FYI, hardtop window replacement

i recently had to replace my port hardtop window. the reason i broke it was because i had the hardtop slid back and was going fast in rough water. like in rattling my fillings out of my teeth. anyways, the port window popped out of the top. some of the window to the outside. their made to come out the inside. anyways, i couldn't flex the window enough to get it back inside the boat. in the end i broke off a piece of the window trying to get it back in position. then it was able to be removed after i broke the piece off.. :facepalm: fwiw, i had been told by AristoCraft a long time ago that the hardtop wasn't designed to be slid back and the boat operated in harsh seas. the top racks to much. i'm a believer. i feel the top racking was the cause of my window popping out of it's mount.

anyways. ArisotCraft still has windows available for the nineteen (way cool and unprecedented for a boat 36 years old). picked me up some. they are only sold in pairs. which is fine since 36 year old plexiglas will have wear to it. having 2 new keeps them looking the same. however ya gotta cut to fit. which i didn't understand at first.








above are the pics. the old window on top of the new one. ya can see the need for cutting to fit.

i used the original window as a template. i masking taped the new window so i could draw some lines on it. then traced. prior to cutting i took them out to the boat and confirmed where i wanted to cut. i cut on the lean side (too big, need to take more off) due to only getting one chance at cutting. this worked fine, just more time consuming than it should have been.
AristoCraft said they use a belt type sander to trim the windows to fit. or a band saw perhaps. well, i had neither tools. so i used a sabre saw. medium blade, 12 or 13 teeth per inch. slow to medium speed. this worked very well. i just stabilized the window on a table top on top of an old tshirt.

both windows are now in place. looks like nothing ever happened. perfect. Kudos to AristoCraft for continued support of their very excellent boats. Thanks for your help Bill.

ps, i guess the tabs ya see on the new window is the way the window is held in place during the making of the bubble part of the window. designed to be removed prior to install..

Re: FYI, hardtop window replacement

Great write up Ziggy. We have tried sending them out cut in the past but ran into to many problems with them not fitting. As each top was hand made and the framing hand bent, each top is unique and different from the next. So we would end up with gaps if we tried to cut them to a one size fits all. The same goes for the front glass. The best thing is exactly what you did, remove the existing panel and trace it onto the new panel, then cut with a fine bandsaw, or use a belt sander the shave it down. but be very careful not to crack the glass if using any type of saw. jig, and reciprocating saws are very dangerous as they try to grab it to much. the finer the tooth the better. the preferred method is the belt sander as there is not the chance of it cracking. plus if you dont have one it give you a good excuse to get one! we prefer the Rigid brand

Re: FYI, hardtop window replacement

OK, this is a bit out there but...I would love windows but am concerned about build up of heat in the summer time. If you didn't use bubbled glass and installed another track on inside of current track could you use a split window that you could slide open or closed? I know it would not be a water tight but might be handier in the long run. Is this possible?
I love my 1974 Nineteen even though it is fighting me a bit in the update. Got the re manufactured carb on with no leaking from throttle rod, replaced the fuel line, re-wiring done now with a fuse box, thought I was in the green. Then the key broke in the switch. Only one I had...time for a new switch with 2 or more keys anyway. I will get this back in the water someday, I REALLY WILL !

Re: FYI, hardtop window replacement

each top was hand made and the framing hand bent, each top is unique and different from the next.

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thanks for the interesting fact. i didn't know this. sure wish things today were made that way. by skilled labor.

be very careful not to crack the glass if using any type of saw. jig, and reciprocating saws are very dangerous as they try to grab it to much.

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i sure didn't want to use a jig saw. a place i used to work at had a disc sander and i could easy see this would be the best way to shape plexiglass. the saw grabbing the glass was my biggest worry. i've practiced cutting on some other plexiglass before. i also cracked it when just what AristoCraft is talking about happened. i used a new blade this time and was careful to keep the window as stationary as possible on the table. then cut using pretty slow feed.

OK, this is a bit out there but...I would love windows but am concerned about build up of heat in the summer time

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not out there at all. it gets hot inside a Nineteen in dead summer with the top slid fwd and latched. but, being it's a sliding hardtop, ya just let the heat out by sliding the whole top back. only bad part about that is then ya get beat up by the sun w/o the shade of the top. when i broke my window. it was hot out. 100* + or -. when i broke my window, i removed both of them. this worked perfect in the high temps. ya needed the air flow even at night. + ya get to keep the top mated to the window for full shade. me personally, i'd wait on the side window mod and see how well ya do with the options available in it's oem condition. w/o mods.

I know it would not be a water tight

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while i love my hardtop. i wouldn't go so far as to say it's water tight. but that's when i been boating in a monsoon too. somebody out boating in these conditions w/o a hardtop was a drowned rat these days. a far cry from a few drips that i get on my nineteen. my largest leak isn't particularly curable i don't think. this leak would be common to all nineteens i would think. the leak is at where the aft curtain snaps onto the hardtop. rain runs down to the back side of the hardtop, then meets the snapped on dam made by having the aft curtain snapped in place. water goes between the snaps. best thing i did to stop that was duct tape along the snap seam. miserable to do, messy, but cleanable, and mostly stopped the leak. this is boating in heavy rain.

anyways, lamp, continue on with your restorations (sounds like yer really close). your concerns are founded, but there is a remedy in place. the sliding hardtop and removable side windows if it's horrid hot out.

Then the key broke in the switch. Only one I had.

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if ya got both pieces of it, a locksmith may be able to make a new key for you. if the bitting end of the key is still in the lock. try putting the head of the key in the lock. the bitting end may accidentally have lined up the tumblers and all ya need to do it have something to turn it with. if broke piece is still in lock, a locksmith may be able to extract the broke piece even below flush. specially if the lock is in the off condition, the condition needed to remove the key if it were whole.

Re: FYI, hardtop window replacement

not to far out there at all actually. our early funliners had sliding side windows on them and they still had the bubble. the best bet is to jsut take the side windows out on hot days. a guy locally did a really neat thing and had a custom padded bag made for his side windows. it had two pockets inside it so that when you slid the windows in they were in their own compartment so they would not get scratched. this way he could take them out and put them up in the front and still have them with him if he needed them. was a neat idea.

Re: FYI, hardtop window replacement

Here ya go, hard to see but look at the sliding side windows.

Re: FYI, hardtop window replacement

It was not just the key bending but the overall sloppiness of the switch that bothered me so I am just going to replace with a new switch. One of the few things I had not done when redoing dash electrical.
Wow, I love those pictures of the sliding windows...gets me thinking.
Thanks as always for the replies.