Starboard overlay on helm station?

[Hannibal]

Tried searching for some pics but had no luck. Has anyone overlayed starboard on their helm on the flat panel that holds their gauges?

On my boat, I have a flat veritical face to which the steering wheel is mounted. From there, it is angled back at approximately 45-degress towards the front of the boat. It's about 16"w by 11"h. From there, it is angled flat/horizontal to the edge of the helm station joint. The flat surface holds my GPS/FF and an old compass.

Due to age and wear marks, I am leaning towards overlaying the angled peice which holds the gauges with a peice of 1/4" black starboard (to match the doors, etc.). I could router the edges and attach with decorative SS hardware.

Has anyone done this? I did see where a member utilized teak but nothing else really popped up. For the price of it (a 12" x 54" sheet will cost me about $40 shipped plus a few more bucks to be cut to size with a finished edge. (Going to also get a 6x12 peice to use for my new switch panel beside the wheel).

 

[Megabyte]

Have not had to do it yet, but that is certainly my plan should I update my electronics.

You might want to consider something a little thinner than 1/4" though.
An 11x16" panel isn't large, and those items on the helm weigh very little.
1/4" might be overkill. It's at least something to consider...

If you go that route, consider documenting the process and post it in the projects section.
We like project posts.

 

[Hannibal]

I always take pictures AFTER I am done. I just seem to continually forget to take BEFORE pics. I am kicking myself now as this boat is night and day from when I first got it. Even this last round of touch ups:

- new rear bigle pump (which meant cleaning up/mounting the wiring, scrubbing out the bilge area, cleaning/bleaching the hatch, resealing the hatch).
- cleaned out and repair hole in floor of oil resevior compartment (it was covered in two-stroke oil and had a hole where someone fed the transducer wire).
- installed new switch panel on helm (over starboard backing).
- installed new switch panel inside cuddy to control cuddy specific items (fans, radio, lights, etc.)
- installed new interior cuddy lights (LED's).
- cleaned up all exposed wiring
- new cuddy door hardware
- hung fire extinquisher to cuddy roof (use to sit inside cabinet).
- placed exposed wires in looms and tucked away or clamped to surface.

Anyhow - enough with that (I will take some pics), my plan is to use the 1/4" as I can use it on some other upcoming things (and I didn't really see anything thinner - then again, I didn't look for it specifically either). I think by the time I route the corners (to round them off) - it won't look out of place (I hope). I want it to look like a panel to some extent. I figured I would simply stencil the existing holes in the helm holding the gauges onto the starboard and hole saw out. My only concern (and minimal at that) will be the limited contrast between the black gauges and the black starboard. Then again, I think white gauges over black starboard may be a bit too much contrast.

I guess we shall see. Should be here by COB Friday .............

 

[Parkerman]

I did that! Turned out great!
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=10526

 

[Hannibal]

Got my starboard in. Guy did a great job cutting it. Fit up my new control/switch panel and it looks great. Started to take apart the throttle and gauges and discovered it was going to be a huge undertaking to get everything out and back in. There are a ton a wires to the various gauges and between them that would all have to be undone. Not what I was thinking. Looks like I will taking a lot of pics and drawing some diagrams before disassembly.

 

[Megabyte]

Use blue painters tape and label every wire.

 

[Hannibal]

Thats my plan. I also have a label maker. My plan will be to bundle each set of wires attaching to each gauge. Take photos of each gauge and wire connection. Then draw a diagram of each gauage and the wires attached to them - making reference to color and connection point using the dial of a clock. Seems like overkill but after fooling around with rewiring the helm switch panel, I think it will speed things up make it far less confusing.

 

[Parkerman]

Most of my wiring had simple plugs and single color combinations, ie black to black, blue to blue, yellow to yellow. I made some simple notes and drew a picture. I also snapped about 5 pictures in case I had any major errors but I never had to refer to them. What thickness did you end up using?

 

[Hannibal]

Most of my wiring had simple plugs and single color combinations, ie black to black, blue to blue, yellow to yellow. I made some simple notes and drew a picture. I also snapped about 5 pictures in case I had any major errors but I never had to refer to them. What thickness did you end up using?

Went 1/4" with a rounded edge. I am not looking to replace the existing surface - rather I am looking to almost make it appear elevated. The particular peice is cut to a smaller size to allow the white of the existing helm to serve as a border.

My next complication in this is figuring out how to negotiate the throttle. I started taking it apart last night and then gave up to try again later. While I got all existing cable/connections removed, I couldn't remove the actual throttle cables (remember, this boat is 20+ years old) and I didn't want to force it. More so, I was concerned with knocking something out of whack.

Since my throttle control is on the very far right edge of the helm, I may actually notch the side to that I can simply angle the cable through the notch so I don't have to attempt to take it all apart and fish everything through it. I could them simply use a fill peice/cover peice above the notch so its not noticeable. Hoping that works.

 

[Parkerman]

Maybe a simple cut at your throttle location hole would allow you to flex the thin starboard apart enough to allow the passage of the cables? I can picture it but it's hard to describe. My controls were not mounted like yours.

I look forward to seeing some pictures!

Wayne

 

[Hannibal]

I thought about that but no matter how I cut it - I would still be left with a gap as wide as the saw blade. It would need some type of cover of filler peice. I even thought about coloring some caulk/sealant but then I figured it had the potential to get ugly quickly.

I think I am going to simply notch out a peice between the square holding the throttle and the side (there's only about 1" between the edge of the board and the hole for the throttle assembly). Something small so I can snake the cables through. Once set in place and the throttle it attached, I will simply cut a strip the length of the throttle housing and overlay it over the gap section. While not perfect, I don't think it will look out of place. At least I hope not.

It's really my only option. I looked at the wiring/mount housing on the throttle assembly again last night and some of those screws very well may not even come off without being damaged. I hosed them down with some PB Blaster so we'll see.

Going to dunk the boat saturday in order to swap out the rollers on the trailer. When I get the boat back to the house - then I might set up to do the helm overlay. I am holding off on doing it now in the event I hit a snag. I don't want Saturday to show up and my ignitiion or throttle doesn't work. Then I am that much further behind.