My S2 came with a Standard Horizon CP150C color chartplotter mounted in the port coaming aft near the helm. It was useful during the three day trip from Milford CT to Boston, but the location made it useless in my home waters while daysailing solo. Feeling guilty about the boat purchase I resolved to move it to the helm as cheaply as possible. This seemed a somewhat daunting task on first glance at Navpod and pedestal guard prices.
I scored a Navpod precut for two ST60's off ebay for about $30 last year that would fit the relatively small CP150C.
I was also able to buy a new pedestal guard on sale before Christmas for $169. It was likely at this price because it is 1" with a double bend. The small diameter might be problematic for someone with a lot of wires to run, but as my plan is merely to run the chartplotter and the wired remote for my stereo, it should work fine. It will also be cheaper, as I won't have to buy/modify the top plate or feet.
Snow day here yesterday, so I resolved to put Mainesail's advice (thanks Mainesail!) on Navpod cutting to the test. I printed out the template on card stock I had to make greeting cards on my inkjet printer. I covered the entire surface of the pod with blue painters tape, plus the shoe of my $20 B&D jig saw. This and the inexpensive small tooth saw blade are my only significant deviations from his method, but hey, it was a cheap Navpod. If I had paid $200 for it I would have been more concerned. I trimmed the template and taped it on the surface of the Navpod.
Important tips. Be sure to pay attention to the position of the template and where you will potentially impinge on the built up areas where the screw holes are to affix the face of the Navpod to the back. I ran into mine slightly, but I didn't have any choice as I was adapting a face plate with holes in it already and didn't want any gaps around the CP150C on the other side. The Navpod is definitely on the small size, but as I said, I am trying to do this on the cheap. Another important tip is to use card stock for the template. My saw also cut right through the template, even with its cheap blade, and it was easy to follow the liines for the most part (the cut out for the CP150C is just shy of the size of the instrument, requiring several long straight cuts due to its (poorly designed) convex back, something SH has since fixed in later models which require more modest cut outs). I also tried the saw in an area I knew I was going to discard first to get a feel for how it was going to cut. I used the pointed bits Mainesail recommended and ran them in reverse first. Worked like a charm, except that I needed to make them larger after the fact due to fact that the studs on the back of the CP150C are broader at the base where there is a hex and I hadn't noticed it initially.
That left me with the need to cover the other factory hole for an ST60 so I could mount the stereo controls. I looked around for a thin piece of white plastic or wood from which to fabricate a cover. Inspiration struck and I recalled an old cedar cigar box I got on Bourbon Street years ago. I cut out a 4.5 x 4.5 inch blank, smoothed the edges and drilled the appropriate holes for the remote. I applied some wipe on oak stain, providing a teak like appearance and have three coats of Minwax wipe on satin poly applied so far.
Question. I used the poly because it was handy and easy to apply, but am now rethinking it. It will be under a pedestal cover, but is the indoor grade poly just going to get hammered by the sun? If so, perhaps I need to change coatings now. It insn't all that big a problem if I need to refabricate this blank at a later date. I just felt like working on it and this was what I had around the house.
Sorry about the wait for the photos. I wrote the post at work ;-) I didn't take photos during the project, but mocked some up so you could see the process. In the third photo I placed the card stock template along side the piece cut out so you can see how well that works.
BobM
I scored a Navpod precut for two ST60's off ebay for about $30 last year that would fit the relatively small CP150C.
I was also able to buy a new pedestal guard on sale before Christmas for $169. It was likely at this price because it is 1" with a double bend. The small diameter might be problematic for someone with a lot of wires to run, but as my plan is merely to run the chartplotter and the wired remote for my stereo, it should work fine. It will also be cheaper, as I won't have to buy/modify the top plate or feet.Snow day here yesterday, so I resolved to put Mainesail's advice (thanks Mainesail!) on Navpod cutting to the test. I printed out the template on card stock I had to make greeting cards on my inkjet printer. I covered the entire surface of the pod with blue painters tape, plus the shoe of my $20 B&D jig saw. This and the inexpensive small tooth saw blade are my only significant deviations from his method, but hey, it was a cheap Navpod. If I had paid $200 for it I would have been more concerned. I trimmed the template and taped it on the surface of the Navpod.
Important tips. Be sure to pay attention to the position of the template and where you will potentially impinge on the built up areas where the screw holes are to affix the face of the Navpod to the back. I ran into mine slightly, but I didn't have any choice as I was adapting a face plate with holes in it already and didn't want any gaps around the CP150C on the other side. The Navpod is definitely on the small size, but as I said, I am trying to do this on the cheap.
Another important tip is to use card stock for the template. My saw also cut right through the template, even with its cheap blade, and it was easy to follow the liines for the most part (the cut out for the CP150C is just shy of the size of the instrument, requiring several long straight cuts due to its (poorly designed) convex back, something SH has since fixed in later models which require more modest cut outs). I also tried the saw in an area I knew I was going to discard first to get a feel for how it was going to cut. I used the pointed bits Mainesail recommended and ran them in reverse first. Worked like a charm, except that I needed to make them larger after the fact due to fact that the studs on the back of the CP150C are broader at the base where there is a hex and I hadn't noticed it initially.That left me with the need to cover the other factory hole for an ST60 so I could mount the stereo controls. I looked around for a thin piece of white plastic or wood from which to fabricate a cover. Inspiration struck and I recalled an old cedar cigar box I got on Bourbon Street years ago. I cut out a 4.5 x 4.5 inch blank, smoothed the edges and drilled the appropriate holes for the remote. I applied some wipe on oak stain, providing a teak like appearance and have three coats of Minwax wipe on satin poly applied so far.
Question. I used the poly because it was handy and easy to apply, but am now rethinking it. It will be under a pedestal cover, but is the indoor grade poly just going to get hammered by the sun?
If so, perhaps I need to change coatings now. It insn't all that big a problem if I need to refabricate this blank at a later date. I just felt like working on it and this was what I had around the house.Sorry about the wait for the photos. I wrote the post at work ;-) I didn't take photos during the project, but mocked some up so you could see the process. In the third photo I placed the card stock template along side the piece cut out so you can see how well that works.
BobM
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