Flybridge Pexiglass

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raymond.goff

raymond.goff

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Messages
66
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Liberty 2
Vessel Make
DeFever 43
I wanted to post this out there and see if anybody had any recommendations. The marine trader I just purchased had some damage and I need to replace the Plexiglas on the fly bridge. Has anyone got flybridge Plexiglas replaced, and know a good fabricator? (US Based)
 
Greetings,
Welcome aboard. One of the former moderators had his windscreen replaced somewhere in the Carolina's I believe. Mr. Tom and Ms. Bess, you're up. Where are you located (general area)? It helps to put a bit of information in your profile...
 
Took mine out, took it to a glass shop, they ordered the replacement lexan, and cut it all for a to under $300.

They didn't want to do it but I stayed and helped with the cut so the owner finally gave in. He was worried that if it wasnt perfect I would raise a stink.

It came out fine and he suggested lean so drilling and bending would be less of an issue for cracking even though longevity might not have been as good as plexi.
 
When I had mine replaced due to dropping the bimini on it and breaking one of the pieces, I simply took it to a glass shop. They couldn't duplicate the faded colour (good thing, as it was an ugly pale purple colour) so I had to get all 4 pieces. They used a little heat and drooped it until the shape was right. The new stuff has now been on the boat longer than the original stuff was and hasn't faded a bit. I think it cost me about $500, and was done in about 1998. I think they used Lexan.
 
I did mine for about $100 in materials and a couple of hours of shaping with heat. Very easy.
 
Good to hear it worked out. (Thankfully, I don't have a flybridge screen to worry about. There's already enough.)
 
I replaced mine when I bought the boat 3 years ago. Bought a sheet of plexiglas, used the old pieces (4) as patterns and cut them out with a skill saw ( taped with blue painters tape, used fine blade, and used WD40 as lubricant). Came out great, holding up just fine. I did not use heat to shape.
Arch
 
Usually I would have done the cutting myself...but the glass place when they cut only charges for the amount used. Had I ordered a half sheet of material, it would have cost more than what they charged for material AND cutting. Which I preferred in case a mistake was made, it would be on them.

So check both ways, just material and if they cut.
 
RT Firefly said:
Greetings,
Welcome aboard. One of the former moderators had his windscreen replaced somewhere in the Carolina's I believe. Mr. Tom and Ms. Bess, you're up. Where are you located (general area)? It helps to put a bit of information in your profile...
Click to expand...

He is right. Here is the thread of my project: http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s32/weekend-venturi-project-10971.html

Seek out a waterjet cutting company in your area. They can likely source the Lexan you need as a 1-stop shop.
 
Lexan is stronger than Plexiglas but Plexiglas is much more scratch resistant. So say TAP Plastics bere in the Seattle area, who do a lot of flying bridge venturis. They recommended Plexiglas for our venturi panels which are flat and so are very easy and inexpensive to make.
 
But plexi will fade and yellow much faster in the marine environment. I wanted the new stuff to stay clear for longer.
 
Plus, if the venturi is drilled and under twist, lexan is recommended as it is less likely or just won't crack like plexi.

So it is a crap shoot which is better, more cost effective, easier to work with, longer living....just depends which experts you know or deal with.... :D
 
There is more than one type of Lexan. Google MR10. It is very scratch/mar resistant. As with either an acrylic or Lexan choose your cleaning products carefully and keep solvents such as acetone and gasoline away.
 
Go with a high quality scratch resistant Lexan.

Thats all I used when I used to replace the wind screens on the GBs we had in charter.
 
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