Many owners of Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42 DS yachts with bonded windows manufactured from 2005 onwards are wishing their boats had more ‘traditional’ portlights.

The window bonding on some is coming undone, caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light over time, and leading to leaks.

Lemon and Lime, a Jeanneau 42 DS, has developed leaks – prompting owner Philip Symonds to investigate what options are available.

Phil’s Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42 DS Lemon and Lime

Phil told PBO: “It’s a very important and relevant topic now as these types of bonded windows are found on many boats and are nearing the end of life of the adhesive. While re-bonding is an option, you have to be able to get them out in one piece.

“Jeanneau has stopped production of spares and while some window types are available, not all, so removal is always risky. For a boat of upwards of £150,000 – or for the 64DS just short of £1million – that’s a dreadful situation.

“This is so serious that if there isn’t an alternative supply of windows these boats will become unsaleable.”

The challenge for owners is to find manufacturers who can replace the window sets.

This means using the old windows as patterns, so owners need to pay for mould tools as well as the windows.

Replacement options for the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42 DS

Phil said: “There are two or three UK plexiglass companies who are prepared to do this but it means the boats are without windows for up to four weeks and weatherproofing the boats will be difficult.

“Also, the UK companies’ tooling will only make one boat set before having to be destroyed.”

Three Jeanneau agents have quoted Phil between £1,400 and £2,500 per window, plus the fixing fee.

Phil added: “The windows of new boats are very often now the bonded plexiglass type, cut to shape, fitted into a slot on the hull, and bonded.

“Some are large and the Sun Odyssey has six of these. The problem is that on older boats – mine’s a 2008 model – the bonding is beginning to degrade and they are leaking – you cannot get all the replacement types from Jeanneau and the ones they do supply are prohibitively expensive.

“Another concern is that because of the UV damage the plexiglass can break during removal, so digging them out for a hopeful re-bond won’t always work.”

Side windows, often called the ‘eyebrow’ – the bonding, is coming undone due to UV light exposure

Final quote

Phil, a manufacturing engineer based in the Algarve, has now found a Portuguese company that makes multi-use moulds.

He said the quote confirmed is €3,000 (£2,600) for a complete set of six windows, and €2,000 (£1,733) for a second set.

He believes that will fall to €1,500 (£1,300) for subsequent sets.

Phil added: “Jeanneau provides windows with frits – that’s the black edging and primed surfaces. These aspects cannot be shortcut and are essential to achieving a substantial bond when in the boat.”

Since 1995, the Jeanneau shipyard has belonged to Groupe Beneteau specialising in the construction of motor- and sailboats and prefabricated homes.

PBO has repeatedly contacted Beneteau for a response but has yet to hear back.

A UK-based dealer, which specialises in Jeanneau sailing yachts, said: “Unfortunately, Jeanneau is not always able to supply all spares for some of the older generation models and as a dealer, we can only source genuine replacements.

“As a main UK dealer, in these situations we deal with our local UK contractors and we template the windows in place (in case of a breakage when removing) and then remove and template in order to produce replacements on a boat-by-boat basis.

“For boats abroad, we would recommend talking to the local Jeanneau dealer who should be able to implement similar solutions locally.”

Phil is happy to share his research findings. Email: pbo@futurenet.com

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