Date
1 - 4 of 4
A54 dodger acrylics - best gasket/seal?
|
Scott SV Tengah
Hi all,
We are replacing our cockpit dodger acrylics and want to improve upon the weatherproof seal that was installed on A54 #69. This hull number has an 8mm round seal glued into a groove in the acrylic. We have tried to reglue it multiple times. See photo.  Another problem is that the acrylic curves across the opening, so the center part of the window leaks considerably. The fix suggested by Amel was to add another seal on the fiberglass side of the opening, but that solution was unsatisfactory for different reasons. See second photo.  Now that I will be replacing the acrylics, I can use a different weatherproof gasket/seal. I recall seeing later A54s with a thicker, D-profile seal. My inclination is to glue a D-profile seal to the flat fiberglass mating surface to avoid having to put a groove in the acrylic and further trying to get the seal to adhere to the acrylic. In this case, the sealing surface would be facing out and possibly subjected to UV damage. Or is that not a concern? Has anyone replaced their acrylics and improved upon the seal system? Or if not, can some of the later build A54s who are happy with their seal system describe it and ideally provide photos? Finally, for the non-opening side acrylics, removal seems straightforward, but any tips are appreciated with respect to removal and which adhesive to use on re-install. Thanks! -- Scott 2007 A54 #69 SV Tengah http://www.svtengah.com |
|
|
|
Hello Scott,
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I also had water ingress problems on my A54-83 and tried replacing the original seal without success until an acrylic supplyer suggested that a flat neophrene seal, about 25 mm wide X 4 mm thick be applied inside the contour of the new acrylic panels, without a groove in the acrylics. This solution is not 100% when heading in rough weather but so much better. Louis Amelia II
|
|
|
|
Scott SV Tengah
Louis, Do you have issues with the seal on the top edge getting pushed out as you close the window? Scott On Thu, Mar 9, 2023, 20:31 Louis Trepanier <louis.alepa@...> wrote:
|
|
|
|
Scott, I should mention that I had added 2 hinges on both panels before making the modification, to add pressure on the original seals. That did not improve waterproofing but it may help when using the new seals. Louis
|
|
|
