Repairing Old Cockpit Instrument Installations

[Oxman]

I bought a Cherubini Hunter 27 (1980) and I'm going completely through it before I put it in the water. One of the many things I am doing is replacing the instrumentation. The old wind instruments (Ray Jefferson) are shot and I am replacing them with a Raymarine ST40 unit. The old instruments were mounted on the port cockpit bulkhead and extruded into the cabin. I thought I would just cover the old holes (about 3 1/2" diamaters) with a sealed anodized 1/8" aluminum plate on both sides of the the old installation rather than reglass the old holes. Anybody have any idea where I can purchase the metal to do so, or do you have a better idea as to how I could make this repair?Many thanks!

 

[Chris Burti]

Alternatives.

You can buy a $5 HDPE cutting board at your local discount store and cut out a a couple of rings with two borrowed hole saws. Starboard, Lexan or teak are easier to come by than anodized aluminum and easier to fabricate.

 

[higgs]

Reglass

I say do it right. An aluminum cover is going to look like you tried to cover up holes where your instruments used to be. Granger would be a good place to go for the aluminum you seek.

 

[Rob19574]

another idea

After you cover up the holes externally with whatever material, you may want to cover up the entire external port and starboard bulkheads with some type of upholstered cushion. Everyone that sits against the bulkhead always puts a seat cushion up against it anyway. You could us ¼ plywood cut out to the dimension of each side. Paint the wood on both sides to seal out moisture. Cover with 1” foam and then wrap with white vinyl. You could either have it done professionally with a more fancy pattern (and pay more) or do a simple wrap and staple method. I did this once on an older boat that needed major cosmetic work on a wall and it turned out great. There are various ways of mounting the cushion that range from Velcro to bolting it in place. If you use Velcro – screw the Velcro in place with small ss screws and it will hold.I’ve been thinking about doing this to parts of my cockpit on my older Catalina 30….the gel coat is just so faded that this might be a better alternative to painting. Rob

 

[Chris Burti]

Clarification

A gracious soul was kind enough to courteously let me know off list that my reply was really not very clear (I now see that it was not up to snuff and not at all useful, upon my re-reading). With that, I offer a second try that I hope will actually prove somewhat useful.High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) can be worked with any common shop tools and it is the stuff they for those white cutting boards sold widely and cheaply. Assuming for this discussion that your new instrument is 2.5" diameter and your old was 2.75" (or whatever), you take a 3" holesaw and cut out a disk from your cutting board. Near the disc's circumference, screw the disc to a scrap board with a couple of well spaced screws. Using your 2.5" holesaw (the old drill hole is still your center), cut out your new instrument hole in what then becomes a mounting ring. Use 4-6 stainless # 8 screws (see spacing comment above) to mount the ring centering it over your old hole (and caulking it with something approved in your instrument maker's instructions) and then install your instrument per instructionsIf the back of the instrument is exposed in the cabin, a second, identical, ring can be fabricated as a trim ring for insallation there.

 

[Joe]

Insert new into old - if you have old

If you still have the old gauges, you can remove the guts from the old housing. Install a piece of black plexyglass into the opening of the old housing. Hole saw a hole for the new, smaller, instrument into the plexyglass. The old housing can be cut to the same thickness of the bulkhead and trimmed appropriately on the inside.

 

[Fred]

The previous suggestions are good,

I just want to add that plastic (lexan, starboard, fibreglass panel, or whatever durable sheet goods you can get your hands on) is a better choice than aluminium, because the plastic insulates rather than conducts, and it won't "sweat" with condensation. A little moisture goes a long way to hurt your electronics and connections.

 

[sailingseadragon]

Here is how I addressed the problem

This may or may not work for you... But I offer this for your consideration.http://www.sailingseadragon.com/Instruments.htmGood luckGarner

 

[Fred]

Nice Job Garner!!!

Clean and easy to take thing apart when you need to.

 

[Oxman]

You Guys Are Great!

Thanks for all the responses - there are so many great ideas out there and so much experience, I'm just blown away!Thanks again - now I'm going to get to work!Ray Lewis (My wife calls me the Oxman)

 

[Bill]

How did you cut your starboard

so accurately? Those bezels look like just the ticket for what I need on my boat.I had a Datamarine Depth that I removed and I have put a Navman in it's place.The Navman just bearly covers up the old hole when installed.Your install looks GREAT.Do you have dimensions for your cutouts?Bill

 

[Oxman]

Your Installation Is Really Clean

How did you affix the Starboard to the the bulkhead - I see no evidence of bolts or screws, so I am assuming you used epoxy? Please clarify.Thanks,Ray

 

[sailingseadragon]

5200....

Thank you for the kind words.The backing plates are held in place with liberal amounts of 3M 5200 Marine Adhesive. The tensile strength of 5200 is 700 psi. I used the standard mounting screws that came with the instruments to hold the backing plates in place until the 5200 cured, (48 hours to set and 7-14 to fully cure).Good luckGarner