Someone recently was asking about what material to replace windows with.
That got me thinking today as I got into my '90 YJ Jeep, that the
windshield would be a good candidate for the center cabin windows in my
Irwin 37. Nice and flat. Its rectangular which I like better than the
stream lined profile that's in there now. I'll have to go to the boat
to measure if it's long enough. I don't think I would mount it the way
it is on the Jeep cause pop out windows are probably not a good feature
on a boat.

The glass out of the back doors of a panel truck is usually flat and
might be a good choice for a windshield.

Any reason why I wouldn't want to use auto glass in a boat?

Ron

None that I know of. The hard dodger in my WS32 has auto glass, even on
the curves (rear cab corner windows from an old pickup truck). The PO
installed it in Australia and about '82 and it made it back to the west
coast with no problems to date. Still cleans up beautifully.

Large panels will be weaker, of course, but that's true of any system.

Rufus

Ron Thornton wrote:

Someone recently was asking about what material to replace windows with.
That got me thinking today as I got into my '90 YJ Jeep, that the
windshield would be a good candidate for the center cabin windows in my
Irwin 37. Nice and flat. Its rectangular which I like better than the
stream lined profile that's in there now. I'll have to go to the boat
to measure if it's long enough. I don't think I would mount it the way
it is on the Jeep cause pop out windows are probably not a good feature
on a boat.

The glass out of the back doors of a panel truck is usually flat and
might be a good choice for a windshield.

Any reason why I wouldn't want to use auto glass in a boat?

Ron

"Ron Thornton" writes:

snip
Any reason why I wouldn't want to use auto glass in a boat?
snip

Possibly might be a problem.

Most auto safety glass will shatter into small pieces when hit, leaving a
major hole if used on a boat.

OTOH, laminated safety glass, while abandoned years ago for automobiles,
would simply crack when hit.

Might be some sharp shards of glass on the deck, but no major hole for water
to enter.

Talk to somebody in the glass business.

HTH


--
Lew

S/A: Challenge, The Bullet Proof Boat, (Under Construction in the Southland)
Visit: http://home.earthlink.net/~lewhodgett for Pictures

Maybe lucite or plexiglass?

Polycarb?

Tempered safety glass. It breaks in long cracks instead of a zillion little
pieces. This is OK because the windshield is made from two layers of glass,
with a layer of mylar in between to hold the mess together when it breaks.
Side and rear windows are 'safety glass', which is the stuff that breaks
into a zillion little pieces, but have relatively rounded corners in the
breaks so that they are not as sharp.

Brian

--
My boat project: http://www.advantagecomposites.com/tongass


"WaIIy" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 01:51:41 GMT, "Lew Hodgett"
wrote:



OTOH, laminated safety glass, while abandoned years ago for automobiles,
would simply crack when hit.

What kind of glass do they use in windshields on the new cars?

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 17:55:01 -0500 (EST), (Ron
Thornton) sent into the ether:

Someone recently was asking about what material to replace windows with.
That got me thinking today as I got into my '90 YJ Jeep, that the
windshield would be a good candidate for the center cabin windows in my
Irwin 37. Nice and flat. Its rectangular which I like better than the
stream lined profile that's in there now. I'll have to go to the boat
to measure if it's long enough. I don't think I would mount it the way
it is on the Jeep cause pop out windows are probably not a good feature
on a boat.

The glass out of the back doors of a panel truck is usually flat and
might be a good choice for a windshield.

Any reason why I wouldn't want to use auto glass in a boat?

Ron


Nope, as long as you follow a few simple rules.

Laminated glass in US auto windshields is designed to break, but hold
together and not let you penetrate it. In Europe, I think, the
windshields have a second lamination on the inside to minimize cuts.
Side auto windows are made from a single sheet of tempered glass.
Generally you do not want tempered glass where you might impact it,
like in a windshield, as you may incur consideral impact damage to
your head and body. Tempered glass is not unbreakable, but takes much
more force to shatter than non-tempered or laminated glass.

Then again, you may want to take your demensions to a glass shop and
ask about getting laminated and tempered glass made to fit your needs.
Laminated glass takes experience to cut without breaking it and
tempered cannot be cut without shattering it.

You can even get laminated glass made with one or more tempered
pieces. One more thing, all glass, but especially tempered glass is
vulnerable to breakage by hitting/tapping/bumping the edge.

Hopes this helps.

