Thanks Capt.
It sure is nice to get a straight answer every once in awhile. Do
you know the difference between Lexan and acrylic? I found one place
that you could send them and they would would send you an estimate that
you had to approve before they started reworking them. They said that
their price was usually about half what a new hatch would cost but that
seems high to me. They specified that the hatchs (Lewmar) had to have
acrylic. I have never worked with Lexan or an acrylic so I not sure how
much trouble it is.
Thanks Again
JR

Capt. Mooron wrote:

Lexan.... tinted if required. It shouldn't be difficult to locate a local
supplier in your area. You can cut and drill it yourself from the original
as a template or pay to have it done. I'm replacing mine this spring. I'll
cut it with a jigsaw and use my drill press to make the bolt holes. Sand and
polish the edges. If you have a seal channel like mine ... use a router to
carve it. Buy extra Lexan so you can practise your cuts.

CM

"JR Gilbreath" wrote in message
...

Has anyone replaced a hatch lens lately or know a good place to have one
duplicated?

Not sure what the exact difference is... Lexan is a trade mark. I was
advised to replace with Lexan instead of glass due to the cost difference.
You'll get 10 years out of them easy..... More if you cover the Lexan during
idle and cradle time.

No hard fast rules.... but it would be interesting to cut the piece
yourself.

CM

"JR Gilbreath" wrote in message
...
Thanks Capt.
It sure is nice to get a straight answer every once in awhile. Do you
know the difference between Lexan and acrylic? I found one place that you
could send them and they would would send you an estimate that you had to
approve before they started reworking them. They said that their price
was usually about half what a new hatch would cost but that seems high to
me. They specified that the hatchs (Lewmar) had to have acrylic. I have
never worked with Lexan or an acrylic so I not sure how much trouble it
is.
Thanks Again
JR

Capt. Mooron wrote:

Lexan.... tinted if required. It shouldn't be difficult to locate a
local supplier in your area. You can cut and drill it yourself from the
original as a template or pay to have it done. I'm replacing mine this
spring. I'll cut it with a jigsaw and use my drill press to make the bolt
holes. Sand and polish the edges. If you have a seal channel like mine
... use a router to carve it. Buy extra Lexan so you can practise your
cuts.

CM

"JR Gilbreath" wrote in message
...

Has anyone replaced a hatch lens lately or know a good place to have one
duplicated?

Thats what I figure 10 year tops without some serious polishing.

My windows have become dull IMO, and show internal crazing. You can
still beat the **** out of them and they will not fail, yet the view
IMO is less than desirable. If you have flat windows then use armored
glass. All mine are curved. However if I can get all new glass made for
3X the price of lexan then that is the way I will go. Like I said, I
will try to polish mine this summer, If it does not work then I'm
willing to shell out 5-8K to have custom Armored glass made for
RedCloud.

Joe

Armored glass fitted to rotting and rusting steel frames is overkill.

You should rename your vessel from Red Cloud to "Overkill".
You and Mooron could then sail in (slow) company as
"Overproof" and "Overkill". Has a nice ring to it. rotflmbfpao

CN


"Joe" wrote in message oups.com...
Thats what I figure 10 year tops without some serious polishing.

My windows have become dull IMO, and show internal crazing. You can
still beat the **** out of them and they will not fail, yet the view
IMO is less than desirable. If you have flat windows then use armored
glass. All mine are curved. However if I can get all new glass made for
3X the price of lexan then that is the way I will go. Like I said, I
will try to polish mine this summer, If it does not work then I'm
willing to shell out 5-8K to have custom Armored glass made for
RedCloud.

Joe

Lexan is not that hard to work with. The worst part is when you cut it
with a jig saw the lexan heats up and cools behind the blade and you
may have to make several passes to get it cut. Do NOT USE PLAIN
ACRYLIC.
unless you plan to sail on a lake close to shore where you can be
rescued easily when your windows cave in . Also regular Acrylic will
not take the pressure of cooling and heating, it will BUST . HEED MY
WORD JR!

Joe

"Joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
Lexan is not that hard to work with. The worst part is when you cut it
with a jig saw the lexan heats up and cools behind the blade and you
may have to make several passes to get it cut.

Yeah! Variable speed jigsaw, drill and router at low speed.

Do NOT USE PLAIN
ACRYLIC.
unless you plan to sail on a lake close to shore where you can be
rescued easily when your windows cave in . Also regular Acrylic will
not take the pressure of cooling and heating, it will BUST . HEED MY
WORD JR!

That's what I was told.

CM

Yeah, When I first bought redcloud I did the acrylic thing, Late one
night when it was cold it sounded like shotguns going off inside as one
by one my windows blew apart.

You live and lean, only cost me 400-500 bucks

Joe

You're wrong about the Lexan melting behind the jig-saw blade.
It does not unless you have the wrong blade or are going too slow.

CN

"Joe" wrote in message oups.com...
Lexan is not that hard to work with. The worst part is when you cut it
with a jig saw the lexan heats up and cools behind the blade and you
may have to make several passes to get it cut. Do NOT USE PLAIN
ACRYLIC.
unless you plan to sail on a lake close to shore where you can be
rescued easily when your windows cave in . Also regular Acrylic will
not take the pressure of cooling and heating, it will BUST . HEED MY
WORD JR!

Joe

Acrylic is what you get when you buy Plexiglas brand plastic.

It is an inferior product for boat use. It is also difficult to cut
with a saw because the heat melts it behind the saw blade.

BTW, I used tinted, 1/4" Lexan as permanent stormboards to back
up my deadlights on the inside of my fine vessel. The Lexan was
very easy to cut and fit and drill.

You can see one of the fitted deadlights he
http://captneal.homestead.com/Navigation.html

CN

"JR Gilbreath" wrote in message ...
Thanks Capt.
It sure is nice to get a straight answer every once in awhile. Do
you know the difference between Lexan and acrylic? I found one place
that you could send them and they would would send you an estimate that
you had to approve before they started reworking them. They said that
their price was usually about half what a new hatch would cost but that
seems high to me. They specified that the hatchs (Lewmar) had to have
acrylic. I have never worked with Lexan or an acrylic so I not sure how
much trouble it is.
Thanks Again
JR

Capt. Mooron wrote:

Lexan.... tinted if required. It shouldn't be difficult to locate a local
supplier in your area. You can cut and drill it yourself from the original
as a template or pay to have it done. I'm replacing mine this spring. I'll
cut it with a jigsaw and use my drill press to make the bolt holes. Sand and
polish the edges. If you have a seal channel like mine ... use a router to
carve it. Buy extra Lexan so you can practise your cuts.

CM

"JR Gilbreath" wrote in message
...

Has anyone replaced a hatch lens lately or know a good place to have one
duplicated?