2002 Grady 282 Sailfish Dash panel replacement

[fireman_bob]

Hi,
Both dash panels on my 282 Sailfish are looking pretty shabby. I'm looking for ideas and suggestions on how/what to replace them with.
I did one on my old boat, a 2000 Sportcraft. I took the old panel off, got a sheet of 3M carbon fiber sticker sheet and pasted it over the old one, then cut out the holes from behind. I may do that with this one unless I can find a better solution.
With the number of these boats around, does anyone make a "stock" replacement? (I don't need the switches and breakers, just the panel).
Thanks.

 

[the.devo]

I'm in the process of redoing the dash on my 2000 272. When I find the time to complete, the 4 engine guages will be mounted on starboard behind the door in the glovebox above the helm and a Raymaine C127 will be flush mounted into the location previously occupied by the engine instruments.
I bought the boat last August and will be tackling the switches next winter. My thoughts, as of now, are to have the 3 water pumps (fresh, raw, livewell), all lighting and the stereo go in the glovebox and to leave all other switches in the existing location including horn and wipers. I plan on mounting all of these switches on white starboard. I will make a template for the switch opening and cut them out with a dremel. It will be a long process but the winter is long. I will post pics soon.

 

[anothertoy]

I am having the same problem with my 2002 Sailfish. My portside dash panel looks horrible. Somewhere on this forum I found that someone had purchased a new dash panel from New Wire Marine. They have a carbon fibre material that looks similar to what was originally on the boat but they are more into full dash panel units including all the electronics. I have not found a perfect solution to this problem yet and look forward to some suggestions from others that have this same problem.

 

[The_Chain]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20841

 

[fireman_bob]

Thank you for the replies. I'll have new wire quote the panels. Just an FYI for anyone taking theirs off. A number of the screws holding down my panels were so corroded I couldn't budge them. I ended up using an impact screwdriver to get them. Some screw heads broke off, but that's ok. Once broken off, I had to get vice grips on from behind and twist the screw enough to grab the stub that was left when the head broke off. Was able to get all of them and got the panels off. I'm going to just use screws with nuts instead of the rivet nuts GW used originally, since I don't have a rivet nut tool to install new ones. I'm probably going to replace all my switch actuators too, since most of the logo's are worn off the ones I have. I also did this on my old boat and it's an easy task to pop the old covers off and put new ones on without replacing the whole switch.

I priced the 3M Di-noc at around $14 to do both panels. I'll see where new wire comes in with their quote and post my findings.

Regards,
Bob

 

[fishbust]

Really? Such a new-ish boat? What is it that looks bad? And why do you think the corrosion? My 272 has the fake wood on each side of the dash and it all looks new.

 

[fireman_bob]

That's great yours still looks like new fishbust, but mine has faded to the point where you can hardly see the silkscreen line and working on the panels. There's also corrosion under the overlay so it's bubbling up in places. It just looks crappy.
This is a new boat for me last year and as I go through it in detail to get it up to my standards, I'm not very impressed with Grady's attention to details. (Not only this issue, but other things in general). Like not being able to access the stb side drains without cutting up the boat. What the eff was Grady thinking?

Grady says the OEM panels are no longer available. Newwire wants $180 for 2 plates which is too much for me at this point, so I guess I'm going to go the carbon fiber wrap route.
I'm also in the process of removing every wire on the dash from every stud and fast-on and giving them a good cleaning. This is one of those projects where you start off with something simple like replacing the panels, then you find all sorts of stuff to fix. I guess that's why I love boating. Always something to putter around with.

 

[DennisG01]

Did you try Flounder Pounder Marine for new panels? Tecnografic is another one, although I have less experience with them.

A really cheap option... spray paint. Any color 'ya want and you can change it if you don't like it.

 

[fireman_bob]

I'm going with the carbon fiber vinyl overlay. It's cheap enough so that if don't like it I can try something else. I'll post pictures once I get it done.

I'm having a hell of time finding new switch covers though. No one seems to have the ones that Grady used originally (black with 2 white lenses). I can get them in red, but that would mean replacing all the LED bulbs since they're green and red, which wouldn't work too well with red lenses. If anyone knows of a source for the Contura II actuators with the 2 white lenses, please let me know. Dealing directly with Carling is a no-go since they want huge minimum orders blah blah blah.

Thanks.

 

[fireman_bob]

Here's the new panel with most of the switches. Next time I need to be more careful with the alignment of the pattern :-|

 

[fishbust]

Bob, it looks good from here.

 

[fireman_bob]

Thank you fishbust. Overall I'm very happy with the way it came out. I installed it in the boat yesterday and got everything wired up correctly. Both new panels look good on the dash. I just wish I could find a source for replacement actuators that have reasonable prices.

 

[DennisG01]

It looks nice.

You might check with your Grady dealer on getting the switch covers. Sometimes (although I don't know 100% in this case) things like this are custom made for manufacturers. The problem is, once they haven't been used in a while it's sometimes hard, if not impossible, to get exact replacements. If Grady can't get them for you, they may be able to tell who the manufacturer was and then contact them to find a retailer. Although, they do look like Contoura.