Pedestal Guard & NavPod on '85 H31

[DoubleK]

Hi all. I'm new to the forum and about 3.5 weeks into owning a 1985 H31. She's a beautiful, clean, well-kept boat...with a lot of original parts. I would like to add an angle guard and systems pod to my OEM Merriman pedestal wheel. Will the guards from NavPod work or is there something that has to be custom fabricated for these? I have Gooogled and searched forums and haven't been able to come up with a reasonable plan / solution.

TIA
Kellye

 

[sail sfbay]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new H31!!

My first sailboat was a H31 and I added a pedestal guard to install a navigation display and wind meter. Interestingly, the same question came up on this thread: Merriman Wheel | Sailboat Owners Forums . A photo of your pedestal would help the forum know how to attach an angle guard.

 

[kloudie1]

The tall, angle guard would have to be custom made .. The Merriman folks who made your pedestal (and guard?) have been out of business for quite a while.. You may be able to modify/adapt something like this:
NavPod AG18 9.5" Wide AngleGuard - Single Bend - 1" Diameter [AG18] (mygreenoutdoors.com)

 

[Flip Rutledge]

On my 86 I have a Yacht Specialties pedestal. I changed the feet on the guard and drilled for wires. It is a bit tight since I have both NMEA and Seatalk instruments. Navpod was mounted with drilled holes in the existing guard. I have since cut the old platform where the gauges fit and put in Stainless cup holders.

 

[Charlie98117]

Hi Kelley: I upgraded my’83 to an angled guard with Navpod. I put a lot of electronics in there and fortunately realized during the planning stage that I needed the 1-1/4” guard. It was still a tight squeeze. I had to modify the base mounts a bit to fit on the Hunter fiberglass platform. I’ll try to get some better pics later.

 

[DoubleK]

On my 86 I have a Yacht Specialties pedestal. I changed the feet on the guard and drilled for wires. It is a bit tight since I have both NMEA and Seatalk instruments. Navpod was mounted with drilled holes in the existing guard. I have since cut the old platform where the gauges fit and put in Stainless cup holders.

You got a NavPod guard and changed the feet to fit around your pedestal? That's clever.

 

[Charlie98117]

Not sure about the foot for the 1” guards but the 1-1/4” foot extended past the fiberglass base so this was my solution. Could also just cut off one side and make it work but I thought rotated 45 degrees looked better.

 

[DoubleK]

Thanks all for the great suggestions.

Not sure about the foot for the 1” guards but the 1-1/4” foot extended past the fiberglass base so this was my solution. Could also just cut off one side and make it work but I thought rotated 45 degrees looked better.

Did you fabricate that yourself or find a part somewhere? I'm reasonably handy, but metalwords is not in my repertoire.

 

[DoubleK]

Thanks to you all for the great suggestions. It looks like I have some additional homework to do.

 

[Charlie98117]

Did you fabricate that yourself or find a part somewhere? I'm reasonably handy, but metalwords is not in my repertoire.

The Navpod guard foot needed to be cut. I did it with a cutting disk on a dremmel tool, wasn’t too difficult. You will find boats tend to increase your repertoire if you're willing to try things.

 

[DoubleK]

The Navpod guard foot needed to be cut. I did it with a cutting disk on a dremmel tool, wasn’t too difficult. You will find boats tend to increase your repertoire if you're willing to try things.

Okay, this might be the viable solution. Thank you!

I'm more than happy and willing to learn and try new things. In the last few weeks I've learned that I need to take a step back (and a deep breath) and take my time to figure out how to approach a new project.

 

[RoyS]

I have the Navpod guard and instrument enclosures on a Merriman pedestal. In addition to the new guard feet I had to replace the pedestal top plate to make this work. If my memory serves, I bought a Lewmar top plate from Navpod with the wider spacing and larger tube diameters for the guard. That Lewmar top plate (plastic) needed only minor adjustments to adapt to the Merriman pedestal. I think I only had to drill a few new mounting holes. When you choose your guard get large diameter tubing for your wiring and wide spacing to clear your pedestal base.