On Jan 8, 2018, at 7:26 PM, James Alton lokiyawl2@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

JPG,

   You mentioned removing the balsa.  So the cabin sides of the SM are cored with balsa as opposed to being just one solid laminate?  It would be nice to know the construction since window replacement is on my short list as well. Actually if there is core in there I am going to move it to the top of the list!   I used to use cut down  allen wrenches shaped and sharpened to form cutting edges (in place of the bent nail) to cut out a core but found a better solution.  You can get small saw blades for your dremel and these make core removal fast and you can also use the blades to abrade the inside edges of the glass to give your epoxy a good bond.  It’s a bit of a pain but you can extract essentially all of the water that entered the holes by using vacuum. You can use the same basic supplies and set up that is normally used for vacuum bagging,  just add a good water separator to protect your pump.  It is always better to get the water out before sealing things up if at all possible..  Kept completely dry, balsa lasts pretty much forever, good stuff.

   I hope that you are having a great time in the Bahamas!

Best,

James

SV Sueño,  Maramu #220

On Jan 8, 2018, at 4:48 PM, Jean-Pierre's MacBook Air jgermain@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

Hello Herbert,

I encountered the same problem on my SM when I recaulked the side windows.  

First option: The screws are not long enough to traverse into the wood trim on the inside of the cabin.  Procure various length M6 screws and drill through to the inside.  Pack with lots of Sikaflex and finish the work with a nice looking ball nut on the wood trim.  

Other option: this is what I did.  Make the hole bigger, but no larger in diameter than the width of the SS strip (about 14 MM if memory serves me right), clean out the wet balsa with a nail bent to 90 degrees on the end of your drill, fill with epoxy then drill a pilot hole where needed and reuse the original hardware.

Good luck,

Jean-Pierre Germain

SY Eleuthera, SM007

Shelter Bay Marina

On 8 Jan 2018, at 16:03, herbert@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

Many of the screws that hold the stainless frame of the side windows are loose on our Santorin and some are not holding good enough to allow tightening. It looks as they ar e just screwed through to wooden panel that is used as a packing plate at the inside. Did anyone replace these screws already? What is the best solution to fix that? 

thx, Herbert

SN120 KALI MERA, Shelter Bay, Panama