New Control Panel Enclosures!

[Administrator]

MMI is pleased to announce the following new control panel enclosure products. These enclosures are an ideal choice for installations where a minimal protrusion is desired and the instrument panel may be subjected to frequent exposure to weather and/or spray. Constructed of sturdy ABS plastic, the enclosures also feature a clear acrylic hinged spray shield. The bottom edge of the recess is sloped to facilitate drainage.

When installing the panel, use a sealant which is compatible with ABS plastic.

A Velcro closure at the bottom center of the panel secures the cover.

Four mounting holes are predrilled in the corners of the exterior flange and four #8 Philips flat-headed stainless mounting screws are included. No other holes are predrilled. Gauges not included; scale is approximate.

Depth of the panel is 1-1/4 inches. If you're contemplating installing a key, check this dimension.

Control Panel Enclosure 9-3/8 inches (click here)
This enclosure is capable of accommodating (4) two-inch gauges or equivalent.

Control Panel Enclosure 12 inches (click here)
This enclosure is capable of accommodating (6) two-inch gauges or equivalent.

A picture of the larger unit is shown below:

[ILikeRust]

What kind of sealant would work best with these, when mounting the panel in an exterior bulkhead? I mean the sealant for bedding the enclosure into the bulkhead, not for bedding the gauges into the enclosure.

[roadnsky]

Suuweeeet!
Been needing to do this on my vessel for a long time.

What is the DEPTH measurement?

Am I right that the gauge "holes" are not pre-drilled/cut?
We customize it how we see fit?

[ndutton]

What kind of sealant would work best with these, when mounting the panel in an exterior bulkhead? I mean the sealant for bedding the enclosure into the bulkhead, not for bedding the gauges into the enclosure.

To each his own Bill. When selecting a sealant consider future removal too. In my case, the only access I have to the back of my gauge panel is by removing it. I prefer silicone based sealants for such applications.

3M 5200 = Satan's Glue.

[ArtJ]

some sealants are not compatible with certain plastics.

[ndutton]

I've never had an issue with silicone on anything.

Back in the day (1970's) we used only three 'sealants' in fiberglass boat construction:

• Polysulfide for hull and deck joints and below the waterline installations such as thru-hulls.
• Silicone for above waterline installations.
• Original Dolphinite for bedding exterior wood. If I recall, it had a biocide component that prevented fungi from forming under the teak.

[ILikeRust]

3M 5200 = Satan's Glue.

So I've heard. It's one of those perennial topics over on the Wooden Boat forum. Basically, what I've taken away from the discussion is don't ever, ever, ever, use 5200 for something you might ever, ever, ever, want to remove without destroying the item or the surrounding substrate it's bonded to. 5200 is for permanently adhering things together, period.

There are several regulars over on the WBF who state the rule that they will not use 5200 for anything on a wooden boat, period, because of prior experiences they've had trying to make repairs after someone previously had bonded something with it.

I'm reading Reuel Parker's "The New Cold Molded Boatbuilding" and I've been a little surprised at how many times he's suggested using 5200 for certain things. I guess he's not in that camp of people who are adamantly opposed to its use. Either that, or maybe his views would be different now than when he wrote the book (back in the 1980's/90's, I believe).

I've found butyl rubber tape to be wonderful stuff so far. I'm thinking I likely would use that to install one of these nice little panels, when I finally get to that project.

[Scuppers]

Instrument panel replacement

Good time to repost this. I had this made for me by teacher. If interested in the perfect compliment to the enclosure, let me know.

http://www.moyermarine.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6220&stc=1&d=1344705472

[tenders]

Another thumbs up for butyl tape. Inexpensive and idiot proof, and I ought to know as I've tested the latter rigorously in my Idiot Lab. Its only flaw is that it's a little hard to get off of a hot deck after it's been stepped on.

[ndutton]

I'll repeat a comment from another thread, beautiful work Scuppers.

Jerry asked about the enclosure depth, I noticed it appears on the description in the catalog, 1¼".

[toddster]

Hmm... small, medium... where's large?
I suppose one could put the gauges in the one and the controls in another...

[ndutton]

Not sure how much room you need. My 5 gauge array including a full sized tach plus switches for ignition, blower and fuel tank selector would fit in the larger of the two new panels just fine. In fact, with these available it looks like I'll be redoing mine for a third time.

The pictured enclosure is one I made a few years ago out of fiberglass.

[toddster]

Still gotta squeeze in the choke and the light switch. And I might want to add hours and vacuum. Sure, they could go downstairs, but there's no real place for them there. And maybe a separate switch for the compass binnacle. (Although I might just put that on the running lights circuit.)
Actually a split panel might be best for my boat, since the 12" hole is behind the shifter and throttle levers, where there's no room for a hinged cover. Could do a sliding one like you appear to have...

NO. I will not open any new projects until the boat is relaunched.
Repeat after me....
"Oh, but it's not a new project since you still have to install this new tach somewhere."
Shut up Boat. It's a slippery slope.

[Carl-T705]

That is a nice and very practical panel, recessed and covered. I just cut one off a Catalina 30 that enclosed the instruments for a YanMar diesel engine. It also had the clear cover that was screwed to a stainless hinge. It made it easy for replacement of the plexiglass once it had weather checked in the sunlight. The Catalina had it molded into the bridgedeck. The panel was also molded at an angle to have the gauges easily read without bending over or standing on ones head!!
I don't believe you want to use silicone sealer on any part of the boat that you may ever want to paint. you could try 5400 sealer or my favorite Butyl tape as mentioned already

[msauntry]

What keeps the acrylic shield from flapping when heeled?
Is there room for a key to be installed (depth between shield and gauge mounting face)?

Thanks,
Micah