Rebedding windows, what if it breaks ?

Had an interesting conversation yesterday with my very prestigious Marina about rebedding my forward windows.
I have asked them to remove the front windows, clean the tracks and rebed.
They said they will "do there best" but if a window breaks I will have to pay for it. I asked what tools do they use? Do they have the big window suction cups to aid in handling ? They said NO, we just use two guys, one inside and one outside. Is that common practice to take no responsibility in what they are being paid to do ?
This is not a small Marina either.

I have replaced many windows several boats,I’ve always found the best way to cut out the old one and put in a new one .I would need to see pictures of your windows to tell you what to do ,sometimes you can’t cut out the old ones ,boat yard is right thy quite often break ,it’s next to impossible to get them out once I’ve been set with all that bedding material,Another thing I’m doing a refit on a boat as we speak windows ,takes six months to get in they’ve doubled in price

We re-bedded 16 windows on 2 different boats without breaking one but they all had window frames that we removed first. Then with wedges, razor blades, putty knives, and patience we were able to remove the glass.

I was on a newer 65’ Sea Ray that had a shattered windshield. It had no window frame and was installed similar to a car windshield. I could see where a boat yard would have a disclaimer if they were going to remove and re-bed a similar installed window.

Do you have any pictures of the windows?

Scooby5959 said:

I have replaced many windows several boats,I’ve always found the best way to cut out the old one and put in a new one .I would need to see pictures of your windows to tell you what to do ,sometimes you can’t cut out the old ones ,boat yard is right thy quite often break ,it’s next to impossible to get them out once I’ve been set with all that bedding material,Another thing I’m doing a refit on a boat as we speak windows ,takes six months to get in they’ve doubled in price

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I am going through this right now with 8 forward windows already removed and new windows being installed tomorrow. It is quite a process, the boat came out of the water a month ago. In my case a significant scaffold had to be built due to the height of the skylounge windows. Yes they do manhandle the panes, and yes you will be responsible if anything breaks. In my case they did not break any of the old panes, but all are being replaced with new so it was not really an issue for me. It helps to appreciate the scale of the project to understand why it is a challenge for a yard. (See pix).

We were dealing with failed seals on several windows due to UV breakdown of the sealant (the edges of the panes should have been protected with a black band like you see on car windshields). That is UV protection for the sealant. They lasted 25 years but started to give out last summer.

I have replaced several windows on my boats.
I very carefully cut and scraped the caulking on both sides. THe panes were actually moving in the frame. They were free of the caulk.

I was not in a rush as the boat was in a shed protected from the weather so no rain or snow could get in. A piece of plywood could be secured in place to keep out critters. Rushing for weather was not a factor.

When caulked into a frame that is solidly part of the boat can be almost impossible to avoid some breakage.
My windows are laminated safety glass so have some ability to move even though limited.

But guess what , all of them broke.

I suspect age, vibration, in combination with uneven pressure no matter how carefull I was, they didn't like it.

I am not surprised at the boat yards statement.

Looking back at my efforts considering if I had to pay for the the time it took to pave the way for an unbroken removal may have been more expensive that if I simply broke the window and then went at the caulk.

Find out what the cost of the new glass is vs the labour hours you will pay and likely still have at least one or more of the windows break.

I re-bedded my 3 front windows on the Albin several years ago.
I got 2 of them out without breaking.
One broke. It actually just cracked so I could take it to a glass shop. They get brittle after many years.
It was easy to get it replaced and not all that pricey.

Awesome information above. Thanks for the true life experiences.

I rebuilt my windows. New urethane, fuzzys, stationary glass, tracks etc.

It was about 24 man hours per window, and I work fast.

Finished with penetrating epoxy, faired smooth, primed with Awlgrip, mounted, then bungs filled, refaired, primed, and then Awlgrip finish coat sprayed.

GB white was perfect match.

If flat glass the window is the least of your worries.

Choices said:

I rebuilt my windows. New urethane, fuzzys, stationary glass, tracks etc.

It was about 24 man hours per window, and I work fast.

Finished with penetrating epoxy, faired smooth, primed with Awlgrip, mounted, then bungs filled, refaired, primed, and then Awlgrip finish coat sprayed.

GB white was perfect match.

If flat glass the window is the least of your worries.

Click to expand...

That’s why I recommended cutting the old one out and replacing with new ,sometimes you can’t do that if you don’t have enough wall space , you’re fixing the window for a reason, usually they’re leaking when you pull them all apart you find rot hopefully you have enough wall just to cut a larger hole and replace the whole window with a modern window ,they used to be 200 to $300 now there are 4 to 600, And takes six months to get not fun,Love those Europa style boats my favorite

I just rebedded all 4 pieces of glass on my Cabo. It’s not difficult but it does take time to do it correctly. As Choices said, the actual window is the least of your worries. Regardless of how carefully they are removed, there’s going to be some damage to the surrounding or supporting components that requires repair. I ended up sanding, priming, faring and painting all my frames. Then I had to carefully remove the excess sealant that got into the glazing channels that defeated the cordage I used as masking. Lastly, I got sticker shock from the price of the new rubber glazing. $7/lineal foot and there’s 90 ft of one style and 44 ft of another. If you have flat glass, don’t sweat the cost of glass. I replaced 2 pieces because the previous owner neglected to dry the windows after washing the boat with hard water and there was nothing short of polishing with diamond paste to restore the clarity.

Good luck with your project.

I rebedded all the windows on my Uniflite. They are glass in aluminum frames, some sliding and some fixed panes. The fixed panes I removed from their panes to re-glue them into the frames as the glue had failed in some areas.

I broke one pane getting the glass separate from the frame. The glass was laminated and tempered (similar to an automotive windshield) and quite expensive to purchase, relatively speaking ($400 for a single pane).

The original thickness was no longer available, it was originally a lamination of a layer of single strength glass and a layer of double strength glass. I could not find this combo and had to have a lamination of two layers of double strength glass made which increased the window thickness by 1/32" which had an effect on the installation of the glass in the frame, making it more difficult.

It can get complicated.

Window replacement

We have both sliders and solid plate windows. I took one look at the job required and whimped-out and hired Marine Glass Technicians (Pompano Beach, FL) to do the job. They are experts, fast, and efficient and this is all they do. And they do it all over North America. I highly recommend them. The solid plate windows are mounted like car windows with black out around the perimeter. They redid five windows in two work days. The slider windows on our boat (Ocean Alexander) have a mounting flat frame that will accept a plate glass window so we replaced those with solid plate glass. If you have wood paneling on the interior you may want to trim that up with matching wood. Solid plate windows can be done with the boat in the water provided there is reasonable access. If you have to build a mounting frame when replacing sliders with plate glass, that is best done under cover as it takes more time.