Sliding Window Weather Strip Replacement

I have one rear side sliding window that wants to drip once and awhile during a rain storm.* It doesn't leak (drip) every time it rains but I can't trust it to not leak and it is over one of the aft racks.* The boat is a 1983 Marine Trader and I am wondering if there is a replacement weatherstrip available.* This is the old fashion fuzzy kind that was on the older car windows.* The window frames are metal with the fuzzy stuff on each side of the glass.*

The odd thing about this leak is it is from the top of the sliding glass half of the window unit (not the fixed glass).* It is like the water is getting*over top of the glass panel and running down the inside surface and dripping on the bed. (We have a plastic box lid under the window to catch any drips so the mattress doesn't get wet) I have new caulk at the*window*exterior wood*casing, top sides and bottom so I don't think it is leaking at that point.* Somehow it is getting over the glass.* I am thinking I need to change the weatherstrip.* Any help will be appreciated.* I saw that timjet had a window leak but I don't know what became of that.* When it rains here in Florida it is a major event!!!!

Thanks all,
Bob.........Punta Gorda, Fl.

The SS track , with the fuzzy stuff is replaced as a piece.

Defender industries will have it.

Look carefully if there is an outside weep hole in the track that may be plugged .

-- Edited by FF on Monday 9th of August 2010 04:33:37 AM

The weep holes on our side aft cabin sliding windows used to plug up often, with black crud growing in that damp environment. I had a set of canvas covers made, they slide into a rubber channel over the window and snap down the sides and across the bottom. we leave these on when we are not cruising and take them off while we are out on the boat and able to remember keep the weep holes clear. That solved the prolem
Steve W.

Thanks guys!!!!* I did clean out all the weep holes on the bottom tracks and I know it drains as it should.* The water seems to be wicking up and over the top of the glass panel.* Don't ask me how.....I always thought water should run down and not up.* I have a little shim at the top between the glass and the inner frame and it sometimes keeps the water from rolling down the inside of the glass.* I will check Defender for the weatherstrip.* Thanks again.* I will report back later.

Bob

I'm waiting to hear your solution.
My boat has the same setup in the aft cabin. It is not leaking, but the fuzzy stuff looks terrible, mold mildew and gunk.
I live in SW Fl too and I think the mold and mildew will be impossible to control. I like Steve's idea above about installing a canvas cover to keep the rain out. But that may make it worse since it will not dry out as quickly.

Most glass shops will have the stuff. It's also available online in places like:

http://www.crlaurence.com/apps/sitesearch/search.aspx?query=marine%20channel

http://www.hitechglazing.com/

http://stanpro.com/SearchResults.aspx?listType=DisplayCategory&DisplayCategoryId=17

FF, Defender doesn't have anything that is close. I checked West Marine and nothing there either. Timjet, I will let you know how it goes. I was also thinking of installing a plastic eyebrow on the exterior over the top of the window but then my snap-on shades won't fit. I would rather fix the problem than install a bandaid anyway. Keith, thanks for the links. I did see similar tracks at the J.C. Whitney web site. I don't know if they would work for boat windows. They did have several styles of tracks that look close. I will check some of the local glass shops here in Punta Gorda. maybe I can get something off the shelf. I will let you guys know.

Does anyone know how to get the old guides out of the opening without removing any window casing or whatever? Do those sliding windows simply lift out of the track like a sliding glass door or is there more dissassembly required?

Bob

"FF, Defender doesn't have anything that is close."

Bob, do you mean the size is not close? I saw some ss window track in the clearence section of the store less than two weeks ago. Mayby they don't know they have it.

Rob

37' Sedan

Datenight....I checked Defender clearence section but could not see any ss window track.

Thanks though....Bob

Fisheries Supply in Seattle*carries Stanpro stainless window track, single and double channel, as well as the stainless/felt weather stripping some boats like GBs use on the exposed end of the sliding pane. I have no idea if this channel is the same as what you have on your boat, but it's what's used to replace old track on GBs.* We use the rigid track (pictured on the right).* It comes in eight foot (I think) sections.

