Tis' the season for mods! Redoing the dash in my boat...

[Mad Angler]

Thought I'd spend some time working on the old Weldcraft since I won't be taking it out til Spring. The old dash was okay, but not enough switches for the added equipment I installed, and I really hate it when there's holes drilled all over the place to add extra switches!!!
Now that I've added headlights for running in the dark, as well as a VHF marine radio, stereo and the Humminbird, I need to add some fuses and switches! This is the old dash, still in great condition, just not useful any more:



Laid out my design and came up with this:




Ordered a couple of new gauges, red halo-style pushbutton switches, 12 circuit fuseblock and just cut the new panel from 0.080" aluminum plate, just waiting for the rest of the switches to come in so I can start wiring it all in! Going with a red-colored theme since the boat's red:



Already printed the dash panel and used a matte lamination for the panel's decal, waiting for my buddy to come over so I can use his holesaw kit. Of course, I have the size larger and smaller than what I need for the gauges and switches!!!
More pics to come as I finish this project up!!!
Chris

[SuperD]

Looks great Chris. I'm thinking about adding a couple more USB's to my dash.

[Mad Angler]

Can never have too many of them nowadays! I have a dual usb outlet on the left side with a voltmeter between the sockets, it works well to keep phone and the IPilot link remote charged up.

Got a wild hair up my arse and just decided to finish the layout of the dashboard! Just finished a few minutes ago, but had to take some photos of the end product!





Vinyl was just a bit off from my switch holes, but I don't think anyone will ever notice it! Guess tomorrow I'll start wiring up the panel, the other 7 switches should be in by then. The two switches I have now are momentary switches and will not have the red halo lights hooked up (no sense, really), but the rest will be lit when devices are turned on. Backlight for the gauges will be turned on with the nav light switch, volt meter will be on with the accessory switch and the fuel will be powered up with the ignition key.

And, to make it clean and easy to work on, I'm using Deutsch connectors between the panel and the boat's dash. That will make it easy to access behind the dash if necessary, just pull the 4 allen bolts and disconnect the connectors.

[Bduck]

I have been researching the idea of a new dash panel also. I had a new panel specifically cut this past summer from 1/8" 50/52 aluminum for it. The current panel is small so I had the new panel cut to expand a larger area of the dash. I'm short of switches also, I have a plug in adapter for the existing power point to have a USB connection which I need to install. New gauges are in the plan along with an expanded switch panel. Other projects unfortunately took priority with a major motor repair on the boat. The new dash at the moment is on the back burner simmering staying warm. This project may take a little longer to get to with a new project being scoped in now-PRIORTIES.

[Mad Angler]

Hey, don't feel too bad, I'm looking at a new engine for the boat next month, the old '83 Merc 150 jet is down on compression (~90psi on all cylinders) and the jet pump's seal is now leaking quite a bit.

I ended up using some 10A switches from Amazon, although what I really wanted was laser-etched switches so I wouldn't have to print the text, but I couldn't swing 30 bucks a switch just for the laser etching! Its also why I went with the Helix 7 rather than a 10, trying to save a bit on one side to pay for the other side.

Guess I'll be working a bit more this year to pay for the engine, but at least I won't have to listen to that noisy jet pump any more and that will make the family much happier, as well as having quite a bit more power than the old engine has.

[Kokaholic]

Adding side curtains, Goes to Brians Canvas tomorrow,01/06/21, New step for the front on trailer, is in getting powder coated as I type so I will post pics of both when I have them finished. possibly a few more things depending on how things measure up.