How to deal with leaky windows?

Hi,
We have a 1985 Chien Hwa trawler and most of our windows leak. We are wondering if we should fix them ourselves or have someone take care of them. What is a good price to get them fixed? We live in the San Francisco bay area. If fixing ourselves, does anyone have any tips on how to do this?
Thank you! I appreciate your input.
Anna

Welcome aboard. The best but most expensive would be to replace them with aluminum frame windows. But that will be pretty expensive. Have you checked the drain holes at the bottom?

Yes, and they drain.

A common problem with Taiwan trawlers. One of the folks here recommended a product called Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure for a similar problem I had. It appears to have worked for me.

It is a runny clear liquid. I ran it along the top of the window frame between the frame and the house on the leaky window. Where the leak was you could see it seep in. I kept doing it until it no longer seeped. I also had a leak between the house and the deck with a similar fix.

With the way that these boats are made I plan on doing future repairs that way until I am forced to to an expensive repair.

The real problem is the window frames were made from multiple pieces of wood and they leak at the joints. It is a crapshoot as to just where they leak. I had some teak framed windows that leaked in a previous boat. I never opened them and always kept them covered anyway so I made waterproof window covers out of Stamoid and attached them at the top with Keder strips. That way the water would run over the windows but could not get to the teak frames so they didn’t leak. Even if you cover the windows when you are not on the boat and only cover them when it is raining while you are on the boat, that may be a temporary fix.

I have a 1986 marine trader sundeck. I too had leaking windows. Not all of them but most. I decided to replace them. Honestly I didn’t know what I was getting into. The first thing , if you decide to replace them yourself, find a window manufacturer. I took out the old windows one at a time and brought the glass to the manufacturer. My windows had an aluminum track. While the manufacturer was cutting the new glass I was cleaning out the old track. A very tedious job. I wish I did a step by step video because there were so many road blocks. I was lucky. I found a manufacturer that had 40 years experience replacing boat windows 2 hours away. He walked me through every step. He no longer installed them because of his age. It took 10 months to do one at a time. Some were sliders some were fixed. Would I do it again? Maybe.

Well, I now consider myself eligible for the "I`ve replaced windows" T shirt.

I am now on my seventh window, which should be the last with a bit of luck.

I started off with the six in the fore cabin - three each side. There was rot in the frames. The first one, as usual took me forever - over thinking it probably and the last out Friday, back in Monday.

I had a new profile matching the old made, luckily the curved corners could be re used and the slide channel luckily also although I`ve since found a source for this.

The original timber would have been teak but not wanting to mortgage the house I had the new profile cut from an Aussie hardwood - Spotted Gum- beautiful timber but too hard to work - luckily I didn`t have to do too much

I also had new glass cut (laminated) two panels per window - they even put the little glass square pulls on them

I cut the timber frame sides, fitted them together, using biscuit pieces to help strengthen each corner. The other corners were a mitre cut but of course not 90 degrees so a bit fiddly. When I was happy with the fit, pulled them apart and soaked them in epoxy before final assembly with joints held with thickened epoxy glue (and the biscuits). Screws and Sika holds them to the outside of the cabin and I faired the join using epoxy thickened with micro balloons. All up cost per window inc timber and glass was less that $200. BTW, window 7 is going to be made of Western Red Cedar - light and easy to work and once soaked in epoxy - hard as..

I am happy with the result although like most things I have 40:40 hindsight and I would have only installed a single slide track and rebated the fixed pane into the frame. This would have reduced the depth of the frame by about 2cm.

One tip -the bottom track had holes in its bottom for drainage with corresponding holes in the wooden frame. These are important, but don`t forget to epoxy the inside of the holes - epoxy on a cotton bud did the trick for me

I really enjoyed the challenge, especially the first one.

AnnaW said:

Hi,
We have a 1985 Chien Hwa trawler and most of our windows leak. We are wondering if we should fix them ourselves or have someone take care of them. What is a good price to get them fixed? We live in the San Francisco bay area. If fixing ourselves, does anyone have any tips on how to do this?
Thank you! I appreciate your input.
Anna

Click to expand...

Greetings AnnaW

The CHB model of trawler to my way of thinking is the finest layout for modest investment with the most rewards for comfort, economy, and simplistic maintenance. In a list of short comings, there are few, however windows are a big factor in the disappointment catagory. those and the leaking decks due to the wood being screwed directly into the fiberbglass allowing water into the core. Then the leaking around the fuel filler caps that allow water to sit on the top of steel tanks resulting in rusting tanks years later or as it is, Now!.

Let me address the window leaks for the moment.
The issue with windows on these CHB models is the installation at the factory. There were several manufactures involved with these class of boats, most use the same or similar methods of installing window. In the two specific cases where I had the opportunity to view the repairs the installation was the same. The cabin construction apparently completed prior to cutting out the window openings. Then with the full cut out exposed and the edges not sealed, the windows are installed.Nothing between the window installatrion and the filler betwee the walls. What happens then is the rain is allowed in around the exterior of the wood window frames both on the top/sides and the bottom against the glass pane. The space between the interior wall and the exterior wall is filled with in one case, jigsaw pieces of Styrofoam and the other matching pattern of styrofoam to the area. In both cases, the leaking water soaks the Styrofoam and causes rot to the interior walls. It is a mess to redo the interior sections and in both cases that I watched repaired, alumainum windows were installed. It was the replacement of interior wood that caused the most replacement effort. The aluminum window were then installed in sealed openings. One used a two part epoxy to coat the window opening, I can't recall the other but know it to have been sealed.

There is a product that I have used and promoted to other boaters in my area. Having 150 inches plus annually, windows that are going to leak have and will or are just waiting.
The product I would offer for consideration is called Captain-Tolleys=Creeping-Crack sealer. The Amazon prime site is: https://www.amazon.com/Captain-Tolleys-Creeping-Crack-Bottle/dp/B00JQ6XHWC

This is applied during a dry day and the area that is to be addressed, heat gunned to assure the area is dry. The product has the texture of condensed milk and is applied through a nipple pouring point. You apply this slowly along all the upper outside seams of the window frame ( I would suggest cleaning out or removing any surface sealer that may have been applied earlier.) Run the product as I said, along the top and sides of the outside edge of the window, then on the seam against the glass on the bottom of the window frame. As you apply it and the product drains into the window seam, continue apply coats every 15 minutes till the seam area you are addressing refuses anymore product.
It is worth the price of a bottle to see if what I have suggested works. You can thank me later

A.M. (Al) Johnson-Ketchikan,Alaska

NWSeadog said:

A common problem with Taiwan trawlers. One of the folks here recommended a product called Captain Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure for a similar problem I had. It appears to have worked for me.

It is a runny clear liquid. I ran it along the top of the window frame between the frame and the house on the leaky window. Where the leak was you could see it seep in. I kept doing it until it no longer seeped. I also had a leak between the house and the deck with a similar fix.

With the way that these boats are made I plan on doing future repairs that way until I am forced to to an expensive repair.

Click to expand...

Permatex also have a similar product that use capillarity to fill in the small cracks.

L