Broken Center Opening Window Mounting Bracket

CTYankee

Hi All,

The center opening window on my 1999 22' C-Dory had the starbord side top mounting bracket break off (under weight pressure) on our recent cruise. This has happened before and I was able to repair it with special metal epoxy. I believe it is made of aluminum. The repair lasted 4 years. This time however, half of the V shaped bracket slipped overboard, and aluminum does not float. Shocked

Has any one had this happen and how do I get a replacement? Is the factory able to help me or should I go directly to Diamond sea Glaze. I think the new windows are a different size and may also have a different mounting system. I can take pictures if it would help.

I'm able to close and latch the window with just the port side bracket in place, but that kind of defeats the purpose of an opening window.

Thanks in advance,

Dun

Tad and Toby Jackson · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:29 pm Post subject:

Hi Dun,

I just have been going through the same thing. The hinge on the port side of the window broke the weld where the tab goes back into the frame. I used an epoxy metallic product to put it back together and it worked quite well for awhile. Over the Labor Day weekend, the whole tab broke off rendering the part un-repairable.
I contacted the factory and they directed me to Ryan with Diamond Sea Glaze. I guess that they have a relationship with Donovan Marine to distrubute their products, so Ryan told me that I would be contacted by Steve with Donovan for a quote on a new window. Before the end of the day, Ryan called to tell me that he had found a display window that they had that was in good condition and he sent me a pdf file with the rough opening to make sure it would fit my boat. The rough openings were the same so I told him to go ahead with the quote through Donovan. I received a quote from them ( I almost gagged, but what ya gonna do?) and authorized them to go ahead. I heard from Steve this morning to confirm the order and let me know that it would take 5-7 working days with UPS ground delivery.
In the mean time, yesterday afternoon Ryan called to say that he was mistaken in his description of the window. He had specifically said that the window had (2) cams (braces) on his quote to me, but that he had just realized that this display unit only had (1) cam. I told him that if that was the case, I did not want that window as I believe that the original window broke because of the torque created by only having (1) cam for support. He said that they would add another cam to the unit and I agreed. It remains to be seen whether the 2nd cam will look like an add on or like a regular new window. It is a long way to British Columbia to be shipping parts back and forth from Florida.

I hope this helps you some with your similar problem.

Tad

CTYankee · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 3:28 pm Post subject:

Tad,

Thanks for the information. I was hoping not to have to buy a whole new window. The old one is perfectly fine except for that broken weld, and I probably can have someone spot weld it back if I can only find the proper bracket.

Let me know how your project works out. If you have an extra upper bracket left over from your old window when you take it out, I will buy it from you...or the whole window for that matter.

Seems this is a weak link in the product. Replacing the whole thing seems like a pain. What did they charge you for the window?

Dun

CTYankee · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 3:32 pm Post subject:

Tad, if you could also take a picture of what the old and new window looks like, that would be helpful. I can't quite figure out if we are talking about the same attachment point.

Dun

thataway · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:41 pm Post subject:

How about fabricating a new backet of out Aluminum, grinding the surface fair, and both tapping and screwing, as well as JB welding the new piece in place. In the past, I have had some very nice aluminum "L" brackets about 2" x 2"--3/16 thick--not sure of the source--but my impression was that these types of brackets are fairly common. A good machine shop can probably build a bracket for far less than the window....

The opening window in my Tom Cat has much better brackets than the ones in the C D 25--and the CD 25 was better than the single bracket in the

Tad and Toby Jackson · Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:24 pm Post subject:

Dun,
I will be glad to take pictures next week when the new window arrives. I'll also take pictures of the old window to see if there is anything useable for you. If you can use the window parts, we can surely work something out. The cost for the new window was over $500 so I would be happy to spare someone from that pain.

Tad