 The name our boat came with: Man Cave |  Our renamed boat: Freedom Four-Two |
 As you can imagine, getting a 40+ year old sailboat means some things need fixing up. One of the first things we did was change the name from Man Cave to Freedom Four-Two. (We're hoping to eventually get an image of the cool little green dude from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a decal for the side of the boat -- although painted on the mainsail would be awesome too -- to compliment the name, adding a three-fold meaning to our vessel.) But the main thing we tackled was the windows. The previous owner had taken a large sheet of plexiglass and slapped it across the three windows per side, holding it all in place with strips of metal screwed into the cabin top. As in, screwed all the way through and then sort of sealed up. As Mike says, plexiglass and fiberglass have different expansion rates. So when the weather fluctuates, as it is prone to do in Ontario, these two components do not remain friends. The plexiglass had a few cracks in it, which made the windows leak. Plus, a big continuous slab of plexiglass running the length of the cabin is not the prettiest way to shore up the portholes. We got rid of all that, had six individual pieces of plexiglass cut to more suitable dimensions (although Mike fretted about whether we had accounted for enough space when we went with fancy rounded edges -- which we had, though barely), and learned about better methods of installing boat windows. After much research, Mike decided on a two-fold system. We started with super industrial-strength double-sided tape from 3M that would hold the plexiglass to the fiberglass, creating a gap for expansion. Then we used heavy-duty caulking to fill in the gaps and give a water-tight seal. One great description of this stuff came from someone online making an aquarium, and he likened it to 'God's aquarium', stating (with awe if not complete accuracy) that it could hold lava (but who knows; maybe it really could). Contractors use this kind of stuff on skyscrapers, so we felt pretty confident that it would do the job of keeping the water out and the windows on. There's nothing going to take these suckers off, so it had better work. So far so good. And sealing up all those screw holes definitely helped too. We discovered a leak somewhere else during a huge rainstorm last weekend that we have to address, but the windows have definitely held their own. Our boat is now totally sea-worthy. |  The full-sheet plexiglass the previous owner had drilled into the side of the cabin.  You can see the cracks each piece of plexiglass suffered from inconsistent expansion.  Here we are ripping the old plexi off.  This is the gunk left over from the previous attempt to seal the windows to the fiberglass. Mike got rid of it mostly through the use of a sander.  This is the super-duper 2-sided tape that will hold the new plexiglass to the cabin. You want to make sure it's placed correctly the first time as it's super sticky.  First window lined up and pressed on. Now to remove the protective outer sheath.  And voila! The new windows attached, the sealer/adhesive applied, and leak-proof windows installed. Now to seal up all those screw holes before it rains ... |
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