Instrument location

[Hukilau_5039]

New to me 1986 Catalina 30. Adding new instruments; raymarine autopilot and wind/speed/depth (P70s/EV100 & I70s).
I'm not a fan of hanging a bunch of stuff on the helm hand rail and looking at the Starboard side just forward of the aft bunch. Yes, I'll need to look over the starboard for data from the instrument(s) but it would make for a cleaner install and fit on the boat.
What am I not considering in this location? Besides cutting two new holes in the boat...
All input welcome. Appreciate the forum and gathered a lot of info here.

 

[CurtisC]

Sorry, but you mention "Starboard side just forward of the aft bunch" do you mean on the starboard cockpit side of the aft cabin wall? Why not on the pedestal rail? Saves cutting holes as you mentioned, puts them where you can easily see them (particularly at night), and leaves the cabin bulkhead clean and available for aft run control lines/halyards. If you plan to race, trying to see your instruments will be tough when crew is hustling through tacks or responding near sheeting adjustments in squirely air.

 

[Hukilau_5039]

Yes, just forward of the aft bench on the stbd side of aft cabin wall. My pedestal rail is much lower than yours and an instrument box/enclosure would be on top of the rail. I like your set up and going to steal your traveler rigging. Mine has new canvas with hole cut through the glass for the traveler line which is not ideal. Maybe I'll look at extending the height of the pedestal rail and doing something similar to what you have. Thanks for the quick response and common sense.
Cheers, J

 

[dlochner]

The important place for your eyes to focus is what's ahead of you, wind, current, waves, obstacles and not the instruments. It follows that instrument placement should allow for quick and easy shifting of your gaze from the instruments to what's out front. The closer the instruments are to you, the harder it is for your eyes to shift focus and the more time you will not be paying attention to what's in front of you.

With this in mind the best place for the instruments are at the front end of the companion way, the second best is on the back of the deck house. Placement in either of these positions allows the crew and the helms person to easily see the instruments. The worst place for instruments is in a big nav pod at the helm. Only the helms person can see them and shifting gaze requires a lot of effort for the eyes.

The problem with placing instruments at the back of the deck house is someone is frequently sitting in front of the instruments blocking the view.

 

[Davidasailor26]

You may want to consider putting the autopilot someplace different than the wind/speed/depth. A purely informational instrument like wind/speed/depth is best near your line of sight and not necessarily close to your eyes as Dave said. But an autopilot control is something you generally want within arms reach from the helm so you can quickly switch on and off autopilot when needed.

The other thing I’d consider is whether an off-center placement accommodates sitting on either side of the helm as you might do when sailing on one tack or the other. When motoring I usually sit behind the wheel, but whenever I’m sailing I’m on the side for visibility.

Also make sure your placement doesn’t get blocked when a guest or crew wants to sit somewhere comfortable.

Since the boat is new to you, if you’re not dead set on installing the instruments now, it might be best to wait at least part of the year to see what would work best. That will give you the best feel for where you and your guests usually sit and what the best sight lines would be.

 

[Ward H]

The problem with placing instruments at the back of the deck house is someone is frequently sitting in front of the instruments blocking the view

This

@Hukilau_5039 I like your choice of instruments but then I'm prejudice. I chose the same.
When planning my install I chose to use a new pedestal guard and cut it to the height for my planned setup.
I've toyed with the idea of installing another i70S near the companionway but I'm more concerned about seeing position on the map so I change an iPad under the dodger. As well as seeing my position on my chart I also see the pertinent data, Depth, Speed, Wind overlayed on the map.

 

[Joe]

Build a bridge over the hatch cover a foot or so forward of the bulkhead to mount the instruments (not the ap, though, put that at the helm so you can make adjustments before leaving the helm.). Those instruments are big for a reason, theywere designed to be seen from a distance and placing them forward puts them in the crew and driver's sight line. Previous owner of my boat had installed them on them bulkhead, which I grew to hate. Not just for racing, but just out recreationally sailing....The. crew or passengers were always in the way, Most use the bulkhead for a backrest anyway. With the instruments forward, when you race the trimmers can see them also... boat speed and wind direction are important because they can't feel the boat the way the driver does with his hand on the stick. You can make the bridge with a piece of tubing, bend it to fit iff you like. I built mine by laminnatin some thin slats into the proper curve and wrapping it in a few layers of fiberglass. I was going to glass it over, but I liked the wood look so I epoxied the it instead... really pleased with it. Good luck.