barbosam
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2009
- Messages
- 153
Ok guys so I have decided to replace the entire electrical system in the Starcraft this year. Last year, the very first time I took this boat out I had a small electrical fire!
Then a few weeks later I had a battery short out! So I did what I could last year to patch things up and get back on the water. This year I?m not taking any chances.
I?ve already removed all the wiring as well as the main dash panel because that was beginning to rot. I am in the process of making an electrical schematic for the boat and I will share that with everyone when I?m done. Bare with me on the drawing as that is one of those project I will have to force myself to complete.
I plan on making a new dash panel from ?? white acrylic if I can find a freebie scrap piece, if not it will be starboard. No more wood! I will also be converting to tilt steering as I do most of the driving standing up and the tilt makes that much more comfortable. The first problem I have run into with the tilt steering is that it protrudes out from the dash an additional 1.5? ? 2? more than the original steering. To offset this I will make a recessed portion in the center of the dash that will set the steering back 1.5?. In the pictures below you can see a test sample I cut out of ?? Formica laminated luan on a CNC router. You can see the cut-out for the steering and the two spacers I made to set back the steering mechanism mounting surface. This is pretty close to what the final piece will look like except I will use smaller screws so that they are less visible.
The Tach, trim gauge and 12V outlet will be on the left and the battery guage will be on the right. The fuel and hour gauges are on a separate panel and I will leave those alone for now as that panel is in good shape. The switch panel will go in the empty space you see on the right side. I can?t wait to show you guys the switch panel, it?s gonna be something special! Its about three weeks out though so you?ll just have to wait to see it.
I also ran into another problem with the steering system, the bolts supplied with the steering helm are about two inches short? :facepalm: I?ll have to scrounge something up to replace those. Once I get that figured out I?ll fit the assembled panel in place on the boat to make sure everything fits and I have good visibility of the gauges.
Any way more to come, I hope to have this all complete by 4/24. I?m getting the rest of the parts on order this week. Then I will chip away at this when I can, the wife is in school full time and works part time right now so I?m on baby duty a lot! Bear with me as progress might be slow but I?m excited about this project and I think the end result will be great.
Matt
Then a few weeks later I had a battery short out! So I did what I could last year to patch things up and get back on the water. This year I?m not taking any chances.I?ve already removed all the wiring as well as the main dash panel because that was beginning to rot. I am in the process of making an electrical schematic for the boat and I will share that with everyone when I?m done. Bare with me on the drawing as that is one of those project I will have to force myself to complete.
I plan on making a new dash panel from ?? white acrylic if I can find a freebie scrap piece, if not it will be starboard. No more wood! I will also be converting to tilt steering as I do most of the driving standing up and the tilt makes that much more comfortable. The first problem I have run into with the tilt steering is that it protrudes out from the dash an additional 1.5? ? 2? more than the original steering. To offset this I will make a recessed portion in the center of the dash that will set the steering back 1.5?. In the pictures below you can see a test sample I cut out of ?? Formica laminated luan on a CNC router. You can see the cut-out for the steering and the two spacers I made to set back the steering mechanism mounting surface. This is pretty close to what the final piece will look like except I will use smaller screws so that they are less visible.
The Tach, trim gauge and 12V outlet will be on the left and the battery guage will be on the right. The fuel and hour gauges are on a separate panel and I will leave those alone for now as that panel is in good shape. The switch panel will go in the empty space you see on the right side. I can?t wait to show you guys the switch panel, it?s gonna be something special! Its about three weeks out though so you?ll just have to wait to see it.
I also ran into another problem with the steering system, the bolts supplied with the steering helm are about two inches short? :facepalm: I?ll have to scrounge something up to replace those. Once I get that figured out I?ll fit the assembled panel in place on the boat to make sure everything fits and I have good visibility of the gauges.
Any way more to come, I hope to have this all complete by 4/24. I?m getting the rest of the parts on order this week. Then I will chip away at this when I can, the wife is in school full time and works part time right now so I?m on baby duty a lot! Bear with me as progress might be slow but I?m excited about this project and I think the end result will be great.
Matt
