Another reason is that the fixed windows on the boat are not installed accurately or do not have an appropriate frame, such as Albin's trawler. Its large window is almost clamped between two wooden frames. Wood is not the only problem; this design would fail with any other material. First, because the window is too large; secondly, the builders used the wrong sealing method - it has cracked and shrunk; thirdly, this design is completely wrong and will leak under any circumstances. Chris Craft 320 yacht windows. It is very difficult to identify when there is a problem with the windows. The picture above shows the windows of the Chris Craft 320 from the outside, and the arrows indicate where the window frame has separated from the bulkhead. The severity of the leaking windows not only means that the owner has to pay for the damaged items but also spend a huge amount to correct this design flaw, especially if you want to eliminate this hidden danger at its root cause. Moreover, leaking windows are a common problem, often occurring in the skylights and portholes of yachts. Once you buy a yacht with leaking windows and cannot fix it, it becomes extremely difficult to resell.
For sailboats, window leakage problems are just as bad. The most common issue is water accumulation in the hatches. When you open the hatch cover, you and anything below will experience a shower, which is only the least of the problems. The main issue lies within the hatch where it cannot hold so much accumulated water, leading to continuous leaks. Those sealants and gaskets designed to prevent leaks will eventually deteriorate, and the accumulated water will destroy all the surrounding panels.
SeaRay 27 yacht windows. Many yachts are designed like this, with the cabin top supported by the window frames. Once someone jumps onto the foredeck, the deck vibrates, and the leakage occurs.
The third design defect comes from improper side deck design. As shown in the figure, if the side deck does not have proper support, it will sag, and when it sags, the sides inside will also sag. After the indoor sides sag, what does the window frame rely on? Of course, the sagging sides. Whenever the hull is hit by big waves, the entire deck layer vibrates, causing the seals and carefully designed frames to bend and resulting in leaks.
Chris Craft 320 yacht windows. This is due to cracks caused by excessive pressure on the window frame, and even reinforcing it with screws does not make much difference.
The fourth design defect is in motorboats without cabins. The windows of these motorboats span the entire deck and upper space. What is inappropriate about this design? Again, it is because the window frames are not up to the task. These frames almost depend on the deck. If the deck bends even slightly, obvious cracks will appear, and they cannot be stitched together.
Leaking windows also exist in express cruisers without upper structures, instead featuring long, low windows on the side of the foredeck. The picture shows a Sea Ray yacht relying on an 8-foot window frame to support the entire foredeck. Without any bulkheads or bottom brackets, once you jump onto the foredeck from a higher place, the joints of the window frame will crack, and then the leaks begin. On this particular boat, the owner filled the sliding windows and permanently sealed them, and even surrounded the windows with plastic to try to keep the water out, but it did not work well. So be sure to be careful whether the long windows on the cruiser bear all the pressure of the upper deck.
Many people have their own opinions on whether some damage is caused by window leaks, and this article will also try to avoid situations with more disagreements, and will not deliberately complicate issues that may not exist.
The root cause of window leaks may be due to serious design errors, as leaks due to crack issues are rare. On most boats, a layer of glue is applied around the edges of the window frames to fill the gaps. Once the first sealant treatment is not done well, window leaks will occur on the yacht. Some designers believe that window frames alone can well support the yacht's cabin roof and flybridge, unfortunately, this simply doesn't work. Because the window frames are not strong enough to support the deck, cabin roof, or flybridge. Therefore, once the yacht goes out to sea, it easily opens all the joints, allowing water to enter the boat.
This kind of leaking window cannot be repaired unless all the upper structures are redesigned appropriately, including the cabin structure and window frames, as well as the entire deck layer. If the side decks are built with internal cantilevers and lack sufficient support underneath, the side decks will bend, and subsequently all the structures will crack.
Sailboat designers save money by not using any window frames, merely filling the gaps around old glass or resin glass. Don't worry about the designer because their windows might not leak until the warranty period ends, leaving the owner to deal with this unsolvable problem. Especially for motorboats, their decks are fragile and curved, so no matter what you do, you cannot seal the leaks. This phenomenon is more common in deck skylights because the deck is easier to bend than the sides. This is why V-shaped mattresses in many bow cabins are prone to dampness and rot.
In other words, the upper structure of this type of yacht is like a folding card table with wobbly legs. You can seal the frame gaps, pull them out repeatedly and reseal them, remove the glass and reinforce the base, but every time you go out to sea, you need to reinforce again, all the joints will open again, and the leakage problem appears again.
Currently, there are not many old yachts domestically, so there are few obvious severe leakage problems. However, I saw a Weibo post saying that Sanya currently has hundreds of yachts parked, urgently needing a yacht repair center. From this, we can see that no matter how expensive or good a yacht is, problems will arise. And due to complicated procedures, repairing imported yachts is very troublesome. Once the warranty period is over and problems increase, it will make the owner even more helpless. Therefore, when choosing a yacht, be sure to pay attention. The luxury of decoration is intangible, and a solid structure is the most important. Instead of buying a medium-sized yacht imported from abroad, it would be better to choose a domestically produced yacht, saving taxes and making repairs easier.
Tens of thousands of yachts are built in this way, and the photos cited in this article can only briefly illustrate the tip of these problems. Power speedboats and flybridge cruisers often have no other major problems, but the window frames bear the burden of supporting all the upper structures. This problem is more evident in mid-sized flybridge cruisers, with heavy pressure on the window frames, especially on the front windshield frame. Of course, this problem does not exist in flybridge yachts and fishing boats without front windshields because the fiberglass structure is quite sturdy. However, there are currently very few yachts without front windshields.
Chris Craft 320 yacht windows. On this yacht, the cabin roof and flybridge are only supported by the window frames. Not only is the seat under the window rotten, but the kitchen cabinets and the bow room have also suffered significant rot due to leaks.