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Hi,
Taking possesion soon of a 285 Conquest that will be kept in a slip. It has a great helm enclosure with aft curtain and side window strataglass. Just wondering what people do after a weekend of boating in the hot dog days of summer I will defintely have to take the enclosrure down.
My question is do you normally put the enclosure back on for the work week, then remove it again on the weekend? Or just leave it off durring the summer months exposing the helm to rain?
I leave mine on although I am reconsidering it now. After several years my enclosure has progressively become hazy and more brittle – I guess I have gotten my monies worth from them over the years. I have always been very diligent on keeping them clean (religiously using Plexus, etc) and have tried every eisenglass/ clear plastic glass cleaner on the market.
Last year, while cleaning the glass one more time before tucking the boat away for winter storage, the rear panel cracked. Since I was at the dealer, I inquired about the replacement cost for the set - $3K+ for a 305. After asking around locally, several people, even the dealer, recommended a gentleman that specialized in enclosures. This gentleman had done work for the dealer on several occasions. He gave me a “crash course” on enclosures and was very informative. In describing what can, and ultimately cannot be done to keep the glass looking new (i.e. rain, dirt and sun will eventually get to it), he told me that while Whalers enclosures incorporate some of the best fabric and stitching he has seen, the glass is not thick enough. He even commented that Grady’s use a step up/thicker glass and wondered why Whaler used what they use(d).
He quoted me a price to replace all the glass, but said that because of the stitching I would have to replace it with glass of the same thickness (the cheaper stuff) unless I wanted to have him use a thicker glass, or even the more rigid strataglass – both of which would require that all new curtains be made – to include new zippers and attachment rods. The thicker glass would still be able to be rolled and utilize the factory fastening/stow points; however a new “stow” system would have to be fashioned for the strataglass as it does not roll.
He also suggested that I might want to consider a solid fabric enclosure that would fit the current fastening points in order to protect the helm when not in use…still waiting on the quote for that, but I am not sure if I want to have to keep taking that down and putting up the enclosure (if needed) each time.
Thanks,
It defintely would get too hot to leave it up during peak summer. Guess I'll see how hard it is to put up and tear down. The enclosure strataglass is very thick and cannot be rolled.
