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C25 leaking windows/portholes

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ed_spengeman
1st Mate

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USA
98 Posts

Response Posted - 05/03/2009 : 17:58:16

Dennis:
You got a lot of good suggestions and much repitition. It was for a reason. There are some points to be aware of. I used the CD package which has all the parts and full instructions. It was two years ago and no leaks yet.

Go slowly. Trace windows on outside of the cabin before you start. I used 3M Adhesive Remover and De-Bondo. Took the inside rings off and applies chemicals inside and out. 20 minutes, again. Put pressure on the inside and held it. Applied again after taking a knife around the outside seal. As I started to push, about 20 seconds later, it started to move. More chemicals, more push. It comes out slowly which means you can do it by yourself like I did.

Clean everything with solvents, a putty knife and a screw driver. Get a good seat and plenty of beer. This part is a bitch-maybe two hours or more.

Clean the holes in the cabin where the windows were. I found a number of voids between the inside and outside walls. I filled them with West's and baloons mixed to peanut butter consistency.

Tape around the pencil lines on the outside. This will keep mess under control. Silicone the glass seal and use PLENTY of the 4200 for the outside seal. If it leaks, it's because you didn't put enough 4200 there. Put the inside rings on and tighten evenley but leave the final tightening for two or three days.

It's well worth the effort. Hope this helps.

Edited by - on

farrison
Navigator

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USA
166 Posts

Response Posted - 05/04/2009 : 08:43:16

We redid our windows with new gasket material and sealants from the CD kit, including the 4200UV sealant for the frame-to-cabin seal. (I wrote the Mainsheet article about this last month). One of the windows leaked and we took it apart last week to correct it. It was leaking between the frame and cabin so we unscrewed it to redo the seal, thinking that we had done a poor job the first time. We figured that we would have to cut and hack at the 4200 to get it loose, but the window frame just popped out. The 4200 had not stuck to the frame, and came out perfectly clean. The sealant bead around the window opening was well formed, and that peeled away pretty easily also, with only a little scraping with a razor blade in a few spots. We were shocked at how poorly the 4200 adheared to the aluminum frame. Yes, we did de-grease the frame and opening before rebeding.

The moral of this story is that I would not use the 4200 again, even though it is included in the kit. We are looking into Boatlife because we have heard good things about it, or maybe we'll try the Life-Caulk recomended by Frank in New York. We'll get to try this pretty soon, as we have discovered another leak in the window opposite.

Paul

Edited by - on

pete454ss
Deckhand

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USA
24 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2009 : 13:55:34

Don't do what i did....! Remove and Re-seal all of the windows only to find out they all still leaked!!

After my experience if I had to do this job again I would start with one window first. This project will take about 2 days to complete by yourself using the CD window kit following the instructions very carefully.

After you remove your first window you will need plenty of time for scraping the original sealant, cleaning and prepping the port for a clean install. It's not hard if you learn using one window first.

Re-seal the window following the instructions exactly. Allow the window to cure and test for leaks.

If the window doesn't leak, then you're off to a good start, if you want to attempt to reseal more than one window at a time you'll have a better idea of what to expect.

If the window still leaks you did something wrong

just be happy that you didn't do all 6 windows wrong!

Remove the window again and trouble shoot where you went wrong...chances are you didn't add enough silicon on both sides of the new window gasket and or you didn't use enough 4200 on the window frame to cabin. If you get stumped call CD they will help you over the phone.

My windows are leak free ... good luck

Edited by - pete454ss on 05/10/2009 14:06:01

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2009 : 15:17:29

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> We redid our windows with new gasket material and sealants from the CD kit, including the 4200UV <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Was that 4200 or 4000UV? My kit included 4200, but I was expecting it to contain 4000UV.
I let it cure for 4 days before final tightening. Initially, I only tightened enough to hold the deadlights in place and that left another 2 - 3 turns to compress the silicone gasket. We have had rain, but I still have a tarp over the cabin. I will find out how it does this week since my launch has been delayed until thursday - I thought going out of town for Mother's Day weekend or pressure washing the bottom and topping my bottom paint on Mother's Day wouldn't generate good feelings.

Edited by - on

farrison
Navigator

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USA
166 Posts

Response Posted - 05/12/2009 : 13:01:52

Dave; I checked it last night and it was indeed 4200 Fast Cure, which claims right on the tube to be "medium" holding strength.

As for the "final tightening", if the cabin wall is too thin, the inner ring tightens down on the outer frame before the window is tight against the cabin, so it will never get tight. This very issue was part of our leaking problem on this new window. We shimmed the inner ring out with wedges to get the frame/sealant tighter.

Edited by - on

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