Polycarbonate windows?

timemachine

timemachine

Member
Jul 11, 2009
403
Watch Hill, RI
Boat Info
2005 48 Sundancer
Engines
Cummins 530HO
My forward windows need replacing as the plexi is shot. My canvas guy wants me to install polycarbonate. Do I have to worry about the curves in the corners?
 
I'm having mine made right now. Best option short of real glass. I can't wait for the summer to try it out.

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I had mind done last summer - there are two thicknesses of product available. The thinner handles compound curves just fine. The thicker (and way more expensive) stuff has to be molded and fitted. I'm sure your installer is using the thinner stuff. That said, the stuff is fantastic! Might as well have a hard top with glass up front. Clearer than your windshield and the stiffness is a benefit to the overall rigidity of your canvas. you cannot roll this material up, so removal and storage should leave the panels flat. Plexus is the best polish for this hard plastic.
 
You might want to read this piece I posted some time ago about Makrolon, a polycarbonate made by Bayer:

http://clubsearay.com/showthread.php/36062-Heads-Up-Markolon-Problems


In short, I loved the clear vision. The panels can be bent in a large radius, but their stiffness makes taking them down and putting them up a knuckle buster. Polycarbonates are usually not warrantied by the manufacture for recreational use, although the installer might give you some type of warranty. Lastly, polycarbonate will not hold up in the sunny conditions we have in Florida.....at 18 months we could notice some separation and crazing on the bends which means you can't see thru them any longer. We have gone back to Strataglass which lasts a very long time and costs 1/3 of what Makrolon does.
 
I have gone through 2 sets of polycarbonate in the last 6 years. When new, I love it. It is great to leave up on a cool night and still be able to see boats and buoys. It is clearer than my glass windshield. But, it does not hold up well and I hardly took mine down and it still crazed and got scratched in many places. I am having new canvas done this season and ordered polycarbonate again, hoping this new canvas guy to me, uses better polycarbonate than I got from another canvas guy in the area. We will see.. It ain't cheap!
 
We used EZ2CY product. Going on 3rd season and no issues. As they claim above, clearer than your windshield. We never remove them.
 
I have seen this on some of the express boats where they have a curve basically all the way across the beam forward sitting in the sun 24/7. I wonder if a canvas cover that snaps over it when not in use or not on board would help?
 
Like everyone else said, Poly will be durable for a few years outside. I have a business and sell laser cut poly quite often. It is very durable and scratch resistant for a few years and will need replacing. Like anything it has a life expectancy and it won't out live what it's expected to..

Three years tops and it will need replacing. Keep that in mind. But with boating it seems that's the norm. Haha








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Mine are being made right now and I just called the guy to have him add a one piece bra that is lined with a softer fabric and will cover the entire windshield when the boat is not in use. This will keep the pieces clean, keep the sun off the polycarbonate and the cockpit, and keep the cockpit cooler. Has anyone done this? Any thoughts?

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My boat is under a covered slip so the polycarbonate panels were only in the sun when we were out on the boat. My panels all failed within 18-24 months. People in the north don't seem to have nearly as high a failure rate as those of us in the south. so a LI sound location probably means you will get a decent life out of your panels. In trying to solve this issue, we (me and the canvas company who built the panels) never got a grip on just what was causing the failure. We surmise that a combination of temperature, bend radius and UV caused the crazing. Unfortunately, the manufacturer was less than helpful and declined to discuss the failures because the product was not covered by warranty......i.e. used for recreational purposes, not fixed glazing, and less than 1/8" thick.

Polycarbonate sheet usually has some scratch resistant coating on it, but covers will not help unless you keep the panels clean. If you get dirt/dust/grit on the panels or allow it to migrate thru the cover, then the cover will eventually scratch the clear panels.
 
I had Makrolon installed for the front three panels of the bridge four years ago. I have been crazily delicate with it - no soaps or brushes, just water - and it has been perfect. I was sick of looking though saggy plastic and when I installed, I said if I got three years out of it! I'd be happy. It still looks new, so I'm into bonus time and would do it again. I am in northern climates, which seems to make a difference, and my boat is stored indoors from November to mid April. I also went for the product without UV coating, as the UV coated product appeared to have issues right from the get go.

I only have. Makrolon on the front panels (the windshield as it were) and have Strataglass for the sides. I couldn't get EZ2CY here in Canada, which might have been an option.

Paul
 
I'm pretty neurotic about keeping everything clean, especially the glass and canvas windows so I think the cover will really prolong the life of the polycarbonate. It will also be lined with a very soft lining so the should be no abrasion when its windy.

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I think the cover would cause more harm than good. No matter how diligent you were about keeping everything clean, you're going to have dust particles get in between the cover and the glass. Even the nice soft backing would act like a dust trap. Just the act of putting the cover on and taking it off, would cause abrasion. It's kinda like those car bras that were popular back in the 80's/90's. The looked sporty and seemed to protect the front of the car, but were damaging to the finish.

paul
 
Well... the curved makrolon panels on my bridge are showing the crazing... about 3 years old.

I love this stuff though. I will probably just replace the two curved panels with makrolon again. Everything else looks fine.
 
I just did my entire bridge enclosure with Acrylite. It's an acrylic product that my canvas maker highly recommended and has used for years. My boat had EZ2CY on it that was original from 2005. The Acrylite is as heavy, or maybe slighltly heavier than EZ2CY. I went up to the boat Friday to inspect the final install. VERY please with both the quality and feel of the Acrylite as well as the craftmanship of my canvas guy. This is a picture I took of the label on the sheet of Acrylite:

photo.jpg
 
So do all you polycarbonate users have air conditioned bridges? Or ways to fold open the stiff panels? Seems like it would be unusable in the summer otherwise
 
ZZ13 said:
So do all you polycarbonate users have air conditioned bridges? Or ways to fold open the stiff panels? Seems like it would be unusable in the summer otherwise
Click to expand...

I do - as I'm sure most others posting here do as well. I never open or remove any of my panels. Completely reliant on the bridge heat/ac for climate control.
 
EZ2CY here as well. About 6y/o and looks as new. Love it.
 
ZZ13 said:
So do all you polycarbonate users have air conditioned bridges? Or ways to fold open the stiff panels? Seems like it would be unusable in the summer otherwise
Click to expand...

I only have the front three panels in makrolon. The corner panels never come down. The centre panel have a large smilie, which pins up to the hard top. I changed everything to pin up to the hard top as rolling scratches the crap out the flexible plastic.

Paul
 
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