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My windsheild shattered all over my boat


Chauncemaster

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While my boat was being towed down to our annual guys weekend ski and wakeboard fest in North Carolina this weekend a pice of road debris must have been flung up and it shattered the glass in the middle on the windsheild on the rectangular pane that in on hinges above the front walkthrough. :(

When we noticed the damage and inspected the boat it was absolutely COVERED in small razor sharp shards of glass. There was glass covering the floor, stuck in between the cushions, sticking out of the vinyl, and sitting in every cupholder. It even got little shard of glass INSIDE my speakers and somehw worked its was INSIDE my bimini cover. Cry.gif

My buddies and I cleaned up as much as we could from the vinyl as possible by hand and then used one of the monster Vaccuums at a gas station to suck up all the glass we could see. After a thourough cleaning we had removed all the glass we could find and continued on down to North Carolina for a great weekend on the water.

I was very worried about the bloody carnage that was sure to ensue when we "found" any remaining pieces of glass we had missed during the cleaning and I was very careful to inspect all the binding lest I put on my wakeboard only to pull my foot out like it had been through a meat grinder. Shocking.gif

I guess we did a great job cleaning up because there was only one glass related injury the whole weekend and it was very minor. I know there is still glass lurking somewhere on the boat but after everybody was able to safely make it through te weekend walkjng sitting, and laying on the boat I feel alot better.

Anyway, now that the cleanup job is complete and our great weekend is over, I need to look into getting the glass replaced. I pulled the fram for the broken rectangular section off its hinges and I am hopeing that it shouldn't be too difficult to get it repaired.

does anybody know the answers to the following questions (I know very little about glass work):

  • Do I need to find and order the specific piece of glass that is designed to fit into the frame (it is curved a bit) or is it the type of thing that I could take the fram to a local glass shop and they could put some generic glass in it
  • If I am supposed to special order the replacement glass is it the type of thing that I could install back in the frame myself (without any special tools) or does it need to be installed by a professional
  • Does anybody know of a good place to order the replacement glass from

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

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All I can tell you is that I have broken windshields before and they do make a mess. We had the dealer take care of it. Through 'bu, they can get the piece you need. Problem is, it might only come with the frame. Good Luck.

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COVERED in small razor sharp shards of glass

this doesn't sound like safety glass.

why wouldn't they use safety glass in this application?

It seemed like the type of glass that is designed to shatter into really small pieces rather than large chunks. I think having really small pieces is less likely to cause serious injury than having huge sharp slabs but every small piece is razor sharp so it is a giant pain to get out of the boat plus there are some really small splinters that are almost too smal lto be seen.

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BUT . . . safety glass shouldn't shatter into sharp pieces, they are supposed shatter, but into non-sharp pieces. Might want to look into the whole potential lawsuit concept of getting a replacement.

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Wow! That sucks. You may want to contact the dealer and get a replacment middle pain. It will probably be assembled, frame and all. Another thought would be to contact the Window manufacture, Talyor Made, I believe and see if the have replacement glass available.

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BUT . . . safety glass shouldn't shatter into sharp pieces, they are supposed shatter, but into non-sharp pieces.  Might want to look into the whole potential lawsuit concept of getting a replacement.

Also check with a auto glass shop. We have had them make us safety glass to fit the front of are backhoe tractors.

baddog is right about glass shattering into non sharp pieces. Only the front windshield of a car has the glue tape to hold it all together.

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I feel your pain my dealer shattered the drivers side main glass. There were pieces all over the place even after the said the vacuumed it 10 times. Them main place I found them was behind the rocker switches on the dash. With a 3 year and 18 month olds in the boat it is kinda scary when the kids come up with it in their hands.

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If you have the older style windshield, which I think you do, it is 1/4" clear tempered flat glass. Any type of mom & pop glass/mirror shop can provide this to you for cheap. You should be able to pull out some screws and slide the new piece in, use soapy water if needed. If for some reason it is curved you will have to buy it from your dealer already framed.

Don't buy annealed/plate glass. You want it to shatter into million pieces instead of big sharp knifes.

Good Luck!

Edited by maliboo
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If you have the older style windshield, which I think you do,  it is 1/4" clear tempered flat glass.  Any type of mom & pop glass/mirror shop can provide this to you for cheap.  You should be able to pull out some screws and slide the new piece in, use soapy water if needed.  If for some reason it is curved you will have to buy it from your dealer already framed.

Don't buy annealed/plate glass.  You want it to shatter into million pieces instead of big sharp knifes.

Good Luck!

It looks like the glass needs to be curved to fit into the frame. does this mean it needs to be special ordered?

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