40' Sea Ray Sedan Bridge Windshield Replacement

So several months ago I arrived at my boat and found the windshield had broken, no sign of vandalism and under 24/7 security. I am guessing just the South Florida heat did it.

I called a local guy who does glass windows and he wanted $10k to replace it, it's a 1998 so I wasn't about to pay that or go through insurance for the premium hike. So I made a template and brought to a local plastic guy. Made it out of Lexan for a lot less than the glass guy. I am going to keep an eye out for a oem replacement, until I do I think this will suffice.


Before



After

Wow. That’s great thinking. Where did you get it done and for how much just for future reference? I’m also here in Ft Lauderdale.

Lexan is a great material.

$10K for a glass window replacement? NFW.

DavidBukstel said:

Wow. That’s great thinking. Where did you get it done and for how much just for future reference? I’m also here in Ft Lauderdale.

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I see you're in Dania Beach, I keep my boat at the Oceanographic center.

Great guy, I have dealt with him for years. I paid $900.

Cesany Plastics- Allan
Address: 165 NE 32nd Ct, Oakland Park, FL 33334
Phone: (954) 568-2002

Well done.

So how did you make the template? What materials did you use. Spare no details.

Also did you reuse the foam cushion the glass sat on? Or did you replace that cushion?

ddx77 said:

I see you're in Dania Beach, I keep my boat at the Oceanographic center.

Great guy, I have dealt with him for years. I paid $900.

Cesany Plastics- Allan
Address: 165 NE 32nd Ct, Oakland Park, FL 33334
Phone: (954) 568-2002

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Again, the world is so small. I used to purchase sheets of plastic from Cesany to replace broken window glass at an apartment complex I owned up until 5 years ago. I’m glad to know they’re still around. Thanks again!

At your request, sorry if it doesn’t make sense here and there I am not the best at writing.

Steps in my process of replacing:

I first cleaned all the broker glass, along with the frame. I did leave the felt seal in place and reused it. There are also plastic glass holders or tabs that pull out, I reused those as well to hold the new piece of Lexan in place.

Using a piece of corrugated plastic board (4’x6’) I cut it to fit into the space where the glass was, this required using the piece of board in two pieces because of the shape of the window. I did this twice, once for template and the other piece for a temporary piece for the window which I used a vinyl tape to secure. This was there for a while and actually worked well but didn’t look great, even though I have a windshield mask that took curse off it. Note: I bought two piece of 4’x6’ corrugated board for this step.

Then I went to Home Depot and bought a 4'x6' sheet of door skin, I traced the shape from the previous corrugated board template I made onto the door skin. Then I cut it the shape out of the door skin with a skill saw. I then drew lines on the door skin pieces vertically and numbered the pieces. I then placed them together and used aluminum tape (a/c duct tape) to tape them together on the back side of the door skin in order to allow them to flex with the shape of the window frame. I placed them into the frame in order to check fitment. Note: I used aluminum tape because that’s what I had handy, I am sure you could use regular duct tape.


I purchased some fiberglass cloth and fiberglass resin (auto parts store is the least expensive), and I fiberglassed the exterior of the door skin while it was in the window frame. I waited for it to harden which was fairly fast, removed it and brought it back home. That is where I fiberglassed the backside of the template again using fiberglass cloth and resin. I didn’t go crazy with the cloth, mainly the seams where the door skin pieces came together. Sorry I don't have a picture when I fiberglassed the front and back.

At this point the template was ready, I went back to the boat with it and put it in place to check fitment. In order to fill in spaces around the edge that weren’t perfectly matched with the frame I simply used the same vinyl tape I originally used to secure the corrugated board to the window. I used it to extend the edge by folding it over and stopping it where I needed. At this point it was ready to go but the next paragraph explains why I went a couple of steps further.

So now that I had my template ready to go, we here in south Florida got a hurricane alert. All I had was a piece of PVC board in my window frame so I knew I had to do something for the storm. So I proceeded to take my template and first wrap it in a plastic sheet (water protection), I then took some PVC board and stainless steel screws and attached it to my template. I installed it into the boat and screwed to wood strapping from the inside of the boat. It worked very well, no leaks. J



I then removed it and realized I actually had a much better template because of the PVC board, dropped it off at the plastic place and that was it. Again, I went to an extreme do to circumstances but it worked to my advantage. The door skin template was all I really needed.

CaptRonn said:

Lexan is a great material.

$10K for a glass window replacement? NFW.

