Building The Vera Cruise

[chugalug]

The dealer gave me a good deal if I didn't send all the wrong parts back

[mrintense]

Another productive day. Got my outboard ordered. Suzuki DF 115. Long lead time right now, probably February or March before it arrives.

Worked out a plan with the dealer to get help lifting the boat onto the trailer when that time comes. And started assembling windows. One thing I am relieved to find out is that the assemblies are not floppy. I was afraid that with the narrow frame pieces and thinner windows, that they would be floppy. But once fully assembled, they are nice and sturdy.

I placed the two I've completed into their respective openings in the boat for a photo. I am definitely pleased with the way they came out. I have the hinges to install them, but I don't yet have hold open supports.

[DrBryanJ]

Beautiful Carl. Happy you are getting your motor worked out. I think I see a splash coming next summer.

[kens]

We gotta see this at G16

[Roberta]

That is really outstanding, Carl! Yes, you must bring her to G16.

Roberta

[sshamilt@gmail.com]

Beautiful work Carl.

[Bill Edmundson]

I'm ready to see her!

Bill

[Jimbob]

Like everything else on your boat, it looks fantastic!
Jim

[dmac]

Carl - Those parts look CNC cut! Incredible precision! Just stunning! Doug

[vupilot]

Great picture. Its neat to see this coming together.

[mrintense]

Wow, thanks for all the nice responses everyone. I think so far I've been relatively lucky with the styling as my ability to visualize style is somewhat limited. It usually goes something like "Oh, that might look cool" and then try it out.

[hoodman]

It looks great, Carl. Hope you can bring her to Tennessee next fall.

[mrintense]

I've been thinking about how I might latch my windows closed. This needs to be something I can close from the inside. I'm including some pictures here to show what I am working with. One picture shows the window frame in the opening. Another shows the opening without the window frame. You can see the landing for the frame in this second photo. The third photo shows what the landings look like on the inside of the cabin. One other thing, the windows are hinged at the top edge so the latches would be on the bottom edge (and perhaps the forward and aft edges if necessary).

The windows frames are approximately 3/4" thick. The landings are approximately 1/4" thick. And kind of latch should not have to go through from the outside as I don't want it visible on the outside.

So I am thinking something like this. A flat plate attached to the inside of the window frames with a perpendicular piece that would extend through the landing. The landings could be cut a small amount to allow clearance for any latch handle to get through when closing the window or a hole could be made in the landing for the perpendicular piece to go through. Then some sort of handle on the landing (or perhaps the perpendicular piece) that hooks over the landing (or over the perpendicular piece) to hold the windows closed from the inside.

The handles could be like dogs on a water tight door in function, but more elegant for appearances sake, or there could be some sort of latch attached to the landings that engaged the piece extending from the fame through the landing. Hopefully this makes some sense, especially with the pictures as a reference.


So what I am looking for here is some ideas on how to handle this, something that will look nice inside the cabin. They don't have to be lockable, but do need to be able to hold the windows closed. Part of my problem is that I don't know what to look for when looking on the internet.

The last thing to keep in mind is that the total thickness of the landing is 1/4" and I could not set any engaging piece into the window frames very deep either. They would essentially have to be surface mount. That's why it might be necessary to cut away a small portion of the landings.

Window frame in opening. This frame would have to have some sort of hardware that extends into the cabin through the landing.

Window landing as seen from the inside of the cabin. Handle or latch would probably have to attach to this side with the other piece on the inside of the window frame.

Window opening showing landing

[JimmY]

Looking good Carl.

Are you thinking of something like this?

RecPro RV Window Latch | Sash Style Lock | Truck Cap Plastic Latch Replacement https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LQV87LB/re ... UTF8&psc=1

[mrintense]

Thanks Jimmy.

Something shaped like that might work if I were to add a small block of wood to the inside of the landings . Something that a groove could be cut into for the tang to slide into when the window is closed.

Ideally it would be a bit thinner (in thickness) which could probably be had in a metal latch. The main point of this particular latch which does match one of my thoughts is the rotating tang and handle. I had been think of the handle on the rotational part, but this approach might work.

Importantly, the word "sash" gives me another "Google" search term to try. Thanks for responding. As more people hopefully respond, we can collectively figure this out. This is what I really love about this forum.