Canoe building plan: Installing

Showing posts with label Installing. Show all posts

Monday, March 20, 2017

Installing the Raymarine Dragonfly

This was my first opportunity to install the Dragonfly. So many toys, and so little time. I've splayed the box's contents out for you. You get everything you need to install the unit in the carton including the screws. You will just need your tools, 3M 5200 or equal, and maybe a clam shell or two. The mount for the Dragonfly has a very cool feature I'll show you at the end of the story.

In order to pull the install off, an aging Ray 750 fish finder and its transducer have to be removed first. Its been working in the boat faithfully for 14 years, but now UV has taken a toll on everything including the power cable.

The owner, the Honorable Mark Hawkins is familiar with the mysteries of electricity, and when the power cord disintegrated he jury rigged the connections to keep it in indentured servitude. Corrosion of everything made it time to send this unit to a far better place, if the trashcan qualifies as an old marine electronics paradise.

The screw gun makes short work of removal, and on the dock it goes. Part two of this is to get the antique transducer off of the boat.

We were going to use the old transducer wire to pull the new cable to the console, or that at least that was the theory at the time. It didn't actually work out that way, it's a boat thing. Bobbing in the bow of a canoe lets me less than gracefully remove the transducer.

Hold for a moment now for a DIY 101 subset of the install. When the old transducer came off, we had three holes in the boat we have to contend with. There is the hard way, and the easy way to deal with this. The hard way is to grind out the holes, fill them, spray and finish gelcoat, to make the evidence of their presence go away. We aren't doing that.

The more direct solution is to use a countersink to allow flat head screws to end up flush with the hull surface. Spare the goo, spoil the hole is what I say. Take the screws, liberally coat them with 5200, and screw them in. Remove the excess with a rag and mineral spirits and you're done. After curing they will be perfectly watertight. We are going to cover the screws with the new transducer mount so you won't be able to see them.

The transducer mount has two parts. The part that attaches to the hull and the transducer itself. You're supplied with a template, but it really isn't needed. Play with the parts for a minute or two so you understand how they interact. The small part fits inside the transducer mount housing.

When you install this piece make sure it will be about 1/4 inch up on the transom. When you're done the whole mount assembly has to be clear of the hull bottom. Using the small part as the template predrill, and counter sink the mounting holes. Remember this part has a top (hinge) and bottom. Get it right the first time, or you get to fill three more new holes

Now stick the two parts together, apply the goo to the screws and attach the transducer. On the top of the mount is a SS hex bolt. This is the anti-kick up adjustment. Find your metric Allen wrench set and locate the 4mm one, (the manual say 3mm, my bolt was 4mm) or just keep trying them one at a time till you get the right one.

Crank the screw in a few turns, and try to pop up the transducer. It will most likely will pop up easily, but now you know how it feels. Pop it back down and repeat until you're satisfied it won't kick up at your boat's top speed. You do have to turn the screw more than a couple of turns to accomplish this, but don't force things in a roid rage sort of way, they are just plastic parts.

You also have to level the transducer itself. This may require loosening the pivot bolt to do this, and in my case it was stiff enough that I removed the bolt, and manually re-positioned the little ratchet pieces. This wasn't a difficult task. I just didn't want to be the one who broke the critical and expensive part on the new toy.

This part of the job is done now. Use the included wire clips to attach the cable to the transom. The Dragonfly comes with three of the little plastic clips. I do wish Ray, and almost every other manufacturer wouldn't be so stingy with these things. Spend a couple of extra cents and throw in a few more of them.

Here's why. Three is the absolute minimum, and most times you need more to do a good job of securing the cable. There is a Murphy's law that says if black clips are what was supplied, then all I have are the spare white ones in the truck, that don't match and vice versa. Two or three of these clips are not enough 90% of the time. Nuff said.

Attaching the mount is straight forward, but with a little touch of nuance. The mounting plate is attached to the console with three screws. There is a nut on the underside. Make sure it hasn't fallen out when you attach it. Before you mount the plate, seat it on the bottom of mount. When you look down on the mount there is a hole in the center for a bolt.

