I Surveyed this Aquafibre Sapphire Aft Cabin Cruiser today. Aquafibre is probably one of the most popular known boat hulls. Aquafibre were a prolific manufacturer of boat shells - these were then outfitted by a variety of boatyards, including Brooms of Brundall and Bristercraft at Wroxham. This example was fitted out by Alpha Craft and has been in current ownership from new (1990). Unfortunately Aquafibre ceased trading in 2009, marking the end of an era in Norfolk boat building.
This model was very popular at home in the Norfolk hirefleets, and a large number were built for Ireland and other markets. It is often considered to have slightly more elegant lines than its larger sister, mainly because of the differences to the aft cabin. The Sapphire 32 was launched in 1983 as the charter version of the popular Broom 32 production model. It is the smaller sister of the Crystal 37, generally configured as a 4+2 berth and can instantly be identified because of the much smaller cabin moulding projecting upwards onto the flybridge area.
Surveyors comments:
There are few problems that can cause more damage and detract from the value of your boat than window, porthole and hatch leaks. Even well constructed boats will eventually develop leaks simply because boats are not totally rigid structures. In fact, they twist and flex quite a bit, and poorly constructed boats flex a lot, which is why we see so many boats that more or less just strain the water before it enters the interior. I am constantly amazed at the number of boats I see where the owner has simply smeared some caulking around the window frames of leaking windows. Let's start with the point that not only does this make a mess of your boat, but this a complete waste of time. When you develop leaking windows, ports or hatches, no surface remedy is going to solve the problem. The leaks usually develop because the seal between the window frame and the fiberglass part of the boat has broken. The break in the seal can be so small that you can't even see it. This is because of the capillary effect, which draws water into the smallest of cracks and more or less acts as a water pump to keep bringing water in. Its also why water can enter at one point and be coming out somewhere else, perhaps two feet away from the source of the leak. Most boats now have aluminium window frames, and which constitute the major source of leaks. This is usually not the fault of the frame, but of the poor design of the structure to which the frame is attached.
Conclusion:
To stop windows leaking you may have use a non-hardening caulking so that the caulking can move with the expansion. To deal with this problem, you may have to remove the frames, rebed them and refasten them less tightly than they were previously installed.
