Electrical panel - cut or no?

[Ritdog]

Am finished installing all the lights in my 25, and am now thinking about the main electrical section. My first 25 had everything mounted in the usual place over the galley, and I will be doing that again, but am thinking of putting the panel switches, meters, and main power switch on a hinged panel that would be flush with the bulkhead and able to be laid down on the galley top for access to the wires, versus having to get into the bilge. The backside (bilge side) would be covered, open at the bottom.

Good idea?..... or no?

I'm wondering if the hole in the bulkhead (about 8"x16") would compromise the integrity of the headliner/bulkhead. I upgraded to 3/4" ply when I gutted it all out, but still.

I'm interested in this because I saw a lot of new panels that were self enclosed at a boat show, and it seemed to make a lot of sense.

 

[James19955]

Try Rudy

The hole size seems large at 8*16". I do not know the 25 but the bulkhead on my 23 is certainly "robust" and of reasonable thickness.

So I'd suggest you give Rudy at D&R Marine a call and ask his opinion.

If he considers the hole size too big perhaps you could make a panel with a couple of holes for the panel switches and another hole for the meters.

In the 23 the switch panel is flush mounted on the bulkhead. A few years ago I replaced all the fuses with a panel with circuit breakers. That required opening the hole in the bulkhead a little but not as much as you are planning. I also installed a main battery on/off switch in the lazarette with the battery so that kept that large switch out of the cabin.

Your project sounds interesting so please post some pictures of the before and after

James

 

[Ritdog]

Re: Try Rudy

Hi James- the galley back panel is about 5 feet by 27 inches- I'm just not sure how much the hole would diminish the compressive strength of the whole panel- I guess not much, after some consideration. I tend to be conservative when changing things.....

 

[centerline]

third time you asked the question....

here is the link to the last time incase you forgot what you named it.... so you can read the answers people left for you... I can bring up the first time you asked the question if you need me to

[url]http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=167706[/URL]

posting the same question over and over with different titles is against forum rules..

it would be much better to reply to your own thread with more or better information, or, reply to a poster in your thread.... this way the thread can gather a bit of information in it so it can gain some momentum......

 

[Doug4bass]

Wow........

 

[centerline]

Wow........

i dont mean to be disrespectful in any way.... I may have gotten a little wordy and it may read kinda bad... but it wasnt intended to be bad. im sorry if it offends.

my point was to help the OP, by letting him know there are rules that should be followed, and there are better ways to get the information that he seeks.... and in addition to pointing out the mistake, ive offered suggestions to help in the future...

 

[Ritdog]

I'm very aware now that I reposted the question - the reason I did so was because I couldn't find it the first time I went back for a look, and thought that maybe I'd just closed the page without hitting submit. SORRRRRYYYY......

 

[centerline]

I'm very aware now that I reposted the question - the reason I did so was because I couldn't find it the first time I went back for a look, and thought that maybe I'd just closed the page without hitting submit...

I know how threads can get so far down the list that it can be difficult to find, and when that happens and you cant find it, you can always go into your control panel, then on the left side of the page near the bottom there is a link for "subscriptions".... by clicking on this, it will take you to where you will ONLY see the posts that you have participated in (either submitted to or replied to) and none of the other posts that you may have only read or passed over will be there.....

this allows us to search for what we know should be thare without having to wade thru all the other unnecessary stuff.....

I have been in your same situation and it can be frusterating when you know you posted it but cant find it.
I would actually like to see them add a link so that it would show ONLY the posts that we have actually titled/posted ourselves, so it could cut down the searching even more...

and to reply to one of your comments..
"I'm wondering if the hole in the bulkhead (about 8"x16") would compromise the integrity of the headliner/bulkhead. I upgraded to 3/4" ply when I gutted it all out, but still."

when you cut the hole, if it warps out of shape, you will know it is currently under stress.

if you think it ever will be under stress, you can take a piece of good stout plywood (5/8 or 3/4) that is about 2 inches bigger than the hole on all sides.. then cut a hole of the same size as your glass cutout in the middle of it... it will be kinda like a frame for the hole in the liner.
then epoxy coat this plywood to strengthen it.... then put it behind the fiberglass cutout and bolt or screw it securely into place with fasteners about every 2.5 inches...

this will "boss" the hole and give it a lot more strength so it doesnt warp out of shape.

in addition, it will give something behind the fiberglass to screw/bolt the panel hinges and latch to.

using a stronger material such as delrin or aluminum will be even stronger, but where you are cutting from, im sure you dont need that kind of strength at that location.