Houdini boat windows are manufactured to each customer’s specific requirements and Houdini have successfully obtained individual approval from DNV, Bureau Veritas, MCA, ABS and Lloyds, CRS, for them to be fitted in many vessels around the world.

Frame Finish

• Anodising – anodised finish is the most durable and hard wearing finish for aluminium in the marine environment. Colour options are silver, black or gold.
• Powder Coatings – the aluminium is pre-treated with a special primer before the powder coat finish is applied, this allows us to colour coordinate the window frames to the vessel aesthetic design. Standard colours are black and white, however any colour with a RAL number is available.

Radius or Mitred Corners

• Radius corners – generally used in a marine environment as they give a much stronger window shape and avoid weak spots in the vessel structure. Joints in the window frame are generally made on the vertical sides of the window to give the joint maximum protection and strength. There are a wide range of sizes of radius corner, please see the technical section for details.
• Mitred corners – this is a sharp angled corner. The corner can be cut at any angle to suit the styling of the boat. Mitred joints are traditionally a much weaker joint than a butt joint on a radius corner window, so wherever possible Houdini weld the mitre joints together and form a butt joint on the vertical side of the window. A window can have a mixture of radius and mitred corners.

Bolt on Frames

The boat structure is drilled to allow a fastening to pass through the window frame, then into whatever the window is being attached to. The heads of the fastenings are visible, although they are usually finished off on the inside with a separate trim. These frames offer the most flexibility in terms of radii available as they are generally lighter frames and can be manipulated more easily.

Clamp on Frames

These are the more modern style of frame where the inner frame is mechanically attached to the outer frame. There are no external fastenings, all the fastenings are inside the cabin and none of the fastenings pierce the structure. This makes the windows very easy and quick to install, as well as eliminating potential leaks through the fastening holes, or creating the opportunity of corrosion around the fastening holes, a particular problem on steel vessels.

'Frameless-Illusion' 

Combining the look of direct bonded glazing with the practical fitting advantages of a clamp frame system, the 'Frameless Illusion' provides a modern flush look, but has fully protected glass edges with a PVC gasket.  The glass is bonded to the frame during manufacture, to allow you quick and easy installation.  There are multiple benefits making it quicker, easier and cheaper to fit than a bonded window, such as:

• Easy and rapid installation
• No structure modifications required to create a glass recess
• Rigid gasket surrounding the glass edge protects it from damage, therefore:
• No expensive sealant adhesives required
• Neat finish, rather than uneven tooled off sealant
• No overnight sealant curing required, as glass is bonded prior to delivery
• Huge reduction in fitting times, therefore dramatically reduced installation costs
• If damaged, gasket can be easily removed, frame unclamped and a replacement window fitted - down time becomes hours rather than days
• When double glazed, the frames and glass are thermally broken, so condensation is negated
• Frames will not corrode as not exposed to sea water

Sliding, hinged or hopper windows can be mounted into the glass panels.

Direct Bond Windows

Direct bond windows are stuck into the boat structure without a frame. To protect the bonding material from UV degradation and for aesthetic reasons the edge of the glass must be screen printed with a solid black band which is fired into the surface of the glass.

Direct Bond Opening Windows

To complement the direct bonded windows, Houdini can offer hinged or sliding window opening options that continue the frameless appearance of direct bonded glass.  Also black framed portlights on hatches can be ‘glued’ to the direct bonded glass if preferred.

Toughened Glass

Houdini predominately use toughened glass due to the benefits of strength, scratch & UV resistance.

Plastic Glazing 

Acrylics or polycarbonates are available and these are used where there is considerable curvature present or where there is a high chance of the window being subjected to a large impact from something other than water. All plastic glazing is relatively easy to scratch, polycarbonate more so than acrylic, and both will suffer from UV degradation and need periodic replacement.

Specialist Glazing

Houdini also offer specialist glazing such as electrically heated toughened glass, bullet-resistant glass, double glazed units, toughened laminated glass, heat strengthened glass.