You have to tip the mount so the hole is dead center over the bolt. There is only one ratchet stop where this is possible, find it first. Okay now screw the plate down, put the mount in place, find the provided bolt, and screw it in pretty tightly. If it isn't tight the mount will feel wobbly.

The Installer's all-seeing eye misses no detail too small. I just thought this was the coolest thing I have seen in some time. Most connectors come with some type of a weather cap that lasts for a little while, and then breaks, gets lost, or is destroyed by UV exposure.

Some very insightful Raymarine engineer designed into the mount a connector parking place when the Dragonfly is not there. He or she should get a bonus, or least an attaboy for being notably clever. It keeps the cable high and dry, and stops dirt and other detritus oft found on boats from getting into the connector. Again, this was a clever idea, and I think most owners may not have noticed it.

If you have problems inserting the Dragonfly in the mount, go back and look at the drawing in the instructions you overlooked. You have to pinch the tab on the mount back as well as the face of the Dragonfly together. Still can't do it? Look at the picture again, and try again.

I had a short test run on the boat and at 22kts it worked a treat. with very clear imaging.

The built in GPS worked well, and the chart plotter functionality was straight forward and easy to use. The unit is designed to be a standalone product, so there is no NMEA interface or networking with other devices. There is also no route capabilities. But for lake and near in coastal fishing, it's more than sufficient.

The price online is around $720 with Navionics Gold cartography, and I think it's a great bang for the buck for fishermen.

This install was a Saturday morning pro bono group install. So thanks go to Mark Hawkins who was scurrying around opening access areas, and the dash on his boat for me. Dan Sullivan who was passing things to me in the canoe and acting as the photographer of record at other times.

It was all in all a pleasurable, and quick install. I'll put up some screen shots next week, and see if any of them are good enough to win Raymarine's monthly Dragonfly screen capture contest. He could get the cost of his Dragonfly purchase back if he wins.

Readmore → Installing the Raymarine Dragonfly

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Installing a Panelized Overhead in Your Cabin

Capt'n Pauley's Virtual boat yard has this very interesting project panalizing the overhead in the cabin. Here's how he did it...........
The headliners in many older boats are on their last legs, dirty, off-white and sagging in places and are a prime candidate for replacement. I decided to replace mine with one with removable access panels. A prime advantage is that it allowed me access to the fasteners holding on the deck-mounted equipment.

Concept

The idea behind a panelized overhead is to divide the overhead area into manageable panels. These panels are then individually and easily removed to access any fittings or fasteners located on the overhead or to add new hardware to the deck above.

My method would be to bond a series of flat plywood panels to the overhead. Teak trim strips would define the shape of the removable panels that would be held in place with Velcro.

I used 1/2” MDO plywood for the fixed panels. MDO plywood is “Medium Density Overlay” plywood and has a phenolic paper layer bonded to one or both sides. Exterior glue is used and the core has no noticeable voids. Better than marine plywood in many respects and far cheaper. The phenolic paper surface is also extremely smooth and ready for paint or epoxy.

Prep work

My first step in the process was to remove the existing headliner. While I was working on the overhead, I also replaced the side cabin paneling with new ash plywood, installed an additional storage locker over the galley sink and added additional posts, from the side of the galley and the nav station to the overhead.

Design

The first step was to make a scale drawing of the area to be panelized, including all existing hardware, openings or other items that would affect the layout. I experimented with different layouts until I had one that looked good, allowed access to all the pertinent features and avoided all the encumbrances on the overhead.

The next step was to transfer the design to the overhead of the cabin. I established a centerline, using the center of the companionway opening and the mast surround, with a string. Working from this centerline, I cut out the individual sections from sheets of 3/16” artist’s foam board, held in place with tape or spring loaded shower rods and with the locations of all the teak trim strips.

Fabrication

I rough cut the panels to shape using my saber saw. Trimming to the finished edge line was easy. I have a workbench with a piece of aluminum screwed to the edge. I line the cut line up with the aluminum and clamp the plywood in place with a couple of quick release clamps. A router bit with a ball bearing on the end rides on the aluminum edge, trimming the panel to shape quickly and accurately.

