I'm really making progress on my list of boat to-do's, which means, of course, that I've done the easy jobs, and am about to get to the hard ones. I have large, aluminum-framed, sliding side windows on my President 41. Thankfully, they do not leak, but they are very hard to slide. They sit in what looks like automotive window channel, i.e. a u-shaped aluminum strip lined with some kind of fuzzy material which, over the years, has both worn thin and hardened, probably with salt. Any ideas on replacement would be welcome. Also suggestions on how to get the glass panes out, since there does not appear to be enough space in the top channel to lift the panes out of the lower track. Cheers, Garrett

Hi Garrett, >Also suggestions on how to get the glass panes out, since there > does not appear to be enough space in the top channel to lift the panes out > of the lower track. I had the same problem with just one if the sliding windows on "Just Keel-ing Time". All the rest came out as you describe, by lifting the pane up and out of the lower track. However, this particular pane was impossible to remove until I filed off some of the lower track top edge. It didn't take much, just a few thousandths of an inch in one or two spots. I identified where I needed to file by lifting the pane up as far as possible, and sticking a knife blade under the glass. Sliding the knife along the frame until it jammed identified the "high spots" that needed to be filed. Also, while I'm sure you've already done so, just be certain there is nothing stuck up in the upper track. One of mine had a small section of the "fuzzy stuff" folded over and prevented the pane from moving high enough until I fixed the fuzzy thing. Cheers, John "Just Keel-ing Time" Lake Norman, NC