Grand Banks main saloon window replacement?

[Capt. Rodbone]

I can’t make this up. A few months back we were in our very last lock doing America’s great Loop and I managed to break a window on our starboard side. We are getting our Grand Banks 42 ready to list because we will now downsize to a smaller trawler of some sort. I need some guidance on how to get this sliding forward window out and the replacement in. We are currently in Florence Alabama and I have sourced locally a company I’m confident can get replacement cut to the right size and provide proper tinting, but they have no clue as to who I might get to help get the old out and the new in. There are no boat yards nearby.

I’m hopeful someone on here will have replaced a window before. It sits in an aluminum track and has some

felt in the groove, which also needs to be replaced. I really hope the interior teak trim/molding doesn’t all have to be removed but it may have to be.
Thanks in advance for any guidance and I’m happy to answer any questions.

 

[Diep]

I am pretty sure the way to do it is to remove the exterior trim.

Once you have that off and pull screws in the trim it should all come out.

Track comes in sticks, check the dimensions but it might be this:

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defender.com

Take the opportunity to make sure the drains are free and clear.

All this is hearsay from me since I haven't done it myself, but have read a bit about it since rebuilding the windows can be an issue on GBs. I'm sure someone else with knowledge will come along.

 

[Sax]

I have replaced the glass in one of the windows in our 1995 GB42. Unfortunately, it is not an easy job. The most difficult part is you must first remove the exterior window trim. The trim is screwed and caulked to the fiberglass. Locate the screw bungs by sanding off the paint, drilling out the bungs with a forstner bit, then removing screws. The next step is the difficult part. Grand Banks used a caulk called Dolphinite to bed the window trim. It stays flexible, but it has a tenacious adhesion. It iwill be difficult to separate the window trim from the cabin without breaking it. I masked the gel coat around the window, then used a combination of putty knives, wedges, and a fishing line as saw between the trim and cabin to cut through the bedding compound. A heat gun was also helpful in getting the compound to release.

Now, slide the window to access the screws holding the bottom track in place. Then, slide the track and window out.

I will look for my pictures from the my project and attach them if I can find them.

Congrats on your loop completion. We completed it in 2015.

Good luck,
Sax

 

[Sax]

The Grand Banks Owners group on Facebook has a lot of info on replacing windows.

 

[NWboater2]

There is also a guy on here named choices that has a lot of GB maintenance and refit info including windows. He too made it sound like a big but doable job. Good luck!

 

[Capt. Rodbone]

I have replaced the glass in one of the windows in our 1995 GB42. Unfortunately, it is not an easy job. The most difficult part is you must first remove the exterior window trim. The trim is screwed and caulked to the fiberglass. Locate the screw bungs by sanding off the paint, drilling out the bungs with a forstner bit, then removing screws. The next step is the difficult part. Grand Banks used a caulk called Dolphinite to bed the window trim. It stays flexible, but it has a tenacious adhesion. It iwill be difficult to separate the window trim from the cabin without breaking it. I masked the gel coat around the window, then used a combination of putty knives, wedges, and a fishing line as saw between the trim and cabin to cut through the bedding compound. A heat gun was also helpful in getting the compound to release.

Now, slide the window to access the screws holding the bottom track in place. Then, slide the track and window out.

I will look for my pictures from the my project and attach them if I can find them.

Congrats on your loop completion. We completed it in 2015.

Good luck,
Sax

Thank you. I guess it’s time to get started but I’m not looking forward to it. I’m a bull in a china shop

 

[Capt. Rodbone]

There is also a guy on here named choices that has a lot of GB maintenance and refit info including windows. He too made it sound like a big but doable job. Good luck!

Thanks!

 

[Choices]

Go to my blog, grandbankschoices, dig around and you will see where we replaced 22 windows and what is involved. Expect it to cost $1-2k.

 

[JackConnick]

I had to replace 3 windows in my salon. They were broken by painters working on the outside trim. They should of been replaced from the outside, but we did it from the inside, which was much harder. I ended up making an insurance claim, as even though I removed the trim (it's screwed in under the felt and plastic strip), and got the windows and track out, getting the window glass and installing was a lot of work.

A couple of notes; You absolutely must take the old window and use it as a template. The glass is not rectangular, it's all over the place. If a slider, I would cut it slightly smaller vertically to allow for easy movement. I got heat treated glass as opposed to laminated.

The track is easy to find at Fisheries Supply. They have double and single.

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