Finding a replacement windshield for my 3270 1987 was hard to come by, or just about impossible to find! Although i did find a link where a manufacturer could make you one for around $585 US besides S/H, Exchange, Customs, Taxes, Etc... Where talking shy from a thousand dollars !
And still you end up with a fragile Plexiglas windshield!.
So i decided to customize my own using the cracked (damaged) original shield as my template,
I purchased 2 lengths of 20 feet one inch O,D stainless steel tubing semi high polish total cost $136.31 CAD, tax in for Both tubing,
Then i got started with the bends and the welding (tig weld) with a machinist buddy of mine down the street from my house after 3 days and $450.00 CAD i had results
Now to add the 30 percent tinted Lexan to it all i use 3/32 " thick LEXAN try not to use Plexiglas it's to brittle, Use Lexan you wont regret it
At a cost of around $80 to fill in and form the 4 openings i used 3/16"or 1/8" LUAN plywood to make templates for the openings, then transferred them over to the LEXAN tracing the cut's slightly over-sized then tweaked with a belt sander for a final fit
More elegant and robust it adds to the looks and value of the boat
for a total cost of around $750 to $780 then add your time!
If this were manufactured and sold by a company it could easily run upwards of $3000.00
For the Files i used a Nicholson Rough on one side and Fine on the other to fine tune the welds ( its a good practice to find someone who is good at TIG welding) i found a good one!, less work for you.
Note: "DON'T USE AN OLD FILE THAT WAS USED FOR STEEL GET A NEW ONE AND USE IT ONLY FOR STAINLESS STEEL" Mark it as such, you will otherwise contaminate your work .
Buffing ; I used the rougher black Scotch bright pads for stainless steel then the Grey Scotch bright pads "extra fine" always following the same the polish pattern as the original tube (a bit of elbow grease) but once it's done it seems like it came bought that way, "beautiful finish"
Its was really worth the effort. Possibility of reproducing for others in the future
