Sailboat - LCD TV and Wall Mount

[SunHawk]

Ok, here's the plan. (I mean, this is what I did and should have planned )

I have a 1988 Hunter Legend 37. The port bulkhead was the largest available space for a wall mount LCD TV. The bulkhead is one inch thick (teak?).

I wanted as much screen, secure mounting and as little expense as possible.

I bought the Vizio 26" LCD HD TV and the K2-TB mount (allows some vertical tilt). I've used (4) 5/16" x 1" lag bolts. I have no experience with wall mounts.

I made the assumption that lateral swivel of the mount wasn't practical on a sailboat. (Comments?)

I'm wondering now if my LCD will slide off the wall during a pronounced heel. These "hang TV on wall bracket" mounts don't seem to have much lateral locking... (Comments? Alternatives?)

One thing I thought of doing was putting two more bolts on washers into the wall bracket in such a way as to act as "stoppers". But that's more holes in my bulkhead.

[mattstamour]

I use a bungy cord to secure mine while under way.

[Cruisingdad]

Here is what mine looks like:



I personally think you should Thru-bolt and not lag. This particular tv is solidly mounted. Hunter uses a similar mounting system. I suggest contacting Hunter directly for exactly what they use as if it is only sitting on a lip, a good heel and bounce could bring her off the mount. It needs to be a positive mount.

My opinions.

- CD

[Volkhard]

The biggest concern I have with the bigger flatscreens is whether they are constructed well enough to take the shockloads we sometimes experience on our boats in heavy seas. Everything looks nice at the boatshow where the size if the TV seems to some more important than the size of the ground tackle.
At the end the whole TV is mounted by the means if 4 bolts (typically 6mm or 1/4" ) going into the back of the TV. If you can confirm or believe the TV can take the momentum and load from the sometimes eratic and violent movement of the boat, look at the possible mounts. you find for sale. I would stay away from everything that tilts and swivels. The joints are tightened by friction und are not designed to take loads introduced by movements of the mounting wall! Most these mounts are designed for home/office use for a resting load with gravity pullung straight down. I assume if you write to any of the manufacturers and ask them whether they recommend their product to be used on a sailboat and if they would stand behind this application, they would repectfully decline.
So, back to the question, how to mount it instead.
I would actually use a 3/4 " thick or thickerpice of plywood (teak veneered or whatever wood your interior is showing). I would size it in a way that it is still covered (frontally) by the TV, but big (especially high) enough you could screw the whole assembly to your bulkhead (with the TV mounted on the board). Drill some holes in the center of the board to allow to mount the TV to the board. Counterdrill the holes so you can apply washers underneath your bolt heads (very important). Make sure, the bolts are just the right length, so you are reaching the threats inside the TV but not comming in too deep to reach the circuitboards inside. Now you can screw the whole assembly to the bulkhead. Again, bolting through would be bulletproof but most likely not practical nor pretty. If you screw it on, use more screws than you think you might need and make sure they are long enough to almost penetrate the bulkhead (don't forget to properly pre-drill). I could perhaps see a total of 8 screws being sufficient (4 in the upper and 4 in the lower section).
Because you made the mountingboard just smaller (in height) than your TV you most likely need to apply the screws in an angle. This is actually an advantage, allowing you to use slightly longer screws. Also with the upper screws tilted downwards and the lower ones tilting upwards you are creating a very slolid and strong connection.
This might not be the answer you are hoping for but that's how I would do the install if I ever would install a TV to my boat (no intention).
I have used similar direct mounting solutions on tradeshow displays I have engineered in the past. While the booth on tradeshows does not move (like a sailboat), my concern was always with transport and sometimes I needed to leave the TVs mounted for transport and I would estimate, thesame kind of shockloads can be found during loading and unloading a showdisplay if compared with a sailboat in rough seas. I personally would trust the above mentioned methode even in a knockdown IF (big if!) the internal construction of the TV can take it.
Please understand, this is just a description of what I would do and I take no responibility of any kind if you would use an approach like this (I don't know whether this disclaimer is neccessary here in the forum, but I want to avoid any responsibility).
Always keep in mind you are applying something to the boat that was originally not emgineered for this purpose and you have to make sure to make it save and sound, so nobody gets hurt when it gets rough out there. A TV that comes loose is something you don't want to deal with when a storm needs already your whole attention.

Good luck with your project and let us know (with pics?) how it came out.

