My 15 year old Yanmar panel (B panel) for my 1GM 10 doesn't look too good. Last season I did a custom electrical panel for the interior and was pretty happy with the results so this year I intend to rebuild the engine panel from scratch.
Has anyone ever done this or thought about it? I'd like to use this thread to get ideas and post plans/results etc as I work on this over the winter.
General Plans:
-Use a combo tachometer like the one below with a digital display for hours and voltage. My current hour meter reads 75...needless to say it hasn't been working in years
-Replace all the alarms/lights with LED's
-Kick proof. In my small cockpit there are no good places for the panel. I plan to leave it in place but want to design a lexan (?) hinged or removable cover.
-Light switches. I want control of the nav and spreader lights (at the least) from the cockpit.
-Keep it simple and high quality. Internal wiring will go to a terminal block which will bridge to a standard Yamar engine cable.
Other Thoughts:
-Key? I'd love to get rid of the need for a dangling, kickable key while sailing/motoring. One idea is to move the key into the cabin. The other idea is to use a key lock to lock down the engine panel cover. Then the key is just used to unlock the cover and gets put away afterward. In either case a switch would replace the functionality of the key for enabling the alarms etc. Thoughts?
-Material? My current plan is to use synthetic lumber but the other option would be fiberglass. I have no experience with glass but would like to have some.
-Button for a horn? It might be nice to add proper horn onto the boat. How many people have horns wired in?
-Indicator lights for 12V and a light from the Bluesea ACR LED output (which I also have on the internal panel)
-Professional print job for the panel? Not sure what this would cost for but it would be nice. Otherwise I need to consider labeling solutions.
Combo Tachometer:
VDO - Tachometer
Example IP67 Switch For lights:
WR11AF NKK Switches | 360-2277-ND | DigiKey
Last Years Project:
Also see
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/electrical-systems/93111-simple-electrical-panel.html
Through the deck connector
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/53073-through-deck-4.html
Has anyone ever done this or thought about it? I'd like to use this thread to get ideas and post plans/results etc as I work on this over the winter.
General Plans:
-Use a combo tachometer like the one below with a digital display for hours and voltage. My current hour meter reads 75...needless to say it hasn't been working in years
-Replace all the alarms/lights with LED's
-Kick proof. In my small cockpit there are no good places for the panel. I plan to leave it in place but want to design a lexan (?) hinged or removable cover.
-Light switches. I want control of the nav and spreader lights (at the least) from the cockpit.
-Keep it simple and high quality. Internal wiring will go to a terminal block which will bridge to a standard Yamar engine cable.
Other Thoughts:
-Key? I'd love to get rid of the need for a dangling, kickable key while sailing/motoring. One idea is to move the key into the cabin. The other idea is to use a key lock to lock down the engine panel cover. Then the key is just used to unlock the cover and gets put away afterward. In either case a switch would replace the functionality of the key for enabling the alarms etc. Thoughts?
-Material? My current plan is to use synthetic lumber but the other option would be fiberglass. I have no experience with glass but would like to have some.
-Button for a horn? It might be nice to add proper horn onto the boat. How many people have horns wired in?
-Indicator lights for 12V and a light from the Bluesea ACR LED output (which I also have on the internal panel)
-Professional print job for the panel? Not sure what this would cost for but it would be nice. Otherwise I need to consider labeling solutions.
Combo Tachometer:
VDO - Tachometer
Example IP67 Switch For lights:
WR11AF NKK Switches | 360-2277-ND | DigiKey
Last Years Project:
Also see
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/electrical-systems/93111-simple-electrical-panel.html
Through the deck connector
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/53073-through-deck-4.html