Here's a link to the product. http://www.fisheriessupply.com/brand/602390/landing.aspx


-- Edited by Marin on Tuesday 10th of August 2010 11:17:50 PM

The glass will PROBABLY lift out of the track, if it was designed properly. Be sure not to use any metal tools; find some stiff plastic to put under the glass to lift it up. It may be a tight fit and you may have to work at it awhile. If it won't lift up enough to clear the bottom track, it was probably fabricated in one piece then installed. You'd have to remove the entire thing in that case.

Marin, that looks like the stuff. I will have to get the old out to know for sure though.

Keith, I will try to lift a panel out and see how difficult it might be. I am wondering that if I do lift the panel out, if the base track and head guide and maybe the two ends will be fastened in with screws or some other Taiwainese method.

This may or may not relate to your windows, but on an older Grand Banks the sliding glass panes in the opening windows will not lift out of the tracks. The window panes are sized to be a sliding but complete fit between the upper and lower tracks.

The process to remove a GB window is to remove the plugs hiding the screws in the frame, remove the screws, remove the frame (not necessarily easy depending on how it was bedded), then remove the screws from the window tracks. The screws are spaced so you can get them all out by moving the sliding pane from one end to the other.

The tracks are bedded to the inside of the sill. so this bedding seal had to be cut through (we use a rotary deglazing tool that makes pretty short work of it). Once the tracks are freed up the sliding pane can be tilted out along with the upper (or lower if you prefer to do it that way) track and removed. This leaves the fixed pane in place which can stay there if all you're doing is replacing the old track and refinishing the frame. But if you want to replace both pieces of glass you'll have to cut the bedding holding the fixed pane in place.

We take the old panes to the glass shop so they can use them as patterns for the new panes. The windows in a GB are not square--- the vertical ends are plumb but the tops and bottoms follow the sheer of the boat. So it's easiest to simply give the glass shop the old panes to duplicate rather than try to give them measurements.

This is the basic process for a Grand Banks boat. It may have no bearing on the window construction of your boat, but a lot of similar style boats use similar types of construction so perhaps there's something here that might help you.

So it's easiest to simply give the glass shop the old panes to duplicate rather than try to give them measurements.

We go to the auto guys and use the laminated glass , they are used to strange shapes and it costs no more than house glass.

The edges will go 20-30 years as is , but some folks do paint a thin coat of epoxy to seal the glass edges.

You may not venture where wave action will blow the glass , but oars , boat hooks and other accidents can cause the glass to give up.

FF wrote:
The edges will go 20-30 years as is , but some folks do paint a thin coat of epoxy to seal the glass edges.

Click to expand...

That's a good theory and I wish it was true but most epoxies break down pretty fast under UV light, which is certainly what they're exposed to on the edge of a window.* I suggested this idea once to a friend who is a retired marine engineer and he said that the epoxy would be gone or failed within a few months unless the boat was kept in the dark.

*

Ok....The way these windows are installed, you have to remove the wood casing from one or maybe both sides to get the glass and or the track out. I had a glass guy come over this morning to see what could be done. We tried to lift the sliding panel out but the wood trim on the inside is just too high and the fixed panel prevents removing from the outside. Anyway the fuzzy weartherstrip actually looks pretty good so I guess it will have stay in place. Now I have to figure out how to keep water from dripping in over the top of the glass panel. I did note that the panel could be lifted maybe 1/16" to 1/8" inch so I think I will try to put a shim on the track under the panel and force it to the top of the head track. Maybe that will keep the water out. We don't open that window anyway due to the heat...just keep that ole A/C going.

You say the water drips down the inside of the sliding pane from the top. Assuming the top of the glass is in a track like the bottom I cannot see any way water can go up the glass inside the track, over the top of the glass, and then run down the inside of the pane. Unless you have a hell of a wind blowing the water so hard at the glass that the wind is forcing the water to flow up the outside of the glass into the upside-down track.

If your window is configured with the top of the sliding pane in a stainless track, I would be much more suspicious of water getting down behind the exterior window frame and then between the upper sill and the track, at which point it would come down the inside of the window. If the bedding of the exterior of the frame and the track is shot or dried out I can see water easily taking this path.

