Manatee windshield replacement help

Hi folks,

I am hoping some Krogen Manatee folks are reading this... I need to replace the windshield on my Manatee. It was crazing before but it seems now to have quickly degraded to being next to impossible to see out of. I'm having a heck of a time separating the frame. I was hoping someone would know the "secret" to disassemble it. I've taken it out and off the hinge and tried a few glass/window shops and no one wants to touch it because they can't figure out how to separate it without breaking it. The track on the inside is not really rubber - it's hard plastic with no clear way to remove it. I've tried running a razor in the gap, heating it up in the sun and/or with a hair dryer and nothing... I've seen over the years the listed Manatees for sale that have the same or similar awning style opening with the stainless telescoping supports. Some look "beefier" than others. At this point I'm frustrated enough to just seal it up solid with safety glass and never have to worry about the acrylic crazing again but I like the ventilation.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, we're having a drought here in cali but having this window out temporarily will probably cause it to rain!

Thanks Captgrail

Are you speaking ONLY of the upper, as-you-say, "awning section? As you'll learn, all Manatees are not created equal, and even two boats I've seen have the opening section on the bottom instead of the top. Of the two persons I know whom have replaced the upper section, neither had a good enough frame to refit another window, and my own is solid glass. There's at least several other Manatee owners on TF that can comment. This is a photo of Summertime Ray and Linda's old boat that has quite a blog. They also replaced the whole frame.

Not the cheapest way to go but you could take the measurements and get the entire frame rebuilt exactly the way you want it. There are a number of marine window manufacturers that could do this.

We did a temporary fix 8 years ago to get our Manatee home from Ft. Myers, Fl. I removed the center crazed area leaving a 1/2" border around the window frame of the old acrylic. Cut the new acrylic and clear silicon chalked it with 1/8" s/s bolts every six inches or so. It was a temporary fix but has lasted and not leaked. We plan on a new window and believe wynneinc.com can make it but as before mentioned at a hefty price of about $800.
Bill

Window glass; and especially Lexan has always been an expensive proposition to replace. Most all the contemporary boats use Lexan for wind screens on the flybrdges, and many express boats used it for their windshields due to it being flexible. Unfortunately the sun makes it craze. I remember paying $3k to change them out on the Tempest 42's, mostly labor but also remember having to pay $6k for a laminated glass windshield on a Mares 50. There was only one company in the whole Gold Coast that could do it, so whatever they wanted-you had to pay. Fast forward to 2014: I found a client the coolest designed boat, that fit all the parameters they were looking for, but it (unlike any boat design I'd ever seen) had what's best described as a enclosed flybridge (sole helm) that overlooked the salon below like a balcony in a home. Just gorgeous and incredibly spacious as you can imagine. One problem-the curved laminated glass windshield had delaminated, not allowing a clear view. "No problem, I'll just call the glass guy". $40k. That's right forty thousand dollars. Sheessh, no wonder the boat is for sale, AND the glass has to come from New Zealand with no guarantee that there would ever be another replacement available, which makes one quite nervous in an area of high rises with slingshot (or commercial lawn sevices with powerful lawn mowers happily zipping about everywhere shotgunning debris, which answers your queston of "slingshots?" )happy residents. Pass. Too bad, its a really cool boat, but damn!

Hello again folks,

Thanks so much for everyone's posts. Healhustler - I can say with 100% confidence that the hull of the Manatee is about the only thing we all have in common. I have seen photos of Summertime, Ray and Linda's Manatee but his window replacement job wasn't really documented other than photos of the finished job - which look great. (from raylinsea.com)

My Manatee's window is the full height, there is no bottom pane section. It's hinged at the top with a piano hinge that fastens to a piece of malleable rubber/plastic and screws into the top of the frame. It opens from the bottom and has 2 adjustable stainless arms mounted to the inside frame each being fixed into the acrylic with 2 screws. The pic shows it slightly opened, I was in the process of removing it. Normally it closes flush and the supports tighten it down. Not a design to take heavy seas but I've never had it leak.

HiDho - your temporary fix was one of the suggestions I got from a glass guy and since it doesn't require taking the frame apart it might be the quickest and simplest way to go. In a perfect world I'd replace all the frames with something that could be easily serviced but I'm still waiting on my lotto numbers to come in. This window seems to have been designed by someone wanting to ensure they will *ALWAYS* be the replacement supplier. I priced the size of the pane and depending on thickness it's about $60.00. I'm curious what thickness you used and how it looks from the outside?
Did you cut the old window out yourself? I was wondering if it would shatter or not. The other issue is the support holes are more than 1 inch from the edge so I'd probably have to extend that area. I really don't have to open the window that often but even replacing it with solid glass would require getting that frame apart...

I'll also try and contact Ray if he's still available and can give me some insights to his job. Thanks again for everyone's comments I'm really glad to find other Manatee owners here on this free forum. Any other ideas are as always, greatly appreciated.

It has been a while since I did the window fix but as I recall I purchased the acrylic at Home Depot. I would need to go to the boat to measure the thickness I used but I think it was about 1/8" +- and was about a 3'x3' sheet for about $25. I scored the sheet and snapped it to size. I removed the window masking taped it both sides, layed out the cut line in pencil and drilled the corners and saw blade entry, I used a fine toothed metal blade in my skillsaw to cut out the crazed section. U tube has how to videos on cutting acrylic, it depending on the thickness you use. The photo attached is the best I have in my computer,click on it for a bigger view, if needed I can take a close up next time I'm at the boat. The photos of your window look to be identical to mine.
Bill











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Manatee Window replacement Help

Hi Bill,

Thanks much for your info. At this point I'm thinking your method is the best bet for the short term anyway and it doesn't ruin the frame. I did hear from Ray and Linda on Summertime. He said his replacements were from Wynne Enterprises Inc in Alabama. The original plastic frames were installed with a 5200 type sealant and were destroyed in the removal process. You have to make templates and send them to Wynne to get a proper fit.

I'll make a template while I have it off.

I can't really tell from this photo but it looks like you had to drill new holes for the supports since they are more than 1 inch out from the frame. If you get a chance for a few closeups that would be great.

Thanks again
Captgrail

Just to follow up on this thread - I replaced mine using HiDHo's solution and it worked out just great. One thing to note if you are doing this is to make sure the adhesive and the window material you use are compatible. Some adhesives and plastics just don't work well together and you want a good seal.

Thanks for all the feedback!