96 islander front cabin windows

greatharbor

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both front cabin windows leak, have tried to silicone seals, but didn't work. talked to gradt dealer today and he says likely the manufacturer of rubber seals gone due to recession, i would have to bring sample in. has anybody just ripped out windows and started from scratch? or know of good source for seals? i assume that they would be damaged by taking them out
 

JeffN

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The search feature can be your friend. But try these folks mentioned in this thread viewtopic.php?p=38984&highlight=#38984. I got my window stuff from them a few years ago. Their site is still up http://www.marineglassspecialties.com/ so I would think they are still in bussiness. I think your best bet is to call them if the seals are no longer made perhaps they have some other ideas. My boat is a lot older than yours and they had all the parts I needed to redo my cabin windows. I spoke with George and he knew exactly the parts I needed.

When you applied the sealer did you remove the window or just touch things up. My seals were old but the window was leaking around the frame too. I would think your seals would have lasted longer but maybe not.
 

JeffN

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If they are the proper size that would certainly be the way to go. Pop the old ones out and put the new ones in. Finished in no time.
 

1st grady

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I actually added about 1/4 inch of additional fiberglass along the bottom edge of the cutout for the window. Mine must have been the first one off the line because the windows just barely covered the cutout. I wanted the screws to go through the fiberglass and then into the inside trim as I felt this would provide a better seal than just sandwiching the inner and outer frames around the fiberglass. It is a two person job, one inside and one outside with lots of careful caulking. I probably spent about 3 - 4 hours on one window all said and done, but I am particular. Lots of time cleaning old caulk. Oh, you will have to bend the frames to conform to the curvature of that hull section. I bent mine between the framing members of the trailer, you know how that goes, bend, check......bend a little, check,......bend a little , check, many many times until I was satisfied with the fit. You will not likely get them perfect, but they will pull in when you insert the screws. If you have a hard top, you will need to get creative removing and installing the screws behind the pipework, about an inch of space to insert a driver to remove the screws. A pair of windows for $70 is a steal as well!