PRACTICAL
Removing the window frames from the boat
Y
ou’ll need a screwdriver,
lots of stripping/fi ller
knives with good spring
steel (enabling them to bend),
sharp Stanley knife blades/
similar craft knives, blue
(14-day) masking tape and
some duct tape.
On the outside of the boat, use
blue masking tape to individually
mark each frame component
and glazing pane with the window
number, orientation and whether
it’s left or right (ie 6LB). It seems
obvious, but when everything
comes apart this is all you’ll
have available to ensure
accurate reassembly.
Our window frame section is a
small ‘h’, with the upright of the ‘h’
forming the fl ange against the
boat – this is normally the only
part bonding the frame to the
boat. Unfortunately ours had been
bedded both on the fl ange and
also the ‘reveal’ return into the
boat, against internal GRP
surround mouldings. To make
matters worse, the bedding was
silicone rather than butyl sealant,
making the frames seemingly
impossible to shift.
The good news was that
the frames were held in by
self-tapping screws rather
than inter-screws, so as they
were removed they went
into individually-labelled
clean hummus pots, as did
later components.
To remove the frame I fi rst
carefully cut the silicone sealant
internally with sharp blades at the
window/GRP frame moulding
interface, some areas being too
tight to reach at this stage. Then
I went around the exterior of the
frame edge with both narrow
and wide stripping/fi ller knives,
progressively cutting into the
silicone. Initially this cut was to a
TOP TIP
It’s very easy to damage the
external hull GRP surround
to the frame by being
overenthusiastic with the fi ller
knives. Use a couple of pieces
of masking tape on the knife
itself about 2cm back from the
blade edge, or mask the hull
with tape to act as a
sacrifi cial layer.The frame components individually marked up with masking tape, which will stick when wetThe ‘h’ section of the window frame
Self-tapping screws and frame
holes need cleaning tooSeveral scrapers were used in tandem and
leapfrogged around the frameA duct tape
‘loop’ saved
a resounding
crash as
the window
popped out!The window frames on our Sadler 32 were very well stuck in with silicone, so our somewhat painful experience
removing them may be a great deal less arduous for you if you decide to tackle the same job
very shallow perimeter depth, but
became progressively deeper as
I worked around the frame.
The process is basically one of
attrition, alternately cutting around
the frame from inside and then
outside. There comes a point
when you can get the stripping
knife into a gap and, using a light
mallet, can carefully cut all the
way through to the frame,
progressing all around. Greaterspeed can be
achieved by
leapfrogging
the most
effective fi ller
knives (often narrow
and thin-bladed) and
leaving several others in their
place progressively around the
frame perimeter, gently breaking
the seal with the hull.
By rigging up a couple of
200mm pieces of duct tape
outside the boat in a small loop
from hull to window frame I was
able to increasingly move the
window frame, but avoided a
nasty crash when the windows
eventually popped out after
gently pressing the frame from
inside the boat!
The boat hull can be made
watertight by using polythene
sheet held in place by duct tape,
which is messy to remove, or blue
masking tape (which is better) tocreate temporary
glazing. If you’re doing
the work at home, take some
old dust sheets to wrap the frames
in for safe transportation.
In terms of time taken, our fi rst
batch of three windows on the
port side took a day, and a lot of
sweat, to remove. The silicone
was tenacious, and at times I
wondered whether the frames
would come out at all. This
experience enabled the second
batch of three to be removed in
about fi ve hours, so overall you
could say frame removal is a
two-day job. Yours will hopefully
come out a lot more easily if
they have butyl frame sealant
and are not stuck on the ‘reveal’
as ours were.