Dave, i was going to say 1/8" Stainless but that would be a lot of work. And seeing as all your gauges / instruments are black i would say stay with the black plexi. At the same time you could purchase the whole panel for the do over and draw it out so you can have it lasered.

 

Thanks Old Mud, I agree with the plexiglass, is 1/4” ok or go with 3/8”?

I think the chart plotter weighs about 6lbs

 

Thanks Old Mud, I agree with the plexiglass, is 1/4" ok or go with 3/8"?

I think the chart plotter weighs about 6lbs

When in doubt, use the thicker material. I've never regretted using heavier duty material, but I've regretted many times using material that was too weak or flexed too much. 3/8" is what I would use.

 

Would the starboard be a better option where it is a matte finish and you will get no reflection from the sun?

 

Starboard is easy to work with, but stay away from white…difficult to keep clean!

View attachment 4A095861-1A79-4F46-A8F9-29992113270C.jpeg

 

I'd reach for an opaque plastic material, preferably one that's easy to cut.

Starboard, equivalent, or even PVC board (which you can just go buy at home depot BTW).

I might go 1/2 inch, but for sure a minimum of 3/8. You don't want it flapping, you want to be able to put a screw into it and have something for it to hold onto. Edges can be rounded over for cosmetics with a thicker material.

 

I've used quarter inch black Starboard, works great!

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I've used quarter inch black Starboard, works great!

View attachment 151063

The black starboard gets my vote. A very clean & modern look there.

 

wharfrat should be able to sell you a perfect filler piece based on what you had there before, he did for me a few years ago

 

if you are planning long term…..
I would lay up a sheet of fiberglass.
Make it about 1/4 or preferably 3/8 thick And a bit larger than that hole, trim it to size then gelcoat.
Wont expand & contract like all of the plastic suggestions.
Being directly behind the windows it’s going to get direct sunlight/solar glare = heat

 

I had a similiar situation years ago. I cut one out of 1/4” plexiglas then spray painted the back of it jet black. Once it was in place and everything set into it I picture framed it in mahogany or teak I cant remember. Worked perfectly and looked outstanding. The paint on the backside prevented the black from being scratched off so it always looked great. Super inexpensive as well which at that point was very important to me.

 

Made one for my son's boat, black Starboard, there is an online supplier (Boat Outfitters) that will sell you any cut to size piece you want. No waste.

 

If you want to send me the unit you are putting in and your outside dimension I could get you a price on matte black or shiny acrylic trim cut to fit. It can be pre drilled for fasteners or left bare so you can do it yourself. It can also be prepped for back fastening so you do not see it. Both gloss and matt are nice, but depends on what you like. You will not get glare on gloss in a wheel house that you will notice. You need large areas in gloss in the sun to notice it. CDevil just posted an all Matte dash and I really like it.

 

Thanks for the offer, I like the idea of back fastening. Where are you located?

 

CT

 

I'd 2nd doing a glass layup. Or wood to match what's there

 

I’ve used 1/4” thick white starboard and it worked perfectly when reconfiguring my dash.

 

I used 1/4" black star board and then wrapped it with carbon fiber tape

View attachment 48E3D1A0-C4C3-4521-AAA7-3324A066199C.jpeg

 

You can get carbon fiber acrylic sheets for dash panels and high gloss black Acrylic sheets In various sizes and thicknesses from Amazon.

 

as mentioned above, i did the same with black starboard...however, the best choice i made was to get a sheet of mdf from lowes and make a template out of that..with all the holes etc etc..once i was happy with the trimming and sanding...i used a trim bit on a router to trace it on to the starboard, would imagine that you could do the same with plexi if you go that route. I did have to put a couple holes in it to hold the two together while i did the routing.. I put those through in to the back of the starboard (i went way thick @ 3/4") but not all the way through it so there is no sign of the holes on the front side. came out nice...looks clean...solid as all get out.

 

This is black 1/4" Starboard

View attachment 3F87481E-B92C-4768-B4D1-D7E3FFA78283.png

 

I know it's a stretch from doing it yourself but I came across a company that not only does very cool etched rocker switch and stainless waterproof push switched but also custom panel out of a Matt acrylic cut to whatever design you send them it's New Wire Marine in Charleston? they also etched the panel and back light it with the name of your boat, I only bought the switch so far since I m not sure how I will organize the helm panel but they do a great job
Projects

 

Thinner materials will flex, and can crack over time.

3/8"-1/2" black plexi can be de-glossed with a medium rubbing compound, leaving you with a satin luster.

Glassing the dash in and fairing, then cutting out the new opening will look like a new factory install, though that is a more complex job.

View attachment A8E347F3-F363-442D-8383-463FE690DBC8.jpeg View attachment 10858E68-83B7-41CD-A725-9A24C4C1F055.jpeg

This is made from 3/8" Starboard, back rabbeted, rounded over on the edge, hand scraped and flame burnished.

If you use 1/2", you could flush mount the bezel of the Simrad, and rabbet the perimeter to set into your opening.

Leave about 5/16" on the perimeter and round over for a thin, classy look with a thick, rugged panel for the job.

 

View attachment BE0A16B0-B140-48F8-B95E-FAC76F010072.jpeg I used 1/4" Starboard. Nice material, very easy to work with.

 

Good Lord, your Garmin is upside down!

 

Haha, just the cover! Drives me nuts, but it has to go on that way.

 

Black Kydex
Easy to work with. You can form it also. You can glue it easy with THF. TETRAHYDRAFLORINE on a dash like that I have used 2 1/8” pieces laminated with THF the cut to size and drill. Have made recessed switch panels with plug forms very. Ice product.

 

Black Kydex
Easy to work with. You can form it also. You can glue it easy with THF. TETRAHYDRAFLORINE on a dash like that I have used 2 1/8" pieces laminated with THF the cut to size and drill. Have made recessed switch panels with plug forms very. Ice product.

That's an interesting choice!

How stiff does this material become after laminating?

 

I was faced with a similar job for our Sabre 38 for the engine display. Our helm is very similar to yours. I made a frame using cherry that fits right in with the rest of the boat. Anything else is going to stick out.

 

Thanks for your reply, our boat is a 36 Sabre the cabin is finished with mahogany but the helm area is trimmed with oak, so Im thinking of using oak.
Question for your helm how thick is the cherry that you used? And did you glue together a few boards?
I have a planer and was thinking of using 3/4" boards planed to 1/2"
Do you have any pictures?

 

I used starboard. It worked great.
If you want any kind of plastic, try Acmeplastics.com
I made an acrylic windshield for my Mako. They cut the panel to the rough size and I heated and bent it.

View attachment 4B0DAF21-A9E1-448E-A09F-C9C4F0D47485.jpeg

 

TCL, my trip to NH to look at the boat got postponed, but I haven't forgotten. I still need too get up to the yard in the next week or so and will get snaps to show the mounting frame.

Hank