Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron? (UPDATED)

[wp442]

When I inherited a '75 Glastron V-156 from my late father, he'd converted into into more of a bass-fishing boat, by removing the windshield and fold-down seats. I'm fixing this boat up to be a toy for my family (4 kids, oldest is 6), so I'll be removing the high-mount pedestal fishing seats in favor the the traditional fold-down lounge seats, and I'm also wanting to replace the MIA windshield.

I've been watching E-bay, but the few listings that show up are "pick-up only"...nobody wants to ship glass (which I understand completely). So I posted two separate WTB ads on area Craiglist pages for the correct windshield. So far I've only gotten one reply back, from a gentleman with a 1981 Baretta tri hull boat that he's junking out. He says I can just pay him what I think it's worth, so I can probably pick it up pretty cheap. The only problem is that its' windshield is 64" wide instead of the 60" wide setup that I need.

So...how hard do you think it would be to narrow this frame to fit my boat? I realize I'd probably have to get new glass cut to fit, but I'm more concerned with the aluminum portions. I'm going to take a look at it later today, and was just wondering if anyone's done this sort of thing before and how difficult it was.

On a related note: does anyone know what kind of glass I should have? Safety, plexi, acrylic?

Here's a picture of an '81 Baretta (found here on iboats) similar to what I believe the seller has:

I kinda like the fact that it appears to lay down a little more than an OEM windshield...if this is what he's got. We'll see. If this is similar to what he's got and the front bow rails are still there, I might grab those too, for a little extra peace of mind, considering the age of children that'll be up in the bow section.

 

[wp442]

Re: Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron?

Re: Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron?

I just thought I'd follow up on this...

I went ahead and got the Baretta windshield. Turns out it was a smaller runabout...but the windshield was still measuring about 3" too wide for my boat. However, it appeared that the windshield frame was just screwed together, so I gambled on the possibility of a painless narrowing. Here's a couple shots of the donor boat:

By removing the black plastic trim strip along the base of the windshield, I was able to get access to the attaching screws:

Got the windshield (and a bunch of other parts) home a couple days ago, and headed out this afternoon to see how much trouble narrowing this windshield frame was going to be....and I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised to see just how easy it was!

By simply removing one screw at each end of the side extrusion, it slid right off. I was then able to slide the glass out, reassemble the frame and set it on top of the boat to take some measurements. Here's a shot of my son Trevor giving me a hand. You can see that the frame is too wide...by 1-5/8":

(continued next post)

 

[wp442]

Re: Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron?

Re: Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron?

OK, no problem...this will be a piece of cake. Here's a shot of the end of the top extrusion. You can see how easy it will be to simply trim off a short chunk:

I fired up the angle grinder with a thin cut-off wheel in it and in about two minutes was able to shorten it up as shown here:

The bottom extrusion was a straight cut...30 seconds with the cut-off wheel and another 30 seconds touching it up with a small file. I then reassembled the frame and set it back into place on my boat to check it out...and it fit perfectly now.

It was then a simple matter of duplicating the procedure for the other side, attaching both sides and then reattaching the walk-through section (it turned out to be the exact size I needed). By the time I finished up this evening, it was too dark to take an 'after' shot, but I'll follow up tomorrow with one.

I have to say...this was the best $20 I've spent in a while! I'm very pleased at how easily I was able to make this work and how good it looks.

So....will I need to get new safety glass cut or can I get by with something more affordable?

 

[wp442]

Re: Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron? (UPDATED)

Here's a couple 'after' shots of the windshield installation:

 

[P 0 P E Y E]

Re: Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron? (UPDATED)

Awesome job.

Thanks for posting pics.

Great boat and good to see you have the right helper.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron? (UPDATED)

Can't you get the existing glass cut? (I know nothing about glass) Otherwise a have seen a lot of members on here recommend Lexan. I hope you snagged that awesome swim platform off the donor boat

 

[Shizzy]

Re: Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron? (UPDATED)

awsome deal!

I would contact your local glass shop. since its flat glass Im sure they can set you up somehow.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: Modify a Baretta windshield to fit a Glastron? (UPDATED)

Actually, you should use Tempered Glass. This very important, as plate glass will be very dangerous on a boat if it get's broken or cracked. More then likely the glass in there now should be tempered. Goto any glass shop with exact measurements (lengthxwidthxthickness) and order tempered glass. Tempered glass CANNOT be cut...if you try you'll spend the afternoon sweeping up little glass marbles. So if you see the a little white stamp in the glass anywhere it should say something like automotive tempered or safety glass. Those pieces are flat, and typically very thin (4mm) and should be moderately inexpensive. I'd guess about $100 for all three pieces.

Again, do yourself a favor, do not use plate or laminate glass. Tempered has 4 times the strength and if it does get broken it will not cause serious injuries. Also of note, a thin piece of plate like that will only need 1 good score mark. Laminate and very thick plate requires a double sided score. I've seen a guy put his hand through a piece of laminate. It was ugly, and his hand was stuck in there until we could cut it free.

Ian