Medina 20 Class Association

Project Note: 09B

Replacing the Windows on a Medina
After 15 years or so the windows of Gypsy Rainbow (M86) were crazing and had
cracked across some of the narrow sections between the screw holes and the edge of
the Perspex. I decided to replace them during a complete strip down and re-build of
the boat.
I ordered new windows from Hunters. (They are apparently the same as those used for
the Sonata). Hunters were unable to drill the new windows as they did not have a
template, so I used my old windows as templates to drill out the hole pattern in each
new window to match the existing holes in my boat. Decide which of your new blanks
is going to be port, and which starboard, and mark them accordingly. (Note that the
port and starboard hole patterns are not necessarily the same!). The outside corner of
the new windows should then be chamfered to avoid damage to jib sheets (and crew!).
Be sure to chamfer the right corner with respect to the holes that you have so carefully
drilled through each window!
The windows are fitted on to neoprene gasket material. This comes in a roll about
220mm wide, with a peel-off film protecting contact adhesive on one side of it. The
contact adhesive sticks the gasket to the boat, not to the window. Lay out about 2
metres of the gasket material on a firm flat surface, adhesive side down, so that there
are no wrinkles, Position the window on it so that there is spare gasket material all
around the window. Push three or four screws through holes in the window and
through the gasket material to retain this positioning. Carefully clean the outside
surface of the boat for about four inches around the window aperture. Transfer the
window and gasket to the boat and locate the screws in the appropriate holes in the
boat. Mark where the corners of the sheet of gasket material come on the boat. Take
the gasket material off the window and stick it on to the boat aligned with the marks.
It is fairly soft and stretchy without the peel-off film, so you may want to peel the film
off gradually as you apply the gasket to the hull. Using at least 6 screws, attach the
window to the boat over the gasket material, and tighten the screws just adequately to
pull the window into contact with the gasket all around. Using a sharp Stanley knife,
and minimum pressure so as not to score the Perspex, cut through the gasket around
the window aperture from inside the boat. Taking care not to score the gel coat with
the tip of the knife, repeat around the outside of the window from outside the boat.
Peel off the surplus gasket material and you should now have a nice neat window
gasket precisely tailored to your boat!
I fitted my boat with the 6mm thick black foam neoprene liner inside the hull around
the windows. This is advisable, as the points of some of the self-tapping screws
holding the windows on project right through the fibreglass into the boat. This liner is
trimmed off square with the edge of the window aperture.

Medina 20 Class Association

Project Note: 09B
You can get a very neat finish
around your windows as shown
in the attached sketch. When
you stick the finishing liner to
the interior of the boat, leave at
least 15mm of surplus projecting
beyond the edge of the window
aperture. With the windows
removed, from outside the boat
apply contact adhesive around
the edge of the window aperture
and on to the back side of the
projecting liner. When the
adhesive has gone off and is
good and tacky, bend the surplus liner over through the aperture so that it sticks out
through the window. I found that judicious use of my wifes hairdryer was a great
help here, as it encouraged the adhesive to stick, and softened the liner material so that
it folded over more easily. Take it very gently, especially around the tight corners of
the window, otherwise the liner may tear rather than stretch. Leave it for a day or two
to make sure that residual tension in the liner hasnt unstuck it from the edge of the
aperture. If it has, re-stick it until it gets the message. Finally, working from outside
the boat, trim off the surplus liner flush with the outside surface of the gasket. (Not
the boat!). When the windows go back on, you should now have an immaculate
finish!
The Perspex has a propensity to embrittle with exposure to the elements and may
crack in areas of high stress concentration. The narrow cross sections between the
holes and the edge of the window are particularly vulnerable to this because overenthusiastic tightening of the screw will compress the gasket beneath and induce bend
into the Perspex. For this reason, only tighten the screws on the window adequately to
achieve an effective seal. I would advise against trying to use countersunk screws, or
doing anything else that might tend to open up the holes in the Perspex.
I put a very thin film of silicon grease on the outside surface of the gasket material
before I attached the windows. This makes it easier to see when the Perspex makes
contact with the gasket. You can then avoid any unnecessary tightening of the screws
(which otherwise you will just to be on the safe side!). It also discourages any
long term tendency there may be for water to wick into the sealing area between the
Perspex and the gasket.
Five years on, the new windows are as good as the day (or was it the fortnight!) that
they went in!

Bill Fraser
M86 Gypsy Rainbow