Window Work - KK42

Had a hard rain on Lake Champlain yesterday and noticed that I have a couple of leaks around the pilothouse windows. Have any of the KK42 owners out there ventured into the challenge of window replacement?

Thanks,

Dave Geer
South Hero, VT

M/V Stout
KK42-087

Greetings,
Mr. 2g. Damp welcome aboard. Are the leaks severe enough to warrant replacement or can they simply be re-bedded?

Yup. We've re-bedded all the pilot house windows. You don't need to replace them. The process is pretty straight forward. We did one at time by removing the outside frame and then the glass. Then we cleaned everthing up, new caulking/bedding material and reinstall.

A word of caution: The window frames are pretty fragile. We used lots of wedges and putty knives after removing all the screws.

Jim Cave also re-bedded his recently on his KK42. Maybe he has something to add.

Good luck.

The main (forward) window shows signs of lamination but is not leaking. Not sure that is the right term but pane must be layered glass of some sort because there is a film developing on the lower two corners. Port forward window is leaking and shows the beginning of internal wood molding degradation in lower left corner. Other port side window (forward of the PH door) shows none of the above but is weeping along its lower edge - its molding looks fine.

In general, for the exception of the main forward hinged window, glass quality looks ok.

dg

Good luck. Windows are very expensive to replace. I had 4 windows that I was going to replace that were about 6" by 42". I priced them out several places around $460 each. But after really looking at the problem, I found that the real issue was that the builder put straight windows into a cabin side that was cambered about 1/2" so even with new windows I would still have leaks. I removed the windows and made fiberglass panels to glass them closed. Added 3 ventilation hatches to get air and light.

2geer said:

The main (forward) window shows signs of lamination but is not leaking. Not sure that is the right term but pane must be layered glass of some sort because there is a film developing on the lower two corners. Port forward window is leaking and shows the beginning of internal wood molding degradation in lower left corner. Other port side window (forward of the PH door) shows none of the above but is weeping along its lower edge - its molding looks fine.

In general, for the exception of the main forward hinged window, glass quality looks ok.

dg

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We did replace the glass in the center pilot house window after a contactor scratched it. It was less than $100. The original on Hobo was tempered glass. Because of wher we were at the time, we went safety glass as a replacement. The inner SS frame un-screwed easily.

If you have interior wood around the glass that is deteriorating, address it now. You won't know the extent until you pop the glass out but you could be OK.

Careful taking the side windows out since they are tinted. If you break one, matching tint that is many years old will difficult at best. We say this on another boat. The owner couldn't match the tint and he ended up replacing all the windows on that side. The center 3 windows are clear so no problem there.

The tint is called "bronze", don't ask me how I know. And it is just a shade off from age UV exposure.

I wanted to replace all my PH w/ new, but budget dictated cleaning, bedding, painting all the exterior teak frames after repairs due to cracking, rot etc.

Thanks for all of your input!

dg

The 3 forward panes are not tinted. Only the side panes are tinted on our vessel. I replaced the 3 forward panes as they were fogged on the bottom and there was some delamination. I replaced them with laminate-glass at about $80 can a pane. I also cracked one of the side panes and a window shop had to match the tint. It took a couple of weeks to get it in.

Take your time removing the frames. As Larry said, they are fragile. I used a putty knife, heated with a heat gun (on high setting) to get through the old sealant. A previous contractor had removed the frames with what looked like an oscillating saw blade and made a mess of the FRP under some of the windows, so use a hot knife instead. The resin inside the frames had fractured like peanut brittle. I chipped this out and filled the inside of the frame with thickened epoxy, giving it a little concavity to accept the seal. I used white 4200 to assemble back the window. I think I should have used a different tint, perhaps beige but hey! The boat is 30 YO! And the windows don't leak.

Edit: I should add that a fellow KK42 owner told me he had a shipwight do his 3 forward windows and he was charged $5,000! Mine cost <$500.

Oh! And replace those "devil spawn" Philips screws with good old Canadian Robertson screws!

Larry M said:

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Careful taking the side windows out since they are tinted. If you break one, matching tint that is many years old will difficult at best. We say this on another boat. The owner couldn't match the tint and he ended up replacing all the windows on that side. The center 3 windows are clear so no problem there.

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All my PH windows are tinted. It's quite noticeable when I have my polarized sunglasses on.

Richard

Great info !! Thanks again!

dg

dg: Look at Jim's 2nd and 5th pictures. When he re-bedded the windows, he added 8 additional window frame screws, 2 per side per frame. This makes for a better seal/gasket and less distortion on the frame when tightening. We also did this on Hobo. It's something I'd suggest considering.

Makes good sense .....

Wxx3 said:

All my PH windows are tinted. It's quite noticeable when I have my polarized sunglasses on.

Richard

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Do you know if your front windows have been replaced? When I talked to Krogen before we replaced the front center, they said all front windows were specified as clear from the factory on our 42's.


But then again, If you've seen one Krogen 42, you've seen one Krogen 42.

Yes, I had forgotten about adding the additional screws. Larry suggested it and it made sense to me. Before you put old panes back in, look at them carefully. If they show their age, it's a good idea to replace them considering the work involved in the re and re. At $85 or so a pane for the front windows, it was a no brainer for me. The window shop found that the tint on the pane I cracked was a difficult match and they had to order it specially. If you replace all four of the side panes you don't have to worry so much about a match. Although I suppose the door window is also tinted...

Replacement Screens for KK42 round portlights

we are new KK owners. looking to find screen replacement for one of the round portlights. anyone know a source? and while we are out of some of oval hatch screens also should be replaced while we are at it.

By round port light, are you talking the one in the galley? The oval ones down below?