What instruments are useful?

[Scott T-Bird]

In other words, what do you folks think would be a nice addition? I have a hole to fill in the bulkhead at the upper right and haven't decided what I want to fill it with.

The square at the upper right is the old original Kenyon log meter, which is disconnected and not needed. It's only there to fill the hole for right now. So I'm looking for something useful to replace it.

The round instruments are Datamarine speed and depth. The square at the upper left is Simrad IS 15 Wind. They work perfectly and transducers are new, so there is no need for replacements in those areas.

I thought about cockpit speakers but don't want them there. I thought about another display for wind (the display that shows only windward direction) but I don't think I really need the redundancy. I thought about a rudder position indicator but it doesn't seem very useful.

I'm not looking to redesign the bulkhead space with one of those all-in-one displays, unless there is a very compelling reason to do it.

Any good ideas?

 

[Dan Johnson]

Scott...

I was going to say to get one of the Moor Apparent Wind instruments to fill that hole but reread that you have a Kenyon one. Perhaps the Raymarine S-1 autopilot's S-60 control head would fit nicely there.

 

[tommays]

I find the holes useful to practice my fiberglass and gelcoat skills

Myself and friends have spent a large fortune on instruments over the last three decades and while the owner is doing something on Zzzoom we are pretty divided on how important they are compared to putting the boat in the right place on the race course

We can pick about 60 things to put on the 4 Ockam displays and beyond boat speed and wind speed/dirrection there not of much use

 

[Tim R.]

Hey Scott, if you are at all interested in performance sailing, get a rudder position sensor.

It appears that all those instruments are installed in a removable square panel. Is that true? replace the panel and eliminate the hole.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Couple of things
Rudder position is a nice thing to know. I find that a 5 Turk's head knots on the helm (2 @ 3 degrees port rudder, 1 at rudder amidships, and 2 (of a different cord type) @ 3 degrees starboard rudder) work great, don't ever crap out due to electrical failure/corrosion/etc and work at night.
An autopilot mounted there will be very unhandy as you will have to leave the helm to engage it. Doable but you will tire of that arrangement quickly.
Beyond boat speed, depth, wind speed and direction the only thing left is the GPS stuff like lat-long, SOG, ETA to a waypoint etc so I'm thinking GPS. I'm thinking though that a GPS on the bulkhead is going to suffer like an autopilot and for the same reasons.
How about a clock???? or barometer???

 

[All U Get]

Do you have true and apparent wind? I also have wind speed and then true wind with some vector stuff I haven't figured out yet. Course made good? I suppose you have a compass, just thinking out of the box.
All U Get

 

[Bill Roosa]

To get true wind speed and direction he is going to need a GPS!!!
Most wind instriments will already do this with a GPS connected to them.

 

[Rich Stidger]

Sorry, Scott. You have all the same informational readouts that I have, and I have not wanted more. As Bill Roosa points out, a GPS or autopilot will become inconvient because you need to select information on them repeatedly. Radar or chartplotter won't fit the available space, and those would still need frequent operator inter-acton.

I think tommays has the best idea- plug it and practice your fiber-glassing skills.

 

[shemandr]

I like tommays approach. Someone is always sitting in front of instruments mounted on the bulkhead when you need to see them. Also, they are too far away for older eyes to see from the helm anyway. The best use of a bulkhead is for something to use as a backrest. A compass there would be a pain in the neck.
Extra large displays on the mast or regular size at the helm station are better for me.

 

[s sauer]

Instrument cluster

Remove all of them, install a 1/2 to 3/4" thick Teak panel shaped to cover all holes and reinstall only what you want in three of the four 'holes'. I use only speed & depth myself with an old fashioned Windex on the mast head, and yarn tell tales on the shrouds.

 

[Stu Jackson]

S, D & W. What more do you "need?"

 

[redhead78]

A picture of the Admiral will probably work best for u....Red

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Rudder and autohelm, I like ...

Ha! yes the bulkhead position always seems to have somebody in the way! My crew mate below doesn't listen when I tell her to move!

s sauer, wind is actually my most useful instrument and I wouldn't go without it (unless there is a power outage).

The rudder and the auto helm are my two favorite ideas right now. The remote for the auto helm is pricey, but wouldn't that solve the accessibilty problem? Besides, with auto helm, what need is there to sit behind the helm? Right now, auto helm isn't on a priority list because it isn't practical to use it in our confined spaces anyway. I have a compass on the pedestal so no desire to put one there.

Tim, I had to laugh at your interpretation of the photo! I think the shadows from the lifelines and the color of the gel coat make it look like there is a panel. Actually, the snaps are for a cover that covers the whole grouping and over the years, the gel coat is bleached far more outside the area protected by the cover.

tommays, you aren't helpful at all ...

 

[Joe]

I'd plug it and glass it..... or put a couple of small engine related instruments... such as an hour meter or fuel guage... or a waterproof 12 volt receptacle.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Hour meter is a good idea. I installed a fuel guage last winter but I put the display inside the engine compartment because we don't have a constant need for the information. If we cruised, it would make sense to add the engine related instruments, but we have no place to go, so I'm more interested in the sailing performance type instruments, especially because I would be interested in racing this boat at some point in my lifetime.

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

What about a stereo remote or ram mic for the VHF. I have a ram mic at my pedestal and love it. We are thinking of installing a new stereo so we can have a wired remote in the cockpit. If you listen to an iPod while sailing it can sometimes be annoying because some songs are louder than others. Also, when you need to turn down the stereo to listen to the vhf it can be useful.

By the way, love the pic of the dog. Best accessory to have on the boat.

 

[redhead78]

Scott my auto pilot head landed there, and its not a problem if someone is sitting there, cause then they are driving. Myself, I find when I am using the auto pilot I am usually sitting on the companionway stairs, either staying warm, or out of the rain under the dodger, or on nite watch, and I make adjustments, and steer right from there.The next, autohelm I get will have a remote, anywhooo thats my 2 cents.....Red

 

[NancyD]

Since you didn't mention any budgetary constraints, I would suggest that you install four multi-function instruments like the Raymarine i70 and then you can program 'em any way you want. http://www.raymarine.com/default.aspx?site=1&section=2&page=2020

 

[Johnb]

A GPS gives speed and course over the ground but on San Francisco Bay I find it useful to have a knotmeter giving speed through the water as well. It gives feed back on sail adjustment and I figure it has helped me to figure out a lot about trimming.

 

[woodster]

fill in the hole and have a back cusion made to snap on the snaps you have now and then you will have a place to lounge and nap on thoses dead wind days.......

regards

woody