Hannibal
Well-known member
Not 100% done yet but far enough along to provide some update pics of how things are going:
Priority 1 for me was to replace the switch panel as it was dated/worn and you could hardly tell what panel controlled what. In addition, things had been wired since I got the boat (FF, radio, flood lights on top, etc) that weren't done in the manner that I wanted. As such I replaced the existing 8-switch panel with a 6-switch panel at the helm and then added a 4-switch panel in the cuddy to control "inside" items.
I ordered a 6-way panel and 4-way panel from Blue Sea (from Jamestown Distrbutors). On the helm, I removed the old panel and created a border with black 1/4" starboard.
I then moved forward with taking care of the topside portion of the helm and envisioned overlaying a peice of 1/4" starboard (with a finished edge) in black to match previous work that was done on the boat.
Here is what I started with:
I began by removing the gauges (and drawing a detailed diagram of the wiring) and the throttle control. The gauges came out just fine but the throttle control was a SOB so rather than trying to force cables apart and such, I opted to simply notch the one side of the starboard overlay and slide the cables through the notch.
Got that bolted up and flush:
At that point, I utilized the existing holes in the helm to line up where I needed to hole saw. Hit the store and picked up a nice set and got to sawing. I touched up the rough spots and inserted my gauges back into the hole. Tight fit.
Still have to saw out for the tachometer/system check. Need to pick up another holesaw. 3.5" was too big so 3.25" should do the trick.
Once done, I will post pics of the entire redo as I had the cabinet and cuddy doors redone last winter so it will have all come together.
Priority 1 for me was to replace the switch panel as it was dated/worn and you could hardly tell what panel controlled what. In addition, things had been wired since I got the boat (FF, radio, flood lights on top, etc) that weren't done in the manner that I wanted. As such I replaced the existing 8-switch panel with a 6-switch panel at the helm and then added a 4-switch panel in the cuddy to control "inside" items.
I ordered a 6-way panel and 4-way panel from Blue Sea (from Jamestown Distrbutors). On the helm, I removed the old panel and created a border with black 1/4" starboard.
I then moved forward with taking care of the topside portion of the helm and envisioned overlaying a peice of 1/4" starboard (with a finished edge) in black to match previous work that was done on the boat.
Here is what I started with:
I began by removing the gauges (and drawing a detailed diagram of the wiring) and the throttle control. The gauges came out just fine but the throttle control was a SOB so rather than trying to force cables apart and such, I opted to simply notch the one side of the starboard overlay and slide the cables through the notch.
Got that bolted up and flush:
At that point, I utilized the existing holes in the helm to line up where I needed to hole saw. Hit the store and picked up a nice set and got to sawing. I touched up the rough spots and inserted my gauges back into the hole. Tight fit.
Still have to saw out for the tachometer/system check. Need to pick up another holesaw. 3.5" was too big so 3.25" should do the trick.
Once done, I will post pics of the entire redo as I had the cabinet and cuddy doors redone last winter so it will have all come together.
