Boat Windscreens and Windows

We currently supply windscreens and windows to all of the leading boat manufacturers in South Australia.

A short list of some of the windscreens we have available is here.

If one of our many standard design windscreens does not suit your boat we may be able to custom make a windscreen or window to suit.

A frequently asked question about boat windows and windscreens is what is the best material to use for glazing.
A number of materials are available in clear or transparent tint.
Listed below are most of the materials and the advantages or disadvantages of them.
PVC, Not transparent enough and not UV stable
PETG, Scratches too easily and not UV stable
UV-PETG, Scratches too easily
Standard Polycarbonate, Scratches too easily and not UV stable
Mar resistant Polycarbonate, Very good, but very expensive, about 6 to 10 times the price of acrylic
UV Polycarbonate, Very good, but very expensive, about 2 to 4 times the price of acrylic
Acrylic, Very good if installed correctly
Glass, Laminated will still crack and leave splinters, toughened will break and crumble into small pieces

99 percent of all windows and windscreens we make are glazed with acrylic, we only use top quality acrylics, some cheaper acrylics do not have a lot of UV stabilizers in them and some cheaper acrylics suffer from thickness variations and surface imperfections.

3, 4 and 5 piece windscreens

	3 piece windscreen with aluminium frame
		4 piece windscreen with aluminium frame
			5 piece windscreen with aluminium frame

Of the windscreens pictured above, the 3 piece windscreen is generally the cheapest and in a lot of cases can be made from a few simple measurements. Custom made 4 piece and 5 piece fixed windscreens require either very accurate templates or manufacture on the boat to ensure correct fitting of the windscreen. 5 piece opening centre windscreens are best made and fitted to the boat, the accuracy need to make the opening centre panel fit correctly is difficult to achieve from templates only.

On all windscreens we also offer a choice of colours for both the plastic and aluminium frame.

All 3 piece, 4 piece and 5 piece windscreens are framed with our exclusive purpose designed marine grade aluminium frame sections. All sections are either marine grade anodized or powder coated. Assembly screws and fittings are all marine grade stainless steel, all screws are coated in grease prior to assembly to reduce the risk of corrosion. Glazing is usually in 4.5 mm thick UV stabilized acrylic sheet, UV stabilized or Mar resistant polycarbonate is also available.

Moulded windscreens

	1 piece moulded windscreen with aluminium frame
		We can also supply windscreens with opening hatches
			Ski boat windscreen
	3 Piece moulded ski boat windscreen with aluminium frame
		Ski boat windscreen
			3 Piece moulded windscreen with opening hatch
	Ski boat windscreen

Generally moulded windscreens are custom fitted to the boat to ensure correct fitting of the windscreen.

On all windscreens we also offer a choice of colours for both the plastic and aluminium frame.

Moulded windscreens such as Ski boat windscreens can be made without a frame, finished on the edges by polishing, or framed with our exclusive purpose designed marine grade aluminium frame sections. Aluminium framed moulded windscreens can be made as either 1 piece or any number of panels. All aluminium framed moulded windscreens are made from 4.5 mm thick UV stabilized acrylic sheet. All aluminium sections are either marine grade anodized or powder coated. Assembly screws and fittings are all marine grade stainless steel, all screws are coated in grease prior to assembly to reduce the risk of corrosion. Frameless moulded windscreens can be made from any thickness acrylic, however 4.5 mm, 6 mm and 10 mm would be the most common thickness used.

Centre console windscreens

Centre console windscreens

Centre console windscreens can be made in an infinite number of shapes and sizes, some are as simple as a flat panel of acrylic without a frame. Others can be made by heat bending or moulding to shape, edges can be finished by polishing, or framed with our exclusive purpose designed marine grade aluminium frame section. Aluminium framed windscreens can be made as either 1 piece or any number of panels. All aluminium framed moulded windscreens are made from 4.5 mm thick UV stabilized acrylic sheet, UV stabilized or Mar resistant polycarbonate is also available. All aluminium sections are either marine grade anodized or powder coated. Assembly screws and fittings are all marine grade stainless steel, all screws are coated in grease prior to assembly to reduce the risk of corrosion. Frameless centre console windscreens can be made from any thickness acrylic or UV stabilized or Mar resistant polycarbonate is also available, however 4.5 mm, 6 mm and 10 mm would be the most common thickness used.

Glove box lids

Moulded glove box lid

Glove box lids can be custom made as either flat panels, heat bent or moulded panels. Glove box lids can be made from any thickness acrylic or UV stabilized or Mar resistant polycarbonate, however 4.5 mm or 6 mm acrylic would usually be used.

Aluminium framed windows

Also available are fixed, sliding and opening cabin windows

City Plastics make aluminium framed windows in either fixed or sliding. Aluminium framed windows can be custom made with mitre join or radiused corners, or a combination of both. All windows are framed with our exclusive purpose designed marine grade aluminium frame sections. All sections are either marine grade anodized or powder coated. Assembly screws and fittings are all marine grade stainless steel, all screws are coated in grease prior to assembly to reduce the risk of corrosion. Glazing is usually in 4.5 mm thick UV stabilized acrylic sheet, UV stabilized or Mar resistant polycarbonate is also available.

Sliding hatches and storm boards

Sliding deck hatches and storm boards can be made from UV stabilized acrylic sheet, UV stabilized or Mar resistant polycarbonate sheet. The usual material would be 10 mm thick acrylic, for sliding hatches or removable storm boards.

Yacht windows

The modern trend for most yacht windows is to bolt or screw in place a window to the outside face of the deck or hull. These windows can be made from UV stabilized acrylic sheet, UV stabilized or Mar resistant polycarbonate sheet. The usual material would be acrylic in 4.5 mm, 6 mm or 10 mm thick.

The following information is to assist you in the correct fitting of bolt on type windows to your boat.

This information is intended to act as a guide, City Plastics will advise on what material we would use to do a particular job, however we do not make any recommendations or guarantees of any kind as to the suitability of the material for the job in question.

For the purpose of our own internal testing, all Silicones and sealants are tested for adhesion to Acrylic and Polycarbonate. For more information on silicone sealants see the separate page, titled
Silicone Sealants Information Sheet

One of the most important points when fitting bolt on type windows is to ensure that the windows are fitted with a reasonably thick bed of silicone, approximately 3.0 mm will suffice for most average size windows.
There are some other important points to consider when fitting windows, that are screw or bolt fixed to the external surface of a boat.
Drill all fixing holes oversize, 8 gauge screws or 3/16" bolts should have a 1/4" or 6.0 mm diameter clearance hole for fixing. Windows do not need a lot of fixings, the more holes in the window, the more areas the window may crack from. Recommended hole spacing is between 150 to 250 mm (6" to 10") Most importantly do not countersink fixing holes, use round head or pan head fixings only.
Another thing to consider is the size of the windows, large panels will expand more than small panels. A large window should if possible be split into a number of smaller panels, preferably no longer than about 1000 mm per window, these windows can then be fitted with a small gap between each panel, this gap can be filled with silicone to give the effect of one large window.
All of the above recommendations are mainly to allow for thermal expansion of the windows.

Download the yacht window fitting guide as a PDF file