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Replacing Instruments - Plastic or Wood covers?

SurabyaKid

Member III
Hi All,

I'm going to replace most of the original instruments in the cockpit in the near future. (Old Loran repeater, Knotmeter, Compass and Depth).

I've seen both white plexiglass and wood (teak or other) used as the cover for the old hole and as the mounting point for the new instruments. I know there is an asthetic side to the question, but I was wondering if there was any maintenance/mechanical considerations beyond the occasional varnish requirements of wood?

Pat
"Pronto"
E26
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Make the holes... go away...

Why not use G10/FR4 fiberglass plates?
Install the circles into the old cutouts with thickened epoxy. Go over the outside surface with epoxy paint or gel coat. Then install the new instruments right where you want them.
If the new ones are just a bit smaller cut-out than the old ones, glass in some frp rings to reduce the hole size like I did.
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=3237&referrerid=28

This prior thread has pics of our installation and info from several over owners with similar projects.

Hope this helps.

Loren

ps: another thread: http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=2131&referrerid=28
 
Last edited:

SurabyaKid

Member III
Loren,

Thanks for the informative links! I should have looked for previous threads.

I like the idea of glassing in the previous holes and then recutting...I had not considered it. From the pictures I saw that it appears to bring everything back to a stock look.

Pat
"Pronto"
E26
 

Chris Haug

Junior Member
Updating Instruments

We replaced our old telcor wind instruments(Non-op for years) with a new Garmin 545 Gps plotter,sounder. We used a teak backing plate to deal with the old holes in the bulkhead and reposition the instruments. The signet Depth and knot-log still work fine.(so we kept them in the mix.) If you need a great wood specialist in L.A., Orange county area I can refer you to a great one.It's worked out great....In a perfect world I would like to have instrumentation on the pedestal,but for the local cruising and island trips it's a huge upgrade.

Pictures below..:egrin:
 

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