Instrument Console Upgrade

Having sailed with the instruments and radio mounted in a consul on top of the centre board housing for the past year,, I found that while the instruments were easily readable and within reach, the position of the VHF radio made it hard (impossible) to see the display.

For 2015 I wanted to add further instrumentation for the NASA wind instruments which would be mounted on top of the mast and also a large repeater which would display the boats speed. (this would be connected to the chart plotter). These improvements meant a basic reconstruction of the consul, so it was really a case of throw away the old one and start again.

In keeping with the rest of the woodwork on Tra Bhui the new consul would be constructed in Iroko and Teak. Always on the watch for suitable pieces I have a reasonable stock of wood set aside in the workshop for projects such as this and found a 300 mm x 25 mm x 3000 mm length of Iroko which would provide most of the timber that was required.

After removing the old consul and stripping out the instruments I made up a mockup using some offcut 12mm plywood. To incorporate the instruments (Wind speed indicator, speed indicator), the VHF, Chart plotter, compass and switch/ fuse panel and make them all visible and accessible I planned to make the console with two sloping surfaces.

Fitting side panel

Assembling console on workbench

The console is a pretty simple construction with the side panels and end being glued and screwed to the base. One of the two top panels is screwed and glued in place while the second (the one under the NASA instruments) is only screwed down which will allow me to easily remove the instruments for security when Tra Bhui is being stored away from home.