[Anonymous]

For those who watched the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on Saturday you will appreciate the rainfall which fell on Dream Catcher on the way from Rhu to Rothesay. After tying up I noticed a steady drip from the bottom right corner of my aft heads window. The three window catches seem to tighten up pretty well (albeit near the end of their rotation) so I’m assuming that either the rubber seal on the acrylic window has become stiff, flat, or deformed over the years, or the leak is from the seal between the window frame (sorry about the non-nautical term but I can’t think what else to call it!) and the GRP.

Does anyone have any experience of this?

How easy is it to remove, clean, and re-bed the whole window?

How likely is it that this is the problem? A visual inspection didn’t show anything obvious on the outside.

Can I get new rubber seals, e.g. from Clipper?

How often do these rubber seals need replacing?

Dream Catcher is a 2001 Bavaria 40.

Thanks,

Alastair

[Anonymous]

Alastair
Hopefully you hatches are Lewmar being a 2001 boat.
If so then the Lewmar website is very good for sourcing spares including the rubber seals and all fitting instructions.
http://www.lewmar.com/product-listing.asp?action=search&type=6
You will see the Lewmar brand name on the acrylic light from memory to confirm this.
If they aren’t Lewmar hatches then they may well be Rutgerson hatches which makes it a bit more difficult to obtain spares in my experience. You could try Allspars as link below.
http://www.allspars.co.uk/shop/SelectCat.do?catId=4771&prodsFound=-1&category=Hatches%20&%20Portlights
Regards
Rick

[Anonymous]

Thanks Rick. Mine are Rutgerson I think. I had a look at your links, and Allspars do spares for portlights that look like mine. I couldn’t find rubber seals on their own on the website, only complete frames, but I’ll give them a call if I find out that’s where the problem lies.

I’ll have to prise the plastic “pretend chrome” inside frame cover off to check if the actual frame is leaking. It felt a bit flimsy so I chickened out at the weekend!

Many thanks.

Alastair

[Anonymous]

Alastair
The pretend chrome surrounds come off really easy. Just use a flat headed screw driver and they prise off the frame in no time. Trouble is once off they don’t go back on very well!
Cheers
Rick

[Anonymous]

Thanks Rick. Yes, I was afraid that if I took the surround off it wouldn’t go back on as well.

I contacted Allspars and they do a spare acrylic part, with rubber, for about £60. Once I’ve isolated the problem to frame or seal, I will find out if I need one. My plan is to use Captain Tolleys round the frame on the outside to see if that helps, and take it from there.

Alastair

[Anonymous]

I had a leaking window in the hull of my Bav 34.
When i removed the window I found that the seal was not bedded properly,so i reset it in place and since then no leaks.
It is only foam sealant with sticky back so should be easy to get.
Good luck
Clive
WISH

[Author]

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