Sticking Side Windows

[Ken Boyd]

I recently purchased a 2009 R-25 #17 that has been sitting for a good while and galley window is stuck shut and the other sliding windows are very stiff. What is a good lubricant to use in the channels for freeing them up? I tried washing out the channels with fresh water but that does not help.

 

[Levitation]

Numerous silicone base products will be recommended to you, and paraffin wax, soap, etc...

Let me suggest you call the auto parts stores in your area and ask for SIL-GLYDE... It is a soft stick and/or like heavy grease in a tube... A spray tends to get all over where you don't want... Sil-Glyde is specifically formulated for application to door seals, window glides, etc. and will last a long time... A tiny tube can be found at places like Autozone for a buck (usually)

 

[Auklet]

Ken --- I had the same problem until I discovered teflon spray. Soak the nap in the grooves with the spray and then let it dry. I do this once a year. Can't remember the brand, but if you need it I will be going down to the boat this afternoon and I will check the bottle. --- Cary

 

[steveandtina]

KEN, IT MAY NOT BE THE CHANNELS---TRY PUSHING THE WINDOW FORWARD--HARD-- THE PUSH THE LATCH AWAY FROM YOU AS YOU PULL THE WINDOW BACKWARDS--HOPE THIS HELPS--STEVEANDTINA WITH A SOON TO BE 4/SALE R25 LEGACY W/110 YANMAR[NO STARTING PROBLEMS HERE-- SORRY DENNY, THAT REALLY WASN;T VERY FUNNY 😉 ] BTY DENNY O ,,ANY CHANCE OF YOU MAKING THE RONDIVUE?? I WOULD'NT MIND PICKING THAT FERTILE BRAIN OF YOURS FOR A DAY OR 2---- STEVEANDTINA 😀 😀

 

[JerryE]

Having bought a left-over R25 that rarely had the windows opened and closed for about a year, I became expert in sticking windows. SteveandTina are right. You may think the latch is disengaged when you are pushing the latch down (while exerting pressure on the window pull), but often you are not. Experiment with holding the latch down while giggling the window back and forth a mite, and you may find the latch suddenly snaps open freeing the window.

What I thought was a stuck window was actually a not fully released latch. Make sure those latches are fully disengaged before pulling on the window! I was fighting the latch, not a stuck window. And those latches hold fast, even if only a micron of the latch is engaged at the window frame.

 

[commander bill]

The window at the helm was very hard to operate for the first few months. I finally noticed a slight dent in the metal lip of the window frame above the window. The windows appear to be fairly soft aluminium. The dent was so small as to not be very noticable. After straightening the window was much easier to operate. I suggest that you closely examine for this problem. All it would take would be a minor bump to cause a small bend spot to obstruct movement.

 

[Levitation]

Steve, I doubt that we will make it to the West coast this year - if that is the roundeyvooz to which you allude...
As far as my fertile brain, I suspect it is more like fermentation - lots of bubbles and funny odors with foam creeping over the side...

Wednesday we depart to Ohio, followed by Indiana, then Illinois, then Chi Town, then back to Indiana, then Ohio, then Michigan... I'm becoming vertiginous just picturing it... I may have to go lie down...

Just finishing up a weld repair on a heavy steel stamped PTO gear case off the Oliver tractor we are restoring... A C clip on the PTO shaft failed when someone backed it into something solid and the drive gear rammed against the case and proceeded to grind merrily away reducing 12 ga. steel to tissue paper... Probably been that way for years and PO didn't know - or didn't care... Anyway, agonized between DC stick, TIG and MIG... Decided to MIG weld... FIrst few passes of weld bead were great, but the instant I got off the thicker part of the case the tissue paper instantly blew through and it was off to the races... After fighting the swiss cheez whiz for awhile, I thought it through and decided to surrender... Ground down the failed mig welds, got out the old buzz box and some nice thick 6013 rods and proceeded to make lots of smoke laying one pass after another until I gradually built up a solid ridge of weld the length of the case and then walked that sideways across the holes... After each layer I would grind the welds as flat as I could, the sand blast the piece, then lay down another layer... There hain't nuttin like a good old buzz box for laying down lots of bead... And after breathing all that weld smoke I am buzzed...

60 cycles yours,

 

[JamesTXSD]

Liquid Rollers is the spray that we use for our windows. When we have been cruising in salt water and the windows get sticky, we will spray the fuzzy stuff with fresh water, then use a little vinegar water to really clean it. When it's dry, spray it all around in the track with the Liquid Rollers (available at West Marine), and it will slide easily for quite a while.

This stuff works!

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[steveandtina]

denny o----just when i thought i had at the very least,, an inside track on articulation and erudition,, you throw that hand grenade on welding into the mix.--- if it is made of wood,, i can build it .. when it comes to metal. steel , iron, i bow to the master... at some point in time you might as well hook up that new duramax and make it up to the pnw. tina and i will be trailering up this sept . i am curious, as we are both 2 wheel drive kind of guys is your new rig 2 or 4 .. after six months of launching onramps from port isabel tx to sannibel fla , my 2 wheel drive duramax never failed to pull the CHRISTINA BEE out..... i hope our wakes cross sooner rather than later 😀 steve and tina

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Ken: If you find it is or is not the release of the latch, which I have found to be the case in other boats, I've used a product called Tri-Flow. Tri-Flow is a spray lubricant formulated with P.T.F.E. that does a great job making things slide, such as windows, sliding doors and it's great on hinges of all kinds. I've used it while boating in salt water and it seems to last a reasonable period of time.

 

[Levitation]

Steve, the new truck is a 4WD... I haul the boat with both the 2Wd and 4WD - non simultaneously as that would crumple several laws of physics... Anyway, I digress...
The 2WD gets better mileage than the 4WD - by some 2mpg on the highway unloaded, and up to 4 mpg better in city traffic - apparently overcoming the inertia of all the rotating mass of the front drive at every stoplight, requires energy...
Loaded and pulling on the highway the mileage is the same - within a half mile per gallon...
Like you, I have not had the 2WD fail to haul the boat up the ramp - knock wood!
Or as my Celtic ancestors would say "7-9-13, bank under bordet"...
It is interesting that dozens of languages use a saying of knock or touch or stomp on wood (others use stone or gold) as a talisman to keep bad luck away... These languages are as disparate as Arabic, Icelandic, Sri Lankin, and Slovak... And even Assyrian "mxi al qaisa" which is 'knock on wood'...
Somehow, it has a better ring than 'knock on fiberglass'... I can't imagine the Preacher saying, There's nothing like a nice piece of fiberglass." (High Plains Drifter)

 

[Ken Boyd]

I would like to thank everyone for their advice on addressing this problem.

 

[bbrh842]

Yes, the knock on wood part was especially helpful.

 

[Auklet]

Same subject, different question --- The latch on my helm window just popped off the glass. What can I use to reattach it?

 

[RProffer]

Try taking it by a glass shop. I'll bet they do it for free.