homemade glastron gt150 windscreen...

[relocyo]

i am going to be fabricating myself a new windscreen on my 1977 glastron gt 150 the original is gone but all the bolts/screws are intact i just came from lowes hardware and they have some inexpensive acrylic plyable plexiglass i was thinking of cutting and rounding off edges to install in it. a new one is $500-$650 and thats what i payed for the entire boat so "new" that way is not an option. seems plyable enough... i hope... anyone have any expierience trying to do such a thing or should i go with a different material? it will only be 8 inches tall so durability im not real concerned about its just the install process i guess... i dunno... help!!!! lol... any ideas would be appreciated.... thanks!!!

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: homemade glastron gt150 windscreen...

There is a reason it is cheap! Why don't you go over to Classicglastron.com and see if anyone there has a used one?

 

[relocyo]

Re: homemade glastron gt150 windscreen...

well thanks for the input... i have looked around and quite frankly bottom line is i want to build it myself... because i think its fun to fabricate and then use things like that =)... so anyone who has tried anything similiar i would like to hear how it went for you... and also i just dont think its gonna be that hard to do.. ya know $40 and a couple hours of labor... im guessing... lol....

 

[PeteyDaMan]

Re: homemade glastron gt150 windscreen...

I can understand wanting to try and fab it yourself. I do that all the time, then when I fail miserably, I go out and buy it new anyway

Seriously though, plexy scratches REAL easy so be careful. Even trying to clean it with a papertowel and glass cleaner will scratch it all to pieces.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: homemade glastron gt150 windscreen...

Acrylic is brittle so use caution cutting and drilling it. It can snap without warning and leave razor sharp edges. To prevent edge chipping, cover the plexi in masking tape then cut/drill through the tape.

A coarser blade is better for cutting than a fine blade. The fine blade tends to melt the plastic as you cut and it fuses back together behind the cut.

Are you planning on forming/bending any of the panes?

Polycarbonate (lexan) is a much more durable material but more expensive. Lexan will not break like acrylic will, but it is more susceptable to scratching.

Regardless of the material, make sure it is UV stabilized, otherwise it will turn yellow if left out in the sun.

 

[relocyo]

Re: homemade glastron gt150 windscreen...

great info Moody Blue... but yes i do intend on bending it...if i cant get it to bend into the sharper angles i wont but for the most part the sharp angles are at the extreme edges and arent THAT neccessary. was thinking of getting some sort of heating element or something to help the bending along... and PeteyDaMan... im hoping i dont have to go buy one... but ive been in that boat plenty of times lol... fabricating = fun.... failure = learned lessons... =)

 

[thompy]

Re: homemade glastron gt150 windscreen...

i would tape it where you plan to cut it, one of the guys on the sidewinder forums, made his windshield like your planning, similar window design