Echelon guage replacement

[justgary]

I'd be surprised if the original wasn't ABS instead of HDPE.  You should be able to buy textured or non-textured ABS sheet.  It has good UV performance.

[justgary]

37 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

I was thinking aluminum because of the small bends, but I can probably make those with some heat on the starboard.

I would think that you could just put it in a sheet metal brake and bend it cold.  It should take a crease without cracking.  You could try a few samples pretty easily.

A decent vise and a few pieces of lumber or plywood would make a good enough brake for those bends.

[Michigan boarder]

35 minutes ago, justgary said:

I'd be surprised if the original wasn't ABS instead of HDPE.  You should be able to buy textured or non-textured ABS sheet.  It has good UV performance.

Actually the original is aluminum.

[justgary]

3 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

Actually the original is aluminum.

I see.  Plenty of studs to hold it down, too.  That ought to be fun to reproduce if you use aluminum again.

When you cut the new one and get it all fit correctly, take it to a machine shop and ask them to wash on a chrome conversion coating (e.g. Alodyne) before you paint or powder coat it.  That's the best way to prime aluminum so you don't get corrosion in a few years.  You could also have it anodized to keep it from corroding.

[Woodski]

@Michigan boarder - Four materials come to mind for the dash panel.

1.  Steel - easy to braze or weld some studs for attachment, easy to bend, not too difficult to cut gauge holes, heaviest solution.

2.  Aluminum - no problem bending, lighter than steel, can weld studs, hole drilling ok but will gum up hole saw.

3. Fiberglass - can layup a panel off a surface bent to shape (can use old dash panel as form), super easy to drill gauge holes, use screws for dash attachment.  Lighter than metal panel.

4.  Carbon Fiber - see #3, very light, stiff.  Carbon fiber cloth is pretty easy to work with although 3 & 4 will be messy.

Spend time thinking about your layout, even make a cardboard template and sit in the boat with it to make sure you keep good sight lines.  Example, I added PP and spent time making sure I liked the location based on pushing the buttons with right v left hand.

[Woodski]

Several Echelons came with steel panels than were a Computron delete.  
Computrons had their own built in delete schedule 😂🤣.  Sad as it was a cool option.

[Michigan boarder]

1 hour ago, justgary said:

I see.  Plenty of studs to hold it down, too.  That ought to be fun to reproduce if you use aluminum again.

When you cut the new one and get it all fit correctly, take it to a machine shop and ask them to wash on a chrome conversion coating (e.g. Alodyne) before you paint or powder coat it.  That's the best way to prime aluminum so you don't get corrosion in a few years.  You could also have it anodized to keep it from corroding.

Actually the new guages will not use studs to mount, they have a sleeve that slides over the housing from behind the dash and pulls the guage tight to the outside surface as you tighten the nuts.  So I will be using 7 stainless studs going thru the panel into the new rivnuts mounted in the dash housing.  It should be pretty simple.

 

 

1 hour ago, Woodski said:

@Michigan boarder - Four materials come to mind for the dash panel.

1.  Steel - easy to braze or weld some studs for attachment, easy to bend, not too difficult to cut gauge holes, heaviest solution.

2.  Aluminum - no problem bending, lighter than steel, can weld studs, hole drilling ok but will gum up hole saw.

3. Fiberglass - can layup a panel off a surface bent to shape (can use old dash panel as form), super easy to drill gauge holes, use screws for dash attachment.  Lighter than metal panel.

4.  Carbon Fiber - see #3, very light, stiff.  Carbon fiber cloth is pretty easy to work with although 3 & 4 will be messy.

Spend time thinking about your layout, even make a cardboard template and sit in the boat with it to make sure you keep good sight lines.  Example, I added PP and spent time making sure I liked the location based on pushing the buttons with right v left hand.

Thanks, I've decided that I'm definitely going with 1/8" aluminum and a vinyl wrap, not sure on the vinyl color yet.  Maybe carbon fiber, maybe red (to match gelcoat & upholstery beading), just not sure.  Great idea on the layout which reminds me I also need to think of the 2" risers on my driver's seat, I've been thinking of removing them (originally installed for pulling wakeboarders).

[Nick55]

@Michigan boarder this may sound wild, but for your dash housing, look up aircraft interior shops that repair glare shields. Those are the upper dash on a plane and often crack from sun exposure.  Those shops are great at repairing and recovering in vinyl, and it is usually really cheap (boat or aviation bucks). 

[Woodski]

@Nick55 - great suggestion, thanks.  The plastic/vinyl dash surround is quite brittle so the dash panel to surround attachment points crack and break.

[solorex]

On 2/6/2024 at 7:25 AM, Woodski said:

@Michigan boarder - Four materials come to mind for the dash panel.

1.  Steel - easy to braze or weld some studs for attachment, easy to bend, not too difficult to cut gauge holes, heaviest solution.

2.  Aluminum - no problem bending, lighter than steel, can weld studs, hole drilling ok but will gum up hole saw.

3. Fiberglass - can layup a panel off a surface bent to shape (can use old dash panel as form), super easy to drill gauge holes, use screws for dash attachment.  Lighter than metal panel.

4.  Carbon Fiber - see #3, very light, stiff.  Carbon fiber cloth is pretty easy to work with although 3 & 4 will be messy.

Spend time thinking about your layout, even make a cardboard template and sit in the boat with it to make sure you keep good sight lines.  Example, I added PP and spent time making sure I liked the location based on pushing the buttons with right v left hand.

I've used Alumalite (Sign Board material); think aluminum sandwiched with ABS.  Works great and you can wrap it with 3m vinyl of your choosing.  In my case I used the faux carbon fiber and it looks great.