RE: Good news / bad news about getting a replacement windshield

I picked up my old windshield from Custom Plastics today.
(http://www.custom-plastics.com/) I discussed the possibility of having 3
or 4 windshields done at the same time. They said that there would be some
cost savings but not a great deal. There isn't actually a lot of
preliminary setup involved. Basically, they would take a 3/16" thick sheet
of cast acrylic and heat it in a large hot air oven. The soft sheet is
then removed from the oven and laid on top of the old windshield with a
protective cloth liner in between. The soft acrylic will just conform to
the shape by gravity and possibly slight manual work. After the new
plastic cools and hardens again it is trimmed to size. The result is a
near-exact match that is only slightly oversized. Because the acrylic is
flexible it will still fit into the aluminum channel without trouble and it
should still mount to the boat easily.

When I was there I saw some cool looking windshields (bubbles, actually)
for what looked like streamlined soap box derby cars or possibly recumbent
bicycles.

The bottom line is that for a multiple run the price might come down to
US$250.00 as I had previously mentioned. If anyone is interested just let
me know. I probably won't get mine done until the fall at the earliest.

By the way, the following link has a vinyl gasket that might be suitable
for our windshields.
 http://www.taylormadeproducts.com/2002catalog/catalog42.htm

Regards,
Greg.

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill.Beardsley@... [SMTP:Bill.Beardsley@...]
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 12:54 PM
To: omc-boats@...
Subject: Re: Good news / bad news about getting a replacement windshield

Greg -

For what it's worth, my Sweet 16 has a glass windshield which I'm guarding
with my life.

Have you considered the possibility of limited production? I'm sure others
need them, and
I wouldn't mind replacing my glass one with a plastic one. Is it a process
with a lot of setup
time so it would be worthwhile to make several at once?

On a related subject, what about the gasket that goes between the frame and
windshield?
Mine is absolutely shot.

                                          Bill Beardsley
                                          bill.beardsley@...
Received on Thursday, 13 June 2002