow for gobs of float around and expansion.

Barry

 

You can still find the traditional rubber window seal but they add no strength, are heavy, tend to leak and allowed windows to get punched out by waves.

 

The parts boat I bought has window gaskets. They are old and shrunk up and look like they would leak badly.I wonder if they ever really sealed well. Cars used to use gasketed windows and we always fought leaks with them.

 

I had to replace my cabin front panels because of old rubber gasket seals.

 

rubber gaskets

Old Porsches and old boats always had leaky rubber gaskets, and old sports cars rust out faster even than old boats rot. Modern tape sealed windows are a great improvement for both wherever they can be used.
B

 

actually i was thinking gasket not installed on window but in opening, leaving a small rise rubber lip, then window on top of that, and sealer shot under just to it. so like a pre made wrap around doubeback tape, but instead of sticky tape butyl on rubber for adhesion. If that description makes sense?



Barry

 

yes but on my harley its a advantage, if i don't see it leaking anymore it means its outta oil!


Barry

 

Thinking about fairing the hulls. Having never used a fairing compound, I was thinking of using bondo. So I mixed some up and let it sit in a cup of water for two weeks to see if it would soak up water, it didn't. But. Is a real fairing compound lighter and easier to sand?
I've read about mixing microbaloons in epoxy, is this easy to sand?

Fred

 

@freddyj - Negative on the Bondo.
It's polyester based and will have much lower adhesion to the hull than a home-brewed epoxy based fairing compound. The chances are very high that it will fail, particularly if any of the faired surfaces flex. Think of how irksome it would be to have that happening once you are in the water.

Epoxy and microballons can work. The argument against microballoons is that sanding cuts open some of the microballoons leaving small pits. I found a coat of epoxy after fairing followed by proper primers solved the problem. There are more additives available today then when I last faired anything of size. Others will probably chime in with a newer secret sauce, but I wouldn't use Bondo in any circumstance.

 

Any opinions on a fairing compound? Or ease of sanding?

 

I'd go the microballoons for sure the trick is to get enough in your epoxy if you look in the Gougeon Brothers on boatbuilding book it gives a good reference to the various mixtures. I found it difficult to mix to a good consistency when doing it once the epoxy was mixed and better to do by weight, If the mix is right it sands easily.

The book is available as a free .pdf here if you haven't already got it.

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/assets/HowTo-Publications/GougeonBook 061205.pdf

 

fairly easy?

Fred, "bondo" is a polyester based filler and "used" to be made with some clay content, so it was not appropriate for marine use. The current product seems to use a filler that is quite water resistant and also sands easier and feathers a lot better than the old stuff. IMO it is ok above the waterline and in practice is often used by "pros". The real advantage of poly is the quick cure possible so you can be sanding an area that was filled a couple of hours later. Epoxy, particularly in colder weather, might not be sandable until the next day. Pros can't afford the time. All polyester shrinks as it cures/ages, so it is only good in thin applications. It doesn't adhere as well as the epoxy based fillers and since your boat is coated with epoxy, I would suggest only using epoxy filler everywhere. The pre-packaged fillers from "West", and the other epoxy suppliers and the big paint companies is really easy to use, and I, being lazy, prefer the easiest. Also, the shelf life of epoxy based fillers is very long, unlike polyester that is usually gone in six months.
On methods, I always start by rolling or even better spraying a layer of high build primer followed by a quick sanding with 80 grit. It often fills so well that you only have small flaws to fill with the thick filler.
Fill less, sand less! I hate sanding!
B