marine glazing        

Mounting methods

Rhigo supplies four different fixing methods. The choice of one of these methods is determined, among other things, by the material your ship is built out of, and the thickness of the wall.

Fixing with screws This method of fixing is pre-eminently suitable for wooden ships. Drilling holes in a wooden ship is not problematic and there are no limitations in wall thickness as regards the windows. If required an aluminium bezel can be supplied to finish the inside. Limitations: not recommended for steel ships given the risk of rusting and leakage. Also not recommended for glass fibre ships due to the risk of the drilled holes splitting through along the rim.

Fixing with clamp blocks This is a very convenient method of fixing, suitable for glass fibre and steel ships. The windows are clamped into the wall by means of clamp blocks and fixing pegs along the inside. No drill needs to be used. The clamp blocks are covered up in a practical manner with an EPDM rubber inner bezel. Advantages are: The system is attractive and affordable; the windows are easy to demount when painting; the rubber bezel is not subject to condensation. Limitation: the wall cannot be thicker than 10 mm.

Fixing with clamp frames This is a somewhat more expensive fixing method for wooden ships and ships that are finished on the inside with wood or some other material. Use is made of an aluminium inner bezel that is screwed fast to the outer frame of the windows using self-tappers. You do not need to bore or tap: all holes are already drilled and countersunk. There is also no need to drill into the wall of the ship: the wall gets clamped between the inner and outer frame of the window. Limitation: the wall thickness cannot normally be more than 20 mm. For thicker walls there is a modified implementation wherein the aluminium inner bezel is screwed fast with stainless steel screws in pre-tapped holes in place of self-tappers.

Fixing by welding into place This is a method of building in that is generally only used when building from scratch in shipyards. Due to the fact that the welded-in frame becomes part of the wall construction of the ship, an attractive and strong window structure results.