PRACTICAL
▼ TOOLS FOR THE JOB
L
eaking windows,
drips and dampness
are not fun on a boat:
children complain,
‘other-halves’ become
potentially mutinous and life
becomes generally unpleasant
every time it rains. Dampness
pervades, and token attempts to
put off the inevitable eventually
expire in their effectiveness.
Having tried silicone sealant,
Captain Tolley’s and other
alchemistic remedies, the plain
facts become clear: the butyl
sealant has irreparably broken
down, and it’s time to reseal the
windows properly.
Our Sadler 32 is now 25 years
old. Having initially tried quick
fi xes, we found that they may
buy you a season or two, but
resealing the glass and re-
bedding the frame is the only
real answer. When we eventually
cleaned out the frames prior to
resealing the glazing, we found
the old butyl to be completely
shot, ranging in texture from
mainly fl exible rubber at the top
of the window to hard black and
porous Crunchie-bar texture at
the bottom.Good value
We’ve now discovered the
considerable length of time it takes
to remove, disassemble and
clean the frames and
glass, insert theThe butyl sealant had irrevocably
broken down Seal of approval: the resealed, leak-free windows➜
BEFORE AFTER
Stephen Wallace demonstrates how
he went about removing, resealing
and reinstalling the windows on his
25-year-old Sadler 32
The Eagle Windows kit (gloves and chocking rubber not shown) The removed windows, and the tools used in their removal
glazing butyl with suffi cient
pressure and fi nish/cure them – all
in all, about 10 days. I’d heard
good reports about Eagle Boat
Windows, so I contacted them for
advice on materials and details of
how to do the work properly.
(Their alternative service of
professional resealing on behalf of
owners is extremely time- and
cost-effective, enabling
you to concentrate onthe removal and reinstallation
of the windows.) We ordered
a kit from Eagle which included
glazing primer and 2kg of
two-pack butyl glazing sealant,
two tubes of Arbomast BR butyl
sealant to bed the frames, gloves,
rubber chocking for the glass,
scourer pads and a small plastic
tool – all for just over £80
including p&p, which seemed
good value.Renovating
boat windows
TOP TIP
Boat window refurbishers
(eg http://www.eagleboatwindows.
co.uk) often have lots of
information on their websites
and are happy to supply
further info/advice with
their sealant kits