[MJBrown]

I installed a 32" LCD in our 43' Beneteau. I mounted it on the bulkhead using a non pivoting wall mount. I used lag bolts and installed more than I thought were needed. The mount was made for a house and not a boat and allowed the TV some movement. It also had a sliding plate that locked the TV onto the lip so hitting a nasty wave or wake wont knock it off. I bought 2 cheap sponges at the local hardware store and cut them into pieces and wedged them behind the TV. They're in tight and do a good job of stabilizing the bracket and TV into one unit. Additionally the bulkhead is close to the center of the boat which is the most stable area and not subject to pounding. We've been in some rough seas already and between the stable mount and location I'm pretty comfortable with the set up.

[SunHawk]

Thanks everyone for sharing and advice. Before rehoisting the mount topic, I want to emphasize a valuable lesson.... PLAN YOUR VIEWING SIGHT LINES BEFORE DRILLING HOLES FOR YOUR LCD TV MOUNT. The mast support is going to most likely block one side or the other.

Now, I agree that those 12mm screws into the back of the TV seem the weakest link of the system. But again, it's only 17.5lbs. BTW, the TV that I'm currently trying is a Vizio VA26, but I may change this...

Don at Hunter wrote me back saying that they'd never installed a wall mount TV into this boat ('88 Legend 37), but that he'd suggest through bolts. I will stick with my 1" lag bolts; If I hit a wave that hard, I think that one of the other points will fail.

Marine LCD Mount Points of failure:
Wall Bracket to Wall
Hanging Bracket to Wall Bracket
TV to Hanging Bracket
Poor planning

While I am dismayed that I now have these deep holes in my bulkhead, I feel pretty good about this mount. Last night I finished hanging the TV and tightening the security screws and I lay beneath the unit on the settee and wrestled it back and forth, and up and down, listening and watching closely for slippage. I'll do more rigorous testing before heading to Catalina.

There will be more photos to come but this one shows the wall bracket and one of the hanging brackets (not attached to TV). I've circled the lag bolts (5/16" x 1") in yellow on the wall bracket. On the hanging bracket, I've circled the security thumb screw in magenta, and in cyan I've circled the extra vertical hole which I drilled to vertically center the hanging bracket on my TV set.


Just to the outside of each hanging bracket, I am considering a "lateral stopper" solution: either a protruding lag bolt, or a block of wood screwed into the bulkhead.

By the way, this is a very inexpensive mount. It is the K2 TB, bought from Costco for under $50. It is very well made though, and comes supplied with a plethora of screws, bolts and washers for every imaginable unit or mounting style. And, customer service was very prompt and professional in responding to my inquiries.

[MJBrown]

Other than the thumb screw your bracket looks similiar to mine. As I said we've been in some rough seas and it's stayed put. The lateral stopper is a good idea. My bracket made use of a sliding rail that locked it into place. The soft sponges did the rest. As for the holes, I agree. I had that same feeling when drilling into the bulkhead, but we really wanted the TV and figured it would just become a permanent fixture. Worse case we could cover the area with art work to hide the holes.

[chef2sail]

We have used the swivel mounts with extensions with no problems at all. The viewing angles on HDTV LCD are critical so flat mounted migght make the person in the setee oppposite on the side had no picture to see. The tilt/ extension mount makes great viewing angles where ever you are.

We thru bolted it through the bulkhead, on the other side of the bulkhead is the hanging locker in which we put a 3/4 inch plywood board 2'X2' to give the thru bolts a large are to spread the weight load of the mount/ TV. I attached a small hook latch to the back of the TV and the latch to the bulkhead so it doent move an inch when flat against the wall when underway no matter how much heel or torque put on it.

Dave

[poopdeckpappy]

Man, I'm with CD on this one, you really should use though bolts w/ fender washers, if it gives way, it not just the loss of a TV, it's the damage it will cause eleswhere when those lags pulls out though the bulkhead, they alway seen to want to take as much veneer as they can when they exit; Then you have they damage the TV causes as it slams into the cabin sole or everthing else on the way down, not to mention the threat to crew if any are in the vacinity when it lets go.



Something eles to conside is ( and I'm no physics expert, nor does my wife allow me to play one but) that 17.5 lb TV could easliy become a 117.5 lb TV when your boat slams to the bottom of a trough

[Cruisingdad]

Originally Posted by poopdeckpappy

Man, I'm with CD on this one, you really should use though bolts w/ fender washers, if it gives way, it not just the loss of a TV, it's the damage it will cause eleswhere when those lags pulls out though the bulkhead, they alway seen to want to take as much veneer as they can when they exit; Then you have they damage the TV causes as it slams into the cabin sole or everthing else on the way down, not to mention the threat to crew if any are in the vacinity when it lets go.



Something eles to conside is ( and I'm no physics expert, nor does my wife allow me to play one but) that 17.5 lb TV could easliy become a 117.5 lb TV when your boat slams to the bottom of a trough

Agreed, me compadre.

- CD