Redesigning my console layout

[jlanng]

I've recently bought a second-hand Ribcraft 5.85. I'll be fitting a VHF and plotter in the near future, but the current console layout doesn't allow any room for my new toys. I could mount the VHF and plotter on the top of the console, but that would place them right next to my magnetic compass and I'd need to take them off every time I left the boat unattended.

What I'd like to do is remove the current front panel of acrylic and replace it with my one of my own design. It seems pretty well glued on - as you might expect, so getting it off might be a challenge. Any suggestions? Also, where could I buy a new panel of acrylic from?

Any suggestions / input very gratefully received. There's nothing worse than having toys and not being able to play with them

[Pete7]

I think you should take a trip to the Boat Show in January. Always a good source of ideas / designs and you could do worse than copy Sunseeker or Princess.

Pete

[MeMe]

........for want of a better description. The panel holding all the instruments was not aesthesically pleasing so I yanked it out and replaced it. See attached photo.

For the replacement panel I looked up plastic sheeting on www.yell.com and ended up finding a sign makers, you know the type, shop frontage etc. Anyway I just popped in one lunchtime and asked to speak to the "gaffer" they speak like that up north don't you know ! Anyway, I took the old piece of board with me to demonstrate what I was after and he simply gave me an off-cut which I cut myself at home with a stanly knife and compass. The board was white so I bought some carbon fibre sticky back plastic stuff from the car accessory shop and bobs your uncle.

[Louise]

Looks very smart Graeme!

[MeMe]

.......speed ! Yeeeee Haaaaaaaaa. I only used to pull about 30. I've also got a larger prop (different pitch) which should give me 50mph. I'll give it a try next year.

[Louise]

Waaahaaaay!!!!!!

[Squirrel]

Originally Posted by MeMe

so I bought some carbon fibre sticky back plastic stuff from the car accessory shop and bobs your uncle.

I was in the Pro-sport factory the other day and they had a very tasty nearly finished 8m with suspension jockey seats (3,000 Euros a piece ) and a very sexy looking black console that was supposed to be carbon fibre and with a 10,000 Euro price tag, you'd hope so. When they cut into it to fit the instruments, they found it was just black glass....

[jlanng]

Very smart... watch this space!

[Simon B]

We are possibly thinking of doing something similar, one option was to draw up what we wanted with cutouts etc and then get this laser cut in stainless.

The idea being to cut out all the old panel apart from a mounting flange around the edge to take the new stainless panel.

However, as we have observed a number of other dive clubs have solved this problem by mounting all their toys in an add on box that clamps by over centre fasteners to the top of the existing console. As you may imagine aesthetics arent to good then.

[MeMe]

......the stainless option but found that cost prohibited the same. Further, there's no one able or as keen to get everything "just right" as when you do it yourself. If you fancy the stainless look, B&Q have started selling small sheets of various metal finishes.