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The windshield on my 1960 Sea Coaster is toast. I have one side more or less complete from which I can get the dimensions, but will have to build the other side by making a mirror image. On the bright side the center support bracket is intact and reusable. I suspect I can muddle through the project, but have some questions.

I plan to build the frames from appropriately sized 3/4 inch mahogany stock and use my table and band saws to cut the angles and curves around the outside prior to assembly. I then plan to make templates from MDF I can use to as a guide to route the inside opening, glass rabbit and molding dado cuts. I have two questions.

1) I don't have the tools to make mortise and tenon joints as were done in the original. Should I bite the bullet and buy the tools, or can I get by using biscuits or maybe dowels?

2) I have one piece of windshield glass. It seems to me to be too small, even with the gasket on, to fit the frame I have reconstructed. Was the original glass shimmed to fit, perhaps to accommodate expansion and contraction of the frames or was QC such that glass had to be cut individually to fit each side?

Hi Bill:
I just finished a +2yr restoration on my 20' Offshore camper. I too had to build a windshield with just a half, for a pattern. I felt 3/4" material was just too flimsy. I opted to use 10/4" rough material and planed it down to about 7/8" finished thickness. As for dowels I used the BeadLock system from Rockler.com and It worked great. Just a tip, I built a mockup of the windshield from Pine 2X4's ripped to thickness, before I cut any Mahogany. True, it took a lot of extra time with all the various angles involved, but for peace of mind, given the price of Mahogany, it was worth the effort. I cut out the side windows using a router and a MDF template. I sized the glass openings by about 1/8" larger than the actual glass size. I used the Window gasket material form the Thompson club Classified.
Good Luck Don

Thanks for sharing. Your story follows my plan and it gives me confidence I'm on the right track. I've purchased some sacrificial wood for practice and the mdf for the template and plan to start on this soon. It's too cold to work on the boat itself, snow on the ground, and I don't have a barn to work in. but I can deal handle the cold in the garage while I build the test frame. I also bought the beadlock dowell system.

On my smaller boat the windshield was build from 3/4 stock and I plan to stick with it. I found easily Phillippian mahogany in Portland. My biggest concern is cutting the angled and curved pieces at the bottom of the frame. Since my deck is toast as well I will wait until it's been rebuild to see if the curve from the surviving windshield is still good. I expect it will, but I don't want to find out I'm wrong after I finish the frames.

Regards
Bill

degerb
How did you make the cut in the sides that the rubber gasket that the glass seats in ? I had planned on taking a stab at this myself until I looked at the way the frame is cut/routed for that gasket. I guess I'm a wimp as I turned the project over to a cabinetmaker (way cheaper than a wooden boat shop by the way)

Brian

Hi Brian:
I used my router, cutting the rabbets and the dado with a slot cutter and a rabbeting bit. I found a smaller OD bearing from MCLS which gave me a wider rabbet which I needed. I did most of the routing prior to assy. I cut the 1/8" slot first followed by the rabbet. By all means experiment on setups using cheap materials. Procuring the window gasket material before routing is a must.
Regards Don

Hi Bill:
Yes, the lower curvature of the new frame will change somewhat depending on how much you refasten and tighten things up. Also the stiffness of your new plywood if used, will have an effect. After epoxing, screwing, nailing etc 1/2 the old frame together tightly. I used a sliding angle square to find the correct angles. Interestingly, all the angles were somewhat different. Perhaps due to 40+ years of drying and contracting.
Regards Don

The plywood in the old deck is so badly damaged I have to start by replacing it before I can begin to shape the new windshield to fit. My cunning plan was to figure out the proper placement on the deck then dry fit the old frame to it to see if the curve and angle of the old frame is a reasonable fit. If not?

I have a sliding angle square and plan to use it to measure the various angles on the old frame pieces, including the one on the bottom. Your post made me wonder if that angle changes over the length of the frame. Since the frame does not lay on the deck at a 90 degree angle that may be the case. Though that makes me wonder how in the world did they make these boats on a production line if it's true.

Assuming the old frame curve doesn't fit the new deck, I'm having trouble figuring out the correct technique needed to find the correct curvature so I can cut it on my band saw.

Isn't this stuff fun?

Bill

Hi Bill:
I had too had to replace my old deck. Over the years, some of the deck frames developed flats spots, and they had loosened and allowed the boat to spread spanwise. I had to use pipe clamps to pull her back into shape and refasten.It was somewhat difficult to fair the new deck and to keep the original curvature in place for the new windshield. I had to do some fudging but overall it worked out. Just don't lose patience, it'll come together. On my windshield the bottom curvature to the deck is somewhat constant. You end up with a tapered compound miter cut. Just to add spice to the mix, my bottom rails were 2.5 inches wider at the outboard ends. I tried to cut the bottom/deck angle after I assembled the windshield. At the time I couldn't figure out how to cut the required taper, fit and clamp the seperate assemblies individually, bad idea! I had difficuty trying to use a saber saw for the angle cut. But any way, by cutting a little, grinding a little, using an angle grinder I finally managed a fit. If you use the bottom windshield gasket sold on the classifieds, it does have about a 3/16" lip on one side of it. That along with white silicone sealant will help hide any inadvertant gaps. On the inside I made a 3/8" molding of Mahogany to finish the inside. You are right, a project like this does keep one's brain cells active.
Regards Don