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Storm windows

G

GBR3068

New member
Hull and Structure: Hull Openings
2.1.2
Storm coverings for all windows more than 2 square feet in area, unless all the windows are constructed of a material at least as strong as the surrounding superstructure. SSS Change

I started down this path: (a) install new bulletproof windows, which would cost more than the boat so to (b) bolt some thick Lexan over the long windows and then I found this thread from 2009 but not much else:

https://www.sfbaysss.org/forum/show...ings-for-windows-ideas&highlight=storm+window by Critter & BobJ & Beetle

Summary: use plywood + cross members + through bolt them.

Anyone know what most of the 1970/80 long plastic cabin windows were made of? Not trying to be clever, but also it seems to me the worse my superstructure is then the easier off I am wrt storm window requirements.

Just need some advice on the most sensible thing to do: Cut some sheets of Home Depot plywood and some 2 x 1 and maybe epoxy them? How thick should the plywood be to be safe and pass inspection? 15/32" OK? A 4 x 8 x 15/32 sheet (32 sq ft) weighs about 40 lb so an 8 sq ft storm panel is 10 lb which seems reasonable to handle in a nightmare. And use some T-nuts on the outside and wing bolts inside?

Seems like having some biggish pieces of plywood and some 2 x 1 aren't bad things to have onboard anyway.

Thanks!
 
I remember that discussion well. I made my covers out of plywood I had lying around, so I think one is 1/2" nom. and the other is 5/8". I epoxied a few 1x2 or 2x2 strips the short way across each cover, and put threaded inserts into those strips. Then I have 2x2 cleats (in the carpentry, not maritime sense) long enough to span the window opening, and I would put bolts through them and pick up the threaded inserts in the covers.

I'll take a couple of photos and post them tomorrow, if I remember and if I have time before leaving for another couple of days of boat work. (I live almost two hours from the boat)

Max
 
>> I'll take a couple of photos and post them tomorrow, if I remember and if I have time before leaving for another couple of days of boat work. (I live almost two hours from the boat)

Thanks! That description was good enough for me to get going on this project. As thanks I can post some pictures when I am done. Not sure whether I will use T-nuts or threaded inserts but will figure it out and let everyone know what works and doesn't.

Mike
 
Here are a few photos of one of my window covers, with just two of the four cleats in place. It occurs to me that a broken window probably wouldn't fall away completely, so who knows how many of the cleats I would actually be able to use. unless I unscrewed the remaining pieces or drilled holes in them for the bolts.20230301_172903_resized.jpg20230301_173053_resized.jpg20230301_173135_resized.jpg
 
For the 2010 PacCup we built emergency shutters similar to Max's. We added several things. 1) We glued foam around the inside edges so it landed on the window frames, thinking it would provide some sealing. 2) We bored a hole in the top of the shutter and attached a light line, thinking it might be wild when we were attaching the shutters. We planned to tie this line to the grab rail on the cabin top so if the shutter got away it would stay with the boat. 3) We bolted a gate handle to the outside so the person out there could hold the shutter in place while the person inside tightened the wing nuts. 4) we carried extra bolts, wing nuts and inside braces for the same reason. The way problems happen out there we figured it would 2AM, blowing 25+, with large seas when a window broke. We planned to use one of the spare winch handles to bang out the broken Lexan.

We did have an emergency: It was 2AM when the clew pin fell out. And yes, 25+ knots of wind, large seas, and pitch black (overcast, no moon). The windows were not a problem for us, but we were prepared.
 
This is an interesting thread. Morning Star has port lights but no "windows" per se, so this provision of the SER was "not applicable" to our race preparations in 2018. Or so the thinking went at the time.

We do, however, have 2 cabin-top hatches with 20"x20" Lexan lenses: one mid-cabin top and one on the fore deck over the V berth. Perhaps these hatches should have been considered "windows" for purposes of SER 2.1.2. I don't know. Both seem quite solid and neither leaks, but both show minor crazing typical of their age and it would be a disaster if either failed at sea with no means of repair. The hatch on the fore deck is of particular concern, taking hits from some pretty good waves from time to time. Critter's system could be easily adapted for these hatch openings, and so I am adding that to the to-do list in preparing for this year's sail to Hawaii. Thanks!
 
Just for reference here is the GGR rule. I'll stick it here rather than in the GGR thread…

https://goldengloberace.com/downloads/GGR_NOR_EN_04_2022.pdf
5.1.5 Special equipment regulations

B. Each window or port is greater than 1000sq. cm. must have storm boards able to be fitted. At least two windows each side of the cabin providing a combined total of no less than 1200sq cm of total daylight must be fitted.

So 1000 sq. cm is about a sq. ft. The GGR rule more or less mirrors the SHTP rule, except for the smaller threshold.

Thanks for the pictures. I am starting out with plywood, 2 x 1 with T-nuts too. I might keep things flexible for exactly the reasons Critter and Wylieguy described.

Mike
 
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