Electronics cabinet ? No space...

[Old No 7]

I have a 17' 1988 Sunbird cuddy cabin. The space above the helm and below the wind shield is very limited. At most I have about 5" height. I would like to mount my GPS, and to get a fish finder, but have no room. The wind shield folds open in the center, and is my access to the boat when docked. The dash board it self is full with the speedometer, Tach, ignition switch, and the depth finder. The previous owner mounted a compass under dash board, but it's useless as it is hard to see when standing.<br /><br />From what I have seen on this forum, there are alot of creative people here. Does anyone have any ideas? I had thought of some type of removable cabinet that I would use when under way, but I have no idea how to mount it, or even if it would be safe. (For the equipment).Rather than try and re-invent the wheel, I thought I would ask here first<br /><br />Thanks!!<br /><br />I have digital pics of the helm if it would help. I don't have a personal web site, but I could get them posted on my work site for a few days

 

[agrazela]

Re: Electronics cabinet ? No space...

Old No 7,<br /><br />I have very little space between the top of the dash and my windshield...not enough to mount my fishfinder. So I made a "ledge" that is bolted through the top surface of the dash, extends about 8" out from my dashboard (i.e, toward the driver) and mounted my finder to that.<br /><br />It took me a few tries to get it right...the first ledge was made from a bit of leftover plexiglass, but that cracked after a few trips. I fixed that out of expediency from a flat bit of zinc-plated steel, but that started to get rusty and it was a knuckle-cutter. Finally, I took two pieces of thick heavy-duty aluminum angle, each about 12" in length, and mounted them in a sort of "U" shape like a piece of channel. I rounded all the edges and corners to prevent scrapes. I think this will last a long time.