electrical panels/control panels again

[toddster]

Just when you thought it was safe...

Looks like I'm going to have to build two new electrical panels.

Last year, I pretty much re-wired the boat from scratch and built a new house panel. But I didn't mess around much with the wiring attached to the atomic 4 - hey, it was working. Sort of. There are a few inadequacies there still. But the cockpit instrument panel suffers from the same big problem that the old house panel did. The back is exposed in the lazarette, with all of the wires hanging out in a big rats nest. While changing out the muffler, I did in fact yank a couple of wires without noticing, and got a big puff of smoke from a shorted wire. (Hmm... need another fuse in there...) Also, the cockpit instruments have proliferated outside of the panel, through a series of extra holes drilled in the liner. Finally, there is the location, down between the helmsman's ankles and behind the shift lever. Not very useful.

So that's one.

I'm also going to have to build a new mains panel to safely contain main busses and main breakers for house, engine, (planned) windlass, and (planned) solar controller. But I need to do more research on a couple of those items.

Today I'm procrastinating at work and thinking of that cockpit panel.

One possibility is just to build an enclosure for the back of the panel down in the lazarette, and leave it mostly as is. Another might be to combine it with the navigation instrument panel that I made last year, up on the cabin bulkhead.



Everything except the choke cable could possibly move up there. There may be enough slack in the wiring harness - several loops are zip-tied in it. And that would eliminate the big cable going to the auto-tiller socket. So I'm playing around with layouts, while doing some tedious measurements in the lab that have lots of equilibration time.

I could try to salvage what I did last year and add on to it:



Or start over and make a whole new panel. The back-wiring would be pretty tight, but I think it could all squeeze into the back of the galley cabinet that's behind there, with a shield panel to protect the wiring from cabinet contents.



The only real drawback I see to this, other than reducing useful volume in the cabinet, is the instruments may be a bit more exposed to the weather. (Until the (future) dodger comes along.) Maybe I could build a plexiglass cover over the engine section - at the same height as the raymarine instruments? And a larger cover for the whole panel. Then I could either patch the holes down at the old location, or put something like a glove box down there.

Thoughts? Or is there some good reason that the instruments were installed between your ankles down there?

[Skywalker]

Hmm. Lots of options.

I just cleaned up the rats nest on my Tartan. I ended up leaving most things in place, re routed the wires, made new harness, to keep it clean. All of my gauges and stuff are in the engine compartment walls (from the cockpit or salon) so I didn't have space issues like you.

My only thought for your situation may be a little out of left field.

I like keeping the aft portion of the cabin top surface as free of clutter as I can because I like to sit against it, my kids do to get out of wind and spray, and at anchor, it's comfortable to stretch my legs out with a cold one. I also like the simple, clean look.

I wouldn't move everything up there. Your four Ray Marine? look cool - all business for the serious sailor!

From a strictly aesthetic point of view, I'd keep things where they are.

Chris

[msauntry]

Too much... less is more. I go for the clean look. That being said, it's your boat. Look into removing the ammeter. No one uses those anymore because of fire hazards and charging problems. Switch to a voltmeter. Hour meter can be moved to the engine compartment. Rode meter I'd lose altogether. Horn should be a button instead of switch. In fact, I'd put no switches up there at all since everyone is going to be leaning on them all the time. I'd move the blower onto a 4 position start key, where it goes to the aux position for intermitent use, but is always on when the engine runs. Windlass buttons should be on the foredeck where you can watch for problems.

Weathering can be dealt with by making a sunbrella cover that snaps around the whole shebang, or is on a track and slides on/off for a more watertight solution.

I've got my wind,etc instruments in approx. the same place as you and everyone always leans back and hits the buttons. It is one of the best seats in the house, so think carefully before you retask it as a control center

[toddster]

I appreciate the ideas. One reason for a new panel is to allow for future expansion (e.g. I don't actually have a "rode counter" at this time.) The "scabbed-on" look is not pleasing, and more importantly, the wires of scabbed-on instruments can be dangerous. Right now I've got three gauges in the panel and three gauges scabbed on outside it.

I wonder if the "too busy" look can be mitigated by having a blank cover over the engine section when it's not needed. And a blank cover for the whole thing when anchored or docked. One could safely lean on either of those.

But not with the VHF handset plug sticking out. Hmm. If the panel protruded from the bulkhead more, the sockets could point down from the bottom of it, or out the side. Not too thrilled with that solution right now though.

I've seen some boats that have the engine panel recessed in the combing, covered by a smoked plexiglass panel. I guess that works better for wheel steering than for tiller. But if I recall, the smoked plexi let you see that the gauges were in there, but you couldn't really read them.

p.s. The raymarine stuff wasn't put there for any well thought-out reason - it's just filling the holes from the old non-functional 4-inch instruments.

[msauntry]

You could make a "U" shaped cushion that surrounds the gauge cluster. Add a plexi door and you have visibility, comfort, and nobody flicking switches.

[toddster]

Here's an interesting installation on a similar boat. Out of the way, out of the weather. Basically installed on the side of the same compartment that I proposed to use the back of.
I suppose ducking one's head down the companionway to check the temperature is better than getting down on one's knees. Dunno... I'd still like them in my line-of-sight when I'm driving.



Note that this guy can see the gauges while his hands are on the engine, however. (Boat is for sale in NY, btw.)

[ndutton]

We had a similar arrangement on the Newport 30's.