Polycarbonate boat windows

Polycarbonate boat windows - extremely break-proof

In addition to acrylic glass, polycarbonate is often used in boat window construction. The material is cold deformable and extremely break-proof.

Windows for yachts and boats

Due to its special properties, it is suitable Polycarbonate for boat windows. Sports boats, yachts and ocean-going ships can be equipped with polycarbonate panes. 

What are the properties of polycarbonate?

Polycarbonate is a plastic with special security properties. The plastic is characterized by extreme toughness, impact resistance and break resistance. The following properties can be recorded for polycarbonate:

  • Use in safety-relevant areas of the ship:
    • Very high break resistance
    • Very high impact resistance
    • High toughness
  • Can be used as a viewing window
    • Polycarbonate can be used for lenses. The transparency is somewhat less than with acrylic glass panes or quartz glass. The so-called light transmission for polycarbonate panes is approx. 86% (acrylic: 92%)
  • Thermal resistance limit: Polycarbonate has a significantly higher thermal resistance limit than acrylic glass: 135 ° C (acrylic: 105 ° C)
  • Color and material thickness
    • Die herstellerseitige Farbenvielfalt ist bei Polycarbonat ist wesentlich geringer, als bei Acrylglas (Farbtöne häufig grau, braun oder farblos)
    • The manufacturer's material thickness is within narrower limits than with acrylic glass (colorless up to 15mm, colored up to 10mm). Polycarbonate is much more shatterproof than acrylic glass. Larger material thicknesses are therefore usually not necessary. Acrylic glass, on the other hand, is also available in thicker material.

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Manufacturer of polycarbonate for boat windows

There are different manufacturers of polycarbonate that we use for the manufacture of boat windows:

  • Makrolon® 
  • Sabik®
  • Arlaplast® 
  • Polycasa®

Plastic boat windows are made of acrylic glass or polycarbonate. 

Acrylic glass is usually cheaper than polycarbonate. Polycarbonate will especially used for high security requirements (more break-proof). 

The choice of colors and material thicknesses is much larger for acrylic glass than for polycarbonate (which is usually colorless / brown / gray, max.15mm thick)

Yes - most manufacturers give a 10-year guarantee on the UV resistance (if UV-resistant) of their lenses, in accordance with the DIN standard. 

The choice of colors and thicknesses is smaller with polycarbonate than with acrylic glass: 

  • Thickness up to max. 10mm
  • Colours: colorless, brown, gray

In principle, special colors and thicknesses are also available for polycarbonate, but this is very rare and expensive.

Let us advise you on the color unit & thickness: 04421/306 11

The choice of colors for polycarbonate is rather limited. The common colors are: 

  • Colorless
  • Light gray (modern) 
  • Light brown (retro, older sailboats)

The service life of a pane depends in particular on the location of the ship (North Sea, Mediterranean, under roof) and how it is looked after. 

Boats that (temporarily) lie in the Mediterranean Sea have a significantly shorter lifespan with regard to the panes. In some cases, such panes are completely blind, torn or broken after just 7 years. 

Other discs are still very good even after 35 years. Especially when they were always treated with care. 

In some cases, the manufacturers give guarantees that the color of the pane will not change. 

The thickness of the polycarbonate glass used depends on the place of use. If the pane is installed upright (90 ° angle) and is used e.g. for a small cabin boat, panes from 4mm are used. In the case of ocean-going ships, thicknesses of up to 10mm are used.

Panes that are installed at an angle on the deck and may even have to withstand tread weight must be designed to be correspondingly stronger. The thickness of the pane also depends on the edging, which may require a minimum size.

Why LETO?

The LETO team draws on more than 30 years of experience in the processing and assembly of acrylic glass in boat building. We have implemented projects in the field of luxury yachts over 70m as well as projects in the sailing and sport boat segment. 

Extra:

Order your Glazing for boats at LETO Kunststoff Technik and get one professional assembly instructions included!

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