Glass windows in boats?

Steve Sanford

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
All~

I will be building a pilot house for a friend's 25-foot T-Craft later this fall. I have not yet had the opportunity to talk with my glass place down in Troy - but am wondering if anyone here has built or replaced windshields for boats. I have done a couple - on my first clamboat back in high school and later for the DEC 18' Privateer that we used for surveys year round. I used laminated safety glass for both.

Here are some conceptual drawings. I will be taking careful measurements later this week - the boat is down on Long Island.

Cassiopeia-Sketch1-18June2014sm_zpse6f3e262.jpg


On-line searches have thus far provided me with confusing and conflicting information. Following is how I THINK I should proceed with what I know now:

1 - Most windows will be fixed - except for a slider on each side of the house.
2 - The walls will be made of 3/4" plywood and I will rout a rabbet in each window opening to receive the glass - making each dimension about 1/8" oversize to accommodate both inaccurate glass cutting and thermal expansion.
3 - Tempered glass seems to be prohibitively expensive because it needs to be cut (and annealed) in a factory setting.
4 - Plexiglass or Lexan might suffice for other than the windshield because they are prone to scratching. Frost, ice and snow will be a factor on any window and the wiper will be a factor on the windshield.
5 - Laminated 3/16" safety glass - custom cut by a glass vendor - seems to be the way to go.
6 - I would bed the laminated glass in the rabbets (the rabbets first sealed with 2 coats of epoxy) with an opaque silicon caulk.

I would appreciate your thoughts, advice, experience and/or information.

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve,

That'll be a nice winter project. I have no hands on experience with a pilot house but have spent a lot of time studying different designs for a potential build of a Tolman Skiff. One item that seems to be more prevelant than I thought it might be is the reverse angled windshield. There must be quite an advantage to that design as I see it a lot. Do you have to concern yourself with the weight of the pilot house or isn't that an issue with this hull.

Can't help at all with your glass selection.
 
Steve,

You are a true renaissance man! From your wood working skills, to your art , drawngs, and decoy painting, I am in awe of your skills. I hope that you consider teaching an adult education class or two in your community.

In regards to your boat glass question. Have you considered a tilting front window? About 20 years ago,,my wife and I attended the Miami Boat Show, and I believe it was Edgewater Boats, out of Florida, that had tempered glass
surrounding their center console, on three sides. The front window tilted bottom out, so you could get a stream of fresh air if desired. Just a thought.

Again, super job on all your projects!

Art
 
Pete~

Regarding the reverse-angle windshield. I actually drew one - along with a few other options. We have not firmed up the design but I'm guessing we will stick with the customary East Coast approach (vertical or slight back angle) - I love the look of the reverse angle - I presume it helps avoid glare - but, except for the original Boston Whalers, I believe it's a West Coast feature. (I actually wanted to build a round-front, tugboat style house - but the existing coamings are square and flat - all ready to support the house as drawn.)

Thanks for mentioning the Tolman. A couple of Tolman build sites have almost convinced me to go with 1/2" ply for my walls (instead of 3/4").

I am concerned about the weight. The hull is very beamy and flat so the effect of the cabin should be minimal. However, when we do design measurements next weekend, we plan to fill a 30 gal garbage can with water (~250 pounds) and use a level to see how it changes the trim up forward. Once we firm up the design, I plan to estimate the total as-built weight. The windows may be the single largest factor.

I am hoping this "winter project" is completed by the end of October/early November - so we can use the boat as our tender/mother ship for our "scooter" (what we call our layout boat for divers) rig in December and January.

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve,
I have been fishing on a 23' Parker with a pilot house and would also suggest a window that you could till out from the bottom. In the A.M. with the dew or in the dark, trying to look out the window would be hard with just a wiper. Pete
 
Steve,

I really enjoy your attention to detail and your whole approach to the projects you tackle. Looking forward to this one as well.

Thanks,
 
Pete & Art~

Hmmmm....that's 2 votes for traditional windows - that tilt out at the bottom - just like the windows on my shop. I will certainly throw the idea into the mix at the "Design Summit" (with owner Craig Kessler) this coming weekend.

Thanks for your thoughts,

SJS
 
Steve,
Nothing to do with the windows, at the summit you may want to discuss the cockpit door, Many are behind the helm to give more space on the cockpit.
 
Steve,

I use glass from Taylor Made and Oldcastle. I can give you the phone number for my contacts at both companies. Taylor has a plant in Gloverville, NY which is about 40 miles or so to your West. You may be able to find something in stock that will work. They make glass for many boat manufacturers. Oldcastle has plants all over the country. They can make any custom shape, color , thickness etc., etc....however, they are not cheap. The last piece I had them make was 110"x18" 3/16" thick in gray smoked glass with a epoxy pattern baked on , all for only $4000, lol.
 
Hi Steve. Growing up as I did on the Eastern Shore of Md, I had the oppurtunity to ride in many Cheasapeake Bay Deadrise boats, boats commonly called work boats. Because of that, I too would reccommend at least one of your forward windows tilt out, hinging at the top.

I'd also like to inquire about the cockpit. Is it self bailing? Is the boat an out board? I ask these things I was once on a boat that had the cabin entrance way all the way to the floor with a low profile stern. That boat took water over the stern, the water rushed forward and filled the cabin and the boat became too bow heavy very quickly. With in 5 minutes the boat sank.

If the cockpit is self bailing, you might want to consider the bottom of the door riding on a 6 or 8" bulkhead.
 
John ~

Good thought re a tall threshold for the pilothouse door. Yes, it is a self-bailing outboard - it's a 25-foot T-Craft - probably from the 1970s or 80s. I hope to nail down the actual model type when I see it this weekend.

Regarding the front windows. I just got back from discussing design and construction details with Mark Mahoney - a duckboats.net member and very accomplished boatbuilder. Because the front windows are arched at their tops - making a piano hinge impossible - we talked about hingeing them at their bottoms (hopper-style), and not their bottoms (awning style). Your thoughts/experience with such?

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve, I have seen hinged windows like your drawing hinged at the top. You just make the frame around the glass straight on top to accomodate the piano hinge and cut the window opening on a curve. I truly think you will not be happy with them hinged at the bottom. Laminated safety glass is the only way to go. It is available almost anywhere, and if broken, it is still weather tight, till you can have another piece cut. John Livoti. if you have seen a big spacey looking sportfish up your way summers, called "Double Down" we built that thing. Pro Curve supplied the window glass. $300,000.00 worth of double compound curved. tinted, tempered, laminated, LCD film in the middle that you cant see thru when you hit a switch, glass. Amazing stuff! back in my first life when I was a south shore clamdigger, I never dreamed such stuff exsisted! Rich
 
Rich~

Great solution! Thanks very much!

We just measured the boat yesterday - so I can begin measured drawings when I get back home. I had not noticed previously from the photos but the front of the pilothouse (now just a windshield) has a slight bow: the center is square across and the side windows are angled back a few inches. So, the house will have 3 windows across the front (not two as in my sketches) - each of which will have a bit less of the arc - so your solution is even easier.

Also, I inspected all of the wooden pilothouses at the Captree fleet on Thursday evening. Every one had 3 windows across but only the center one opened - and always hinged at the top.

BTW: We are trying to keep the total costs well below $300K....

All the best,

SJS
 
Steve, if you mount the piano hinge flat on the face of the window frame/pilot house. add a strip of upholstery or cushion vinyl under the hinge to at least make the top seam between the deck house and the frame waterproof.The side seams can be more water resistant by adding flat hatch binding to the window frames to shed water, ditto for the bottom. Rich
 
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