Windshield spontaneously bursts!

GilSpruance · Nov 20, 2012

I store my 2009 Sea Ray 250 in a dry storage facility. I went to get the boat today and find the driver's side windshield shattered, still intact in the frame. No one knows how it happened. Fork lift drivers have no explantations. There is absolutely no other damage to the boat. No damage to windshield frame. I think it is a defective windshield or installation. The boat only has 80 hours. Sea Ray says they have never heard of such a thing. Any ideas?

buellwinkle · Nov 20, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

Safety glass may have been defective and stressed and the slightest thing may have set it off. I had a room addition done years back and a 6' sliding glass door installed. A few months later, the inside layer of a double glazed door just shattered for no reason. We were watching TV, we heard a pop and it was a pile of glass on the floor. We thought maybe someone shot the window with a bb gun, but it was the inside pane, the outside pane was fine.

Spent time trying to convince them it was a warranty issue and I believe we ended up paying for it. Not sure you'll have better luck convincing them but I'm rooting for you. Is there safety organization that recalls boat? If it was my car, I would report it to the NHTSA which I've done in the past as I feel it's my obligation to report safety issues because if people don't then more injuries can happen. What if you were on the water at 40mph and flying glass went into your face at that speed?

nlain · Nov 20, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

Be sure to take pictures, good pictures, of everything before you start to repair or remove the glass, take pics of the glass, the frame, the surrounding area. May not help, I work with warranty issues every day working at a truck dealership, I know the two do not compare in a lot of ways but warranty, defective materials, they are the same in any industry.

cyclops2 · Nov 20, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

Is the greater damage on the inside or out side of the safety glass. Stress maybe

More likely a flying object hit it.

Another retired guy · Nov 20, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

I'm thinking it was hit by something. Naturally, no one at the storage facility will have any idea how it happened!!

tpenfield · Nov 20, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

Another retired guy said:
I'm thinking it was hit by something. Naturally, no one at the storage facility will have any idea how it happened!!

Exactly . . . they all promised not to tell. . . :facepalm:

UncleWillie · Nov 20, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

Is it Laminated Safety Glass or Tempered glass.

Laminated glass is two layers of glass with a layer of plastic between them.
If both layers are broken it was most likely impacted.
If only one layer is cracked the point of origin should be obvious.

Tempered safety glass breaks evenly into a million pieces smaller than 1/4 inch.
If the million pieces are still intact I would suspect a defect. (A scratch and a big temperature change!)
If it is a million pieces all over the boat, an impact is more likely.

Frank Acampora · Nov 20, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

No matter what the outcome, if it is a flat pane you can go to your local glass shop and have a piece made for the frame. It will cost about 70-80 bucks. If it is curved, you might as well mortgage the house.

jbcurt00 · Nov 20, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

Storage facility, forklifts....

Rack storage?

I'd bet the hull flexed while being lifted by a forklift:

Improper loading on the forklift spars, load shifting after loading onto the spars, or as it's placed in the rack. A slight defect in the glass, or in it's installation.

There may be other causes of hull flex, but hopefully not on a SeaRay w/ only 80hrs.

Hopefully it's a flat panel, and you can replace it yourself. Getting anyone at the storage yard to fess up, or even if they do, getting the storage yard to pay for or reimburse you for it's replacement will be significantly more costly to you then the $100+/- the glass will cost. If you truly suspect them to be at fault, it may be time to move to a new yard, if possible.

Bummer, but hopefully it won't be expensive to repair.

MH Hawker · Nov 21, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

When things like that happen it reminds me of when my kids were small and I got the ...wasn't me faces.

cyclops2 · Nov 21, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

Hel I dumped a marina I used for 10 years. Scratches & refused to clean up a dropped oil filter mess.

Dunp the place.

JEBar · Nov 21, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

if it is a flat pane of glass that has been in the boat since '08-'09, something had to cause the problem .... the boat flexing on the lift or some other type of impact makes sense to me .... if there was a defect in the glass, I'd tend to believe that it would have shown up much sooner

Jim

smclear · Nov 21, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

I'm betting the forklift driver simply lifted the boat a few inches too high and smacked the beam above (rack for the next level) with the windshield. Seems the most likely explanation to me. I used to work at a dry storage marina a while back and witnessed a lot of drivers doing careless/reckless things. Often causing damage to the boats.

67GTA · Nov 21, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

I own a glass shop in California. What happened to you is called spontanious breakage of tempered glass. It's not common but it does happen. We've had customers call us saying that the glass in the shower door broke in the middle of the night. The glass in most shower doors is tempered glass. Tempered glass has a tension layer in it. That is what gives it its strength. What happens is that there is a microscopic flaw/ crack in it. Over time because of heating and cooling causing the glass to expand the flaw will expand untill it gets to the tension layer and then it will all break at once. Cover everything well before you try to remove the broken glass. Try to contain as much of it as possible. You don't want to step on a sliver of it and get it embedded under the skin. Doesn't show up in X rays and breaks when you try to pull it out with tweezers. Don't ask me how I know.

buellwinkle · Nov 21, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

I've been looking at boats and find the curved glass to be very cool looking. Didn't realize that it's a very expensive to replace, so my list of things to look for when buying a boat grew to include flat glass.

dg512055 · Nov 27, 2012

Re: Windshield spontaneously bursts!

This topic is interesting because I work in a plant that tempers flat glass. I am in charge of most of the tempering process. Spontaneous breakage is rare but it can be caused by NICKEL SULFIDE INCLUSIONS. You can look this up if is sounds outragous. It is mostly seen in automotive back and side windows. The inclusions come from sulfer in the natural gas and the nickel in the stainless burners used to melt the raw materials. The smallest ones are not detectable, and many escape in the glass. If the inclusion is in the wrong place and the glass is subject to heat soaking, the inclusion will expand and cause the tension layer to release. The outer surfaces are in compression (greater than 10,000 psi) and all of the energy is released in an instant. Other causes would be bad edge grinding quality. All tempered glass must have all sharp edges ground smooth with either a diamond wheel, or silcon carbide belts. Although the glass is very strong and impact resistant, the slightest bump on an edge or corner will easily break the sheet. You will probably never find out why it broke.

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