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Only guy in town who comes down and uses some sort of laser imaging to measure and then back to his shop for an exact replacement. The If my boat was brand new, maybe it would be a consideration.

ZZ13 said:

Well done.

So how did you make the template? What materials did you use. Spare no details.

Also did you reuse the foam cushion the glass sat on? Or did you replace that cushion?

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Nice, we are neighbors! I know Frank the dockmaster there pretty well, great guy. Great spot too! Can be a little crazy on weekends with parking there.

Have a great summer!

Yes Frank is great. Been here over 5 years. If you need any insights let me know and of course this site is amazing. My aftercoolers are at 3 star radiator for cleaning and testing, I’ve used them before. I have a turbo being rebuilt at RPM Diesel. Living in Ft Lauderdale gives us access to so many marine repair options.

And, of course Di Angelo marine exhaust is right there also.

ddx77 said:

So several months ago I arrived at my boat and found the windshield had broken, no sign of vandalism and under 24/7 security. I am guessing just the South Florida heat did it.

I called a local guy who does glass windows and he wanted $10k to replace it, it's a 1998 so I wasn't about to pay that or go through insurance for the premium hike. So I made a template and brought to a local plastic guy. Made it out of Lexan for a lot less than the glass guy. I am going to keep an eye out for a oem replacement, until I do I think this will suffice.


Before

View attachment 87216

After

View attachment 87217

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DDX77 - Very Impressive mate! Great Outcome. I first saw these photos in amazon review of Silicone purchase...then tracked you down to CSR. Along the way, did you discover what type of glass the original windshield was made from (Acrylic/Organic or Mineral Glass). I have emailed Taylormade and SeaRay but no response. I am just trying to determine the correct sealant/adhesive to use (Silicone as per searay original and/or Polyurethane/Hybrid) for both temporary repair and possible complete re-bed.
I want to used compatible material to bond to original silicone for the temporary repair, and my concerns are two-fold regarding using too-strong adhesive (Polyurethane)/sealant if I choose to do a complete, glass out re-seal;
1. windshield breaking if I use due to load transfer in rough weather (some say the boat really flexes in this area); and
2. windshield breaking due to inability to expand during changes in ambient temperatures

Anyway, if you (or your glass guy) knew the type of glass the original windshield was made from (Acrylic/Organic or Mineral Glass) I guess will help me greatly with choice of sealant - Cheers

Peter G said:

DDX77 - Very Impressive mate! Great Outcome. I first saw these photos in amazon review of Silicone purchase...then tracked you down to CSR. Along the way, did you discover what type of glass the original windshield was made from (Acrylic/Organic or Mineral Glass). I have emailed Taylormade and SeaRay but no response. I am just trying to determine the correct sealant/adhesive to use (Silicone as per searay original and/or Polyurethane/Hybrid) for both temporary repair and possible complete re-bed.
I want to used compatible material to bond to original silicone for the temporary repair, and my concerns are two-fold regarding using too-strong adhesive (Polyurethane)/sealant if I choose to do a complete, glass out re-seal;
1. windshield breaking if I use due to load transfer in rough weather (some say the boat really flexes in this area); and
2. windshield breaking due to inability to expand during changes in ambient temperatures

Anyway, if you (or your glass guy) knew the type of glass the original windshield was made from (Acrylic/Organic or Mineral Glass) I guess will help me greatly with choice of sealant - Cheers

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I’ve completely resealed four 400DB windshields. I used OSI Quad Max as the sealant. Also on the 400DB there is no point in removing the glass to reseal. The glass sits on a cushion, not on sealant. All the sealing is in the outside.

ZZ13 said:

I’ve completely resealed four 400DB windshields. I used OSI Quad Max as the sealant. Also on the 400DB there is no point in removing the glass to reseal. The glass sits on a cushion, not on sealant. All the sealing is in the outside.

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Thanks Bill (ZZ13) much appreciated

ZZ13 said:

I’ve completely resealed four 400DB windshields. I used OSI Quad Max as the sealant. Also on the 400DB there is no point in removing the glass to reseal. The glass sits on a cushion, not on sealant. All the sealing is in the outside.

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Bill, which color you use white or Clear to reseal the Windshields , what color looks better ?

DDX77,
We have a 1999 Sea Ray 480 and our starboard windshield has broke. I contacted the Cesany Plastics as you
shared and they can make me a windshield also. Just curious if you still have the old mold for your windshield. I would be glad to buy it from you.

Thanks,
Ray
314-562-2828