Perhaps you should remove the exterior frame and rebed it. And while you have it off take a real close look at the bedding/sealant between the upper track and the window sill it's screwed to to make sure that any water that does get behind the frame can't then migrate between the track and the sill.* But bedding the frame properly to the cabin side and the *outside edge of the track will keep any water from getting behind the frame in the first place.


-- Edited by Marin on Thursday 12th of August 2010 09:43:20 PM

Hi,We have the same problem* with window track on my boat Island Gypsy 32,cant get it in the UK, may be they send to the UK.
Thanks David

Marin wrote......
"Assuming the top of the glass is in a track like the bottom I cannot see any way water can go up the glass inside the track, over the top of the glass, and then run down the inside of the pane."

I have to agree, here. The water is either coming in behind the top frame, or it would be impossible to get inside the glass from the top. Unless it is coming down inside he wall itself, unlikely as the wall would be solid I would think.

I too agree with Marin. No water will climb the glass and drip down the inside. It is coming from somewhere up above the glass. First suspect would be the external wood not sealing to the outside surface of the house. If there is any opening on the upper deck that would allow water to come down between the FRP and the wood lining it, above the window, that could show as water dripping in the window opening. Not as likely as the wood immediately above the window letting water in behind and above the window track.
If the fuzzy stuff is tearing out anywhere on your boat, it will all be in the same rotten condition and should be renewed. I have dome 2/3 of mine, over the past 15 years, and will have to get the last done this winter. All of the fuzzy stuff has failed. Just some is so hard to get at, it gets left till you are Really tired of it.
When I started this job, all those years ago, I bought enough track to do all of the windows, top and bottom. It isn't expensive.

castellah22 wrote:"Hi,We have the same problem* with window track on my boat Island Gypsy 32."

Click to expand...

My Halvosen 32 has the same problem.

*

Where can I purchase the stainless steel window tracks

magicdelmar said:

Where can I purchase the stainless steel window tracks

Click to expand...

Both Defender and west marine have the stuff.
Hollywood

magicdelmar said:

Where can I purchase the stainless steel window tracks

Click to expand...

I just ordered 3-96" sections from Fisheries Supply.

Here are installations instructions if you don't have them.

http://stanpro.com/PDFsRegOnly/SlidingWindow_Instructions.pdf

Thanks for the info. Now removing the frames,etc. , now the real work begins.

I know this is an old post and hopefully you have resolved the problem , which I believe is condensation due to your airconditioning (being always on ) meeting warm and VERY saturated outside air during rainy weather conditions. Whaddaya think??

window leak

reefdrifter said:

I have one rear side sliding window that wants to drip once and awhile during a rain storm.* It doesn't leak (drip) every time it rains but I can't trust it to not leak and it is over one of the aft racks.* The boat is a 1983 Marine Trader and I am wondering if there is a replacement weatherstrip available.* This is the old fashion fuzzy kind that was on the older car windows.* The window frames are metal with the fuzzy stuff on each side of the glass.*

The odd thing about this leak is it is from the top of the sliding glass half of the window unit (not the fixed glass).* It is like the water is getting*over top of the glass panel and running down the inside surface and dripping on the bed. (We have a plastic box lid under the window to catch any drips so the mattress doesn't get wet) I have new caulk at the*window*exterior wood*casing, top sides and bottom so I don't think it is leaking at that point.* Somehow it is getting over the glass.* I am thinking I need to change the weatherstrip.* Any help will be appreciated.* I saw that timjet had a window leak but I don't know what became of that.* When it rains here in Florida it is a major event!!!!

Thanks all,
Bob.........Punta Gorda, Fl.

Click to expand...

Hi Bob- Just bought an IG36 1980. Windows leaking over the top of the track as water runs off coach top. Bottom leaks because drain holes are plugged with the old track fuzzy stuff disintegrating. Trying to decide what to do in way of replacement. Probably Beckson tracks. Good luck!

A simple fix would be to put acrylic or polycarbonite panes over the outside wood frames as in storm window design. that way you could seal the window and get better a/c insulation of the glass areas at a fraction of the cost of trying to take the teak frames apart without damaging them.
Bill

On my boat, LaBELLE 42 , the windows have screwed on outer frames and inner wood ( Teak ?) frames. Can I replace the tracks from the outside ??