SMALL PORTHOLE WINDOWS HOW TO
SMALL PORTHOLE WINDOWS FULL
SMALL PORTHOLE WINDOWS WINDOWS

Unless your boatbuilder is supplying the windows/portholes they will need to know the sizes of the apertures to cut in the cabin side.

It can be very easy to miscalculate and end up with a window or porthole aperture exactly in the middle of a where a bulkhead meets the cabin side!! It is imperative to finalise your narrowboat design to ensure the window positioning is correct. When designing the internal layout it is important to take into account the position of bulkheads and the thickness of the bulkhead material. If the narrow boat is to be supplied as a “ sailaway” then the shell builder will want to know where to cut the apertures for the windows, the sizes and the shapes. Just when you thought you had finished with the options you will find that you will perhaps require opaque (Stypolite) glass for the bathroom and maybe even tinted glass for all the other windows. Plain aluminium which will degrade over a period of time, bright or satin anodising or even powder coating which can be supplied in any colour in the chart and is easily touched in if damaged by branches, feet or another vessel Window Glass The thermal breaks would add around 15% to the cost of a typical narrowboat window, with the most popular size 36in x 21in.

SMALL PORTHOLE WINDOWS WINDOWS

The windows have been able to hide fixings and can be supplied with radius or mitred corners, arch tops and in hopper style, fixed or fully opening and powder coated in any colour, or anodised. The process uses a polyamide thermal insert between the inner and outer sections of the frame to give an extra thermal barrier. While thermal breaks have been possible in square-edged windows, it has been an advance in making them fit in curved edges, thus retaining the style. Early adopters of this technology report that condensation has all but been eliminated. The thermal break means that less heat can be transferred between the inner and outer sections of the frame, which cuts down a large amount of condensation and heat loss. Thermal break double-glazed windows have solved the problem of making narrowboat portoles and radiused (curved corner) double-glazed aluminium frame windows with a thermal break in the frame.

Double Glazed OptionĪll of the above, except sliding windows, are available as double glazed units which will retain heat, cut down on noise and help to eliminate condensation. They are also extensively used in canal hire fleets but still look and operate well on private boats. These windows have the added benefit of acting as an escape window in the event of an emergency. Fully Opening WindowsĬonsists of a single pane of removable glass which when opened sit back into either side hoppers or special catches which not only act as locks but also when released, hold the glass in the open position. These have the opening hopper at the top and the bottom section has one fixed and one sliding pane. Your chosen manufacturer will need to know which side of the boat you want to fit the window because the fixed pane of glass should be towards the front of the boat.

SMALL PORTHOLE WINDOWS FULL

Full Slider WindowsĬonsist of one fixed and one sliding pane of glass and are a good method of allowing ventilation within the galley area. Standard hopper style windows consist of a fixed bottom pane of glass and have a smaller top glass which can be opened at sits back into side hoppers or onto specially designed window catches. Mitred tops with radius bottoms, mitred all round, radius all round, top hopper, hopper slider, arch top etc. Screw in frames with visible screws, screw in frames with hidden fixings (concealed behind a coloured insert) or clamp in frames, fixed to the cabin using internal clamps to pull the window tight to the cabin side leaving a smooth, unblemished exterior frame.

Options for narrowboat windows are many and varied, the choice will be yours and difficult. In other words, will you have windows, portholes or windows and portholes? How many windows/portholes, where should they be positioned, what size should they be?Ī lot of the time it is down to the individual’s preference although in some cases what we want is not always practical so compromises have to be made, for example, a lovely brass porthole would look beautiful in the galley area however, when the cooker is on, ventilation is essential so a sliding or removable window should then be the chosen option.

SMALL PORTHOLE WINDOWS HOW TO

So now it’s down to the important decision of how to obtain the optimum amount of daylight into your boat whilst retaining the best visual impact from the towpath.

Small porthole windows