Remove the x for e-mail reply
www.outdoorfrontiers.com

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 07:12:31 GMT, "Brian D"
sent into the ether:

Tempered safety glass. It breaks in long cracks instead of a zillion little
pieces. This is OK because the windshield is made from two layers of glass,
with a layer of mylar in between to hold the mess together when it breaks.
Side and rear windows are 'safety glass', which is the stuff that breaks
into a zillion little pieces, but have relatively rounded corners in the
breaks so that they are not as sharp.

Brian
Brian,
When did they change tempered glass? Tempered glass breaks into rock
salt sized piece and laminated glass, as used in windshields, breaks
as you decribe. Easy to mix up the two :} BTW, both are referred to
as safety glass.

Remove the x for e-mail reply
www.outdoorfrontiers.com

Brian's giving you the correct basic information, but has the terminology
just a bit wrong .

It's "tempered" glass that "dices" into a zillion pieces when broken,. It is
used for the side windows of automobiles, for shower doors, patio doors,
etc. Notably, tempered glass is much stronger against wind load and impact
than plain annealed glass.

"Laminated" glass, used in windshields, skylights, security doors, etc.,
contains two or more layers of glass bonded to a plastic interlayer. The
glass is usueally annealed, but can also be tempered or heat-treated.

See http://www.alumaxbath.com/tech/tgp.htm for tempered glass, and
http://www.saflex.com/pages/about/ for laminated glass.

Alex

"Brian D" wrote in message
news:zthxb.120989$Dw6.554305@attbi_s02...
Tempered safety glass. It breaks in long cracks instead of a zillion
little
pieces. This is OK because the windshield is made from two layers of
glass,
with a layer of mylar in between to hold the mess together when it breaks.
Side and rear windows are 'safety glass', which is the stuff that breaks
into a zillion little pieces, but have relatively rounded corners in the
breaks so that they are not as sharp.

Brian

--
My boat project: http://www.advantagecomposites.com/tongass


"WaIIy" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 01:51:41 GMT, "Lew Hodgett"
wrote:



OTOH, laminated safety glass, while abandoned years ago for
automobiles,
would simply crack when hit.

What kind of glass do they use in windshields on the new cars?

"Safety glass" is laminated, and is used in all automobile windshields.
Tempered glass is the stuff that breaks into a million small pieces on heavy
impact, and is used in side and back glasses in autos. Safety glass is
stocked and can be cut at pretty much any glass shop. Tempered has to be cut
to size, then sent to a tempering company for treatment.

Safety glass is used in lots of boats. One of the best things you can put
in, is a sandwich of two sheets of tempered glass laminated like safety
glass. If it DOES break, the lamination keeps all the pieces together. If
anyone is interested, I can post a source, but be forewarned, it's
EXPENSIVE!

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
hlink.net...

"Ron Thornton" writes:

snip
Any reason why I wouldn't want to use auto glass in a boat?
snip

Possibly might be a problem.

Most auto safety glass will shatter into small pieces when hit, leaving a
major hole if used on a boat.

OTOH, laminated safety glass, while abandoned years ago for automobiles,
would simply crack when hit.

Might be some sharp shards of glass on the deck, but no major hole for
water
to enter.

Talk to somebody in the glass business.

HTH


--
Lew

S/A: Challenge, The Bullet Proof Boat, (Under Construction in the
Southland)
Visit: http://home.earthlink.net/~lewhodgett for Pictures

That's not right. Mylar is not the middle layer of safety glass. Tempered is
used in side and back glass, NOT windshields. Safety glass is used in
windsheilds so it helps absorb impact. I used to work in the glass industry.

"Brian D" wrote in message
news:zthxb.120989$Dw6.554305@attbi_s02...
Tempered safety glass. It breaks in long cracks instead of a zillion
little
pieces. This is OK because the windshield is made from two layers of
glass,
with a layer of mylar in between to hold the mess together when it breaks.
Side and rear windows are 'safety glass', which is the stuff that breaks
into a zillion little pieces, but have relatively rounded corners in the
breaks so that they are not as sharp.

Brian

--
My boat project: http://www.advantagecomposites.com/tongass


"WaIIy" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 01:51:41 GMT, "Lew Hodgett"
wrote:



OTOH, laminated safety glass, while abandoned years ago for
automobiles,
would simply crack when hit.

What kind of glass do they use in windshields on the new cars?