I'm just in the process of changing the windows in my X as mine had a few small cracks by the fixings which I believe were the source of some water ingress. I'm hoping to do away with the fixings and do a 'modern' job with VHB tape and seal with sikaflex. I just wondered if anyone had done this job before? On removing the Windows, I found that they were tapered about 1/2 in from the edge which may scupper these plans. Is this standard Mac Windows or have they been modified?
On a tangent, does anyone know if the black band which the Windows sit in was originally coloured gelcoat or painted on? Mine has had some repair work and I'm having trouble establishing which is original.
When I got window leaks on my X I thought I would need to at least lift and reseat them, but after removing the screws they seemed so well glued down I didn't try! Instead I discovered the leak was the screws themselves, water was simply seeping through the screw holes, so I Sikaflexed and replaced. Never got any leaks since.
Didn't seem to me that the screws were even necessary.
The black is gelcoat. The GRP process was to mask the black areas in the mould, then spray white gelcoat. The masking was then removed and followed by a layer of black gelcoat. After that came the matting. So the whole boat is white over black, the black bits just don't have white over them!
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Thanks Rick. Clever stuff how they laid up the gelcoat. Sadly in my case it looks like I have some extensive repair work to my coach roof around the Windows. I had my suspicions when I polished the boat and white showed through the black. Oh well, gonna tidy things up and spray a couple of coats of black gelcoat and hope it turns out ok so I can stick my Windows back in. I'm going to leave out the fixings and therefore the holes as I am replacing the acrylic so hopefully eliminate all leaks. As I say my Windows were cracked so I had to replace. Did you notice if your Windows had a feathered edge when you resealed them?