I marked the location of the teak trim strips on the face of the panels and cut the center of the panels out, leaving a 2” rim or frame around the edge to allow access to the overhead equipment and fasteners. The cutouts also lightened the panels considerably.

I used a round-over bit in my router to ease the inside edges of the panel openings. To save some time and overhead work, I painted the panels at this time. I left the rear or upper side of the panels uncoated for the epoxy that would hold the panels in place.

NOTE: I usually give plywood a coat or two of epoxy for protection. I only did one panel this way and found that I couldn’t drive the staples for the Velcro into it!

Panel Installation

The entire overhead was washed down and then wiped with acetone. The areas where the panels were to be bonded in place were lightly sanded with 80-grit sandpaper.

The center panels were installed first and lined up with the centerline established earlier. The cabin top on my boat is cored, which allowed me to fasten the panels in place with stainless steel self-tapping screws.

Once the panels were all in place and adjusted to give a smooth, level surface, I removed them one at a time. As a panel was removed, I gave the back or upper side a coat of epoxy, which soaked into the bare plywood. I then applied a generous amount of epoxy/filler, mixed to peanut-butter consistency, to the epoxy coated plywood and the panel was screwed back in place.

Once all the panels were bonded and screwed in place, I gave the entire overhead a light sanding with 80-grit sandpaper, then primed and painted any bare areas.

Trim Installation

Most of the teak strips were standard 1-3/16” teak battens. I decided to install 1” x 3” mahogany trim strips above the inside handrails. This spaced them out so they were integrated into the overall panel design. Longer fasteners would be used to re-bolt the handrails in place. Since these handrail trim strips were to be bolted in place and were substantial pieces of lumber, I added eyebolt anchors for future lee cloths. The mahogany was stained with Minwax Special Walnut to match the existing teak décor.

Starting from the center, the teak trim was cut to size and screwed in place using #6-3/4” flathead self-tapping screws. You could countersink sink and bung them if you like but I have an aversion to bungs. Once the strips were all in place, I removed them and gave them all six coats of Interlux #60 Rubbed-Effect varnish before reinstalling them.

Removable Panels

I again made patterns for the removable panels from artist’s foam board, recycling the foam patterns from the MDO panels. The patterns were cut to allow a 1/16” gap around all the edges to allow for the thickness of the vinyl material. I cut the panels from 1/4” exterior luan plywood, with the edges sanded to a slightly rounded shape and marked which side faced the vinyl covering.

I covered the panels with a white marine upholstery vinyl I bought at a surplus fabric store. The fabric was placed on a table with the good side down. The panel was placed on top of the vinyl, making sure the proper side is down against the vinyl and cut the vinyl around the panel allowing about 2” around each side. I used an Exacto knife with a #11 blade for all my vinyl cutting and trimming.

Starting from the center of one side, I folded the fabric over and stapled it in place, using 1/4” Monel staples. I then moved to the opposite side and stapled that center in place. Working from the center out, I stapled the vinyl in place, stretching it as tight as I could.

The corners were then trimmed and stapled in place. It would be a good idea to make a couple of small sample panels and practice your stapling and trimming on them before the real thing. Develop your skill with the corners as these take the most time.

Final Assembly

All the removable panels are held in place with adhesive-backed 3/4” wide Velcro.
Velcro has a hook side and a loop side. I decided that all the hook tape would go on MDO panels and the loops on the removable panels. This was just to make sure I kept everything sorted out right. The adhesive couldn’t be depended upon to hold the Velcro in place indefinitely, so I also stapled the Velcro in place with an electric stapler.

With the Velcro firmly attached, I could then press the panels in place. It’s amazing how tightly the Velcro holds the panels in place. I not only haven’t had any panels come loose, I actually have to pry them off. I found the tool that paint stores sell to open paint cans ideal for this job.

Recap

I know this all sounds like a LOT of work, but it actually went surprisingly fast. Would I do it again? You bet! I love the way it looks and the easy access it provides to the underside of the cabin overhead. It’s a winner as far as I’m concernened.
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