glass bottom boat, glass type suggestions

Hi folks,

Just doing some preliminary 'googling' as to what type of glass is generally used in the panels that are cfitted in glass bottomed boats. Has anyone got any advice or experience of installing a panel. Is plexiglas suitable or does it need to be a special glass, tempered and hardened. Are there any known suppliers in the UK at all.

Absoluatley any pointers on the glass type would be very helpful indeed.

greetings from a very 'mild' Scotland

 

Hi, terallan.

Here is a link to Florida's Glass Bottom Boats at Silver Springs.

The glass wasn't tempered, just thick. I think the thickness would depend on the size of the boat.

Lexan would be my recommendation in any modern build.

http://www.silversprings.com/cruises.html
"Silver Springs’ popularity flourished after Hullam Jones invented the glass bottom boat there in 1878. By installing a glass viewing box on the flat bottom of a dugout canoe, he created a window to an underwater world teeming with fish, turtles, crustaceans and fossils more than 10,000 years old."

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/photos/recreate/tour/silv/silv104.htm

 

I'm sorry I dont remember the manufacturer,
but I saw inserts for kayaks and canoes at a boat show last year.
they weren't glass, they were a heavy plastic preformed insert.

 

You can also make an underwater viewing tube with flat lens at end of pvc tube.

 

1" lexan would be far stronger than the hull itself.

A thinner sacrificial layer might also be a good idea since it will likely get scratched and need to be replaced periodically.