navpod mods

[Banooma]

Has anyone used Starboard plastic, or other cutting board material as a patch for differently-shaped instrument holes in navpod pods? I'm pondering the addition and/or replacement of some components at my navod. At least for now, I'm not interested in buying a new navpod.

Does anyone have pictures of their successful project? Are these products easy to work with or is the expense of a replacement Navpod justified?

 

[BobM]

Have you thought about teak? I used a piece of cedar to cover an ST60 hole to mount a set of stereo controls.

 

[Banooma]

At the risk of sounding too new-school, my boat is all white fiberglass and stainless steel... Although I love the classic look, teak just wouldn't look right on my navpod.

 

[Mickey84H34]

I purchased a precut Navpod off Ebay for $65 and made a face panel from the 1/4" acrylic that I purchased to rebuild my Bomar hatches. I have extra acrylic so if I decide to rearrange instruments I'll just make a new face panel. You could use the same technique to cut a small panel just large enough to cover an old hole. If you have a local outfit that sells plastic products they would probably give you a scrap piece that was large enough for your needs. They might have something in white or something you could paint.

 

[Banooma]

Thanks - That looks really nice, Mickey. Will 1/4" acrylic stand up to the sun and weather without warping and allowing moisture to seep in behind the instruments? How did you seal the acrylic to the navpod?

 

[Mickey84H34]

Actually I haven't sealed it yet because I'm still going in/out of it to finish the wiring. When I'm done I'll probably use a thin bead of the GE Ultraglaze that Bomar sells for rebedding the hatch lenses but there are probably other "gasket-in-a-tube" products that will work fine. As for the acrylic holding up, it's the same material that was used originally in the Bomar hatches only twice as thick as the factory material so it should be fine. If you take a look at my albums you can see the hatch overhaul process documented including the SS lifts that I fabricated and polished up. I was pretty proud of the results and even thought about making and selling them to other folks who were outraged by Bomar replacement part prices and quality.