some advice on windows needed!

[sharkbait2035]

hi all. I'm trying to decide what to do with the windows around the salon on my cat.... at the moment, she has laminated safety glass all round, which has worked for the last 30 odd yrs just fine, so long as you keep up with the caulking. What I was thinking of doing was changing out to 3/8" cast acrylic, mounted over the existing cutouts and held in place with 3M's vhb tape and dow 795 as caulk.
my question isn't the ol' polycarb vs acrylic argument, nor the debate over to screw or not to screw, if I do this I'll be stickin to the plan, unless of course someone has a REALLY convincing alternative...
my question is this, should I even be doing it at all???!!!
I kinda want to hear from someone who has maybe done this and can offer up their experience. I like the glass, and can't remember now why I thought it would be a good idea, other than the caulk leaking and having to redo it.
but its time to either do this or not, I have the materials, and they're taking up space and adding weight.
does anyone think that the cast acrylic would be better out in the open as a front window, they're pretty big at 50"x45", so the flexion concerned me a little... another idea is leave them as they are, recaulk and hold on to the front acrylic windows to use as storm windows, the bonus there being I could still see through them....
any advice/opinions are appreciated!

[cat man do]

Why not keep and reuse the the glass using VHB and sealer?
Works for cars just fine.

[sharkbait2035]

would love to, but the current windows are inset, and the plan was to go over those openings with the acrylic which I had cut to overlap the opening by 2". reading your postings on windows actually helped me decide what to do, well what I was going to do anyways!

[cat man do]

If they are inset they must sit on something?
Wouldn't that be what the VHB and sealer would be on?

and the plan was to go over those openings with the acrylic which I had cut to overlap the opening by 2". reading your postings on windows actually helped me decide what to do

Am I to read that as you have already cut acrylic?
Decision made.

[TeddyDiver]

Yes! Change them! (send me the old ones and I will use them next 30yrs)

[Southern Star]

Sharkbait, my 18 year old cat has tempered glass fixed portlights and while they do need to be recaulked from time to time, they do not scratch or haze. To conisder the difference, compare your current glass with any plastic lensed hatches/opening ports on your boat. After 10 years all of my hatches/opening ports needed replacement (and they had been regularly polished before), but the glass is still perfect and no doubt will be when the replacement hatches/ports will need their next replacement.

Brad

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by sharkbait2035

The windows around the salon on my cat.... at the moment, she has laminated safety glass all round, which has worked for the last 30 odd yrs just fine, so long as you keep up with the caulking.

Don't believe everything you think.
Actually Stop thinking.

Re-caulk the laminated safety glass and move on to the other 100 boat project that are really needed.

[NahanniV]

50" of Acrylic will have a huge amount of thermal expansion and will eventually break the seal. Plus the scratching issues mentioned above.

My suggestion would be to use the Acrylic as a storm shutter over the re-caulked glass.

[Mike Banks]

I have glass windows and they are a mixed blessing as has been described.

The only reason I would be changing mine would be to shed some mass--they are danged heavy--and if I was racing some speedster they would have to go.

[sharkbait2035]

thanks all, pretty much confirmed what my gutt was telling me, keep the glass, and use the acrylic as a storm window... don't know what I was thinking when I thought it would be a good idea to change them out, on the upside I haven't been divorced over the wasted spending!
maybe one of the yards here in Ensenada will have a use for the rest of the acrylic....