Dash Panel Replacement

[Coralkong]

I must say guys, as a '74 Tricabin owner, I too replaced the dash and my gauges, and really tried to do a good job, and I think it came out great, but WOW!

JuiceClark, that is something else! I know what a pain in the butt that must have been, but that is AWESOME!

I'm gonna have to try to find a picture of mine.....I used a piece of old-growth African Zebrawood from my local cabinetry shop (about $100 for finished, planed, sanded, etc....)and new gauges (Teleflex Sahara, I believe), from Ebay. (Cheap, but at least they all matched!) Pay close attention to what kind of fuel senders are in your boat (ohms), I thought everything was "standard" stuff in mine, but the fuel senders are not. Sigh, it can turn into THAT kind of project.......
But in the end, it definately looks better and is MUCH more functional than it ever was before! And it all matches, which pleases the admiral. Plus, all the lights match at night, something which is a pet-peeve of mine.

Bottom line, it can be done, and it can be done well. You just have to take your time, be creative and plan ahead. Oh, yeah, a thousand bucks laying around for all the new gauges, material, new connectors, wires, wiring blocks, switches, etc...never hurts either. And you're gonna need plenty of beer, and a good multi-meter, and some shrink-wrap tubing, and while I'm in there, wouldn't it make sense to add a new _________(fill in the blank with whatever expensive, cool, dashboard instrument you want that day!)

Boy that looks good guys. Inspirational, I tell ya!

[72SeaRaider]

Juice Clark, how do you like the multi function gauges? I am thinking about going down that route to reduce the footprint of gauges on my dash to make some room for other items.

Just not sure if the tight grouping gets old after a while compared to having seperate gauges.

Thanks for any info.

[JuiceClark]

Juice Clark, how do you like the multi function gauges? I am thinking about going down that route to reduce the footprint of gauges on my dash to make some room for other items.

Just not sure if the tight grouping gets old after a while compared to having seperate gauges.

Thanks for any info.

I like them. I guess I never realized how often I look at the gauges until I replaced them. The first 30 minutes of any trip, it seems I glance at the temp. gauge every few minutes. So, having them in one gauge is nice because your eye goes right where you want.

To be honest, I just bought the 4 in 1 gauge because it's less money for fewer gauges. The reduced clutter turned out to be the real benefit. When the summer comes and days are long, I'm going to start some projects on my F-36 again. I'm going to completely paint the ol' girl, do the lower helm like the bridge helm and rebuild the stateroom layout.

[RWS]

Reinforced & restored the factory panel.

Modified with a 1/4" hurricane shutter to accept pyrometers & boost guages.

added analog clock in center

photos follow

RWS

[72SeaRaider]

Nice job restoring that dash!