Electronics Upgrade Project - 330 Express

[kirk a]

Over the winter, I purchased a set of Raymarine e127 MFD's from a member here. This post will document the process of removing the old units and replacing with the e127's.

The former units were a Raymarine C140w and a Furuno L182 Fishfinder.


The first step was to remove the helm pod from the boat to bring it home for the work. To do this, I chose to remove the bolts on the boat side of the hinge, rather than on the pod side. This required first removing the tub-but I wanted the tub out to provide additional access to the wiring underneath, and also to allow the drain tubing for the helm cup holder to be accessed, as it was clogged. Disconnect the hydraulic piston at the top, and raise the pod as high as possible and secure with a rope. Tub removal is pretty straightforward, unscrew the 10 or so screws, and disconnect the drain hoses for the tub. Once out, the nuts on the hinge bolts could be accessed.

Disconnect all the wires from the existing units, and then free the pod for removal.

Once home, the old units were removed, and I could plan the rebuild. I briefly considered using lexan or starboard, but have never liked the look, as it always seemed like a bandaid or a shortcut. In this case the old C140 unit was way too big, and the bottom of the pod was cut out, which also might have been a structural issue with starboard or lexan. Ultimately my decision was to reglass the pod and then cut out for the new units. On a previous boat I did several glass projects, so this one seemed possible.

Once the old units were out, I cut some baltic birch plywood to size for the opening on the face, as well as the bottom. The two pieces were screwed together temporarily, and cleats added to ensure the front face would not shift.

The plywood was clamped into place on the pod, and then the inside was glassed in to hold it in place.

 

[Hookup1]

That is how they do it on the big rigs! Nice clean look for the new electronics.

I did a flush mount in a starboard insert. Looks good but re-glassing would have been better.

 

[kirk a]

After glassing the inside it was time to start on the outside. Started with the initial layer on the bottom leaving room for a layer that would go around the corner.


I had a bunch of 1708 mat and some much lighter mat. Used the 1708 for base layers and the thin stuff on top

Once the bottom was done the pod was rearranged so the front was up and it was time to cut the mat and glass it in


then a view down the length to check how it sits

 

[wspitler]

On my 2007 330 I replaced Garmin 5212s with slightly different sized 1243xsv MFDs. Ordered custom bezels from NewWire marine. Plug and play with a little cutting of existing holes. Existing holes were too small in horizontal dimension and too large in vertical dimension. Very easy! No need to remove the tub or hatch. They will laser cut any size with holes to fit any make MFD. Highly recommended.

 

[kirk a]

Hi Bill, that looks like a nice alternative.

 

[kirk a]

Moving right along.

After glassing in the new core, it was time to do some filling and sanding. Couple of skim coats of filler and a bunch of sanding later it was time for gel coat.


I applied white gel coat with a tiny drop of brown tint in it which was not a great match. The first coat of gel coat was not thick enough in places, and I sanded through it. The color and thinness made the decision to mix a second coat easy. This time, used a touch more brown, and the color match was better.



While the gel coat was curing, I set out to make a template for the cutouts. With spray adhesive, I attached a copy of the installation template to a piece of 1/8" plywood. Opted to cut it out on the bandsaw instead of using a jigsaw as the cut would be better and the table would better support the thin plywood. Only downside is the need to keep track of the 1/16" kerf on the template.

 

[kirk a]

Next I put blue tape down on the pod in preparation for tracing the inside of the pattern. Taped the pattern down loosely, and traced it with a sharpie.



Then it was time for a deep breath. First drilled a 1" hole in each corner, per the directions, then plunged the angle grinder into it. Used a diamond blade in the 4.5" angle grinder which got almost all of the cutting done. Some of the detailed cuts were done with a jigsaw.

Switched to an 80 grit sanding disc to true up the edges and get the units fit. Drilled holes in the corners for through bolting the units. Removed the units, and the blue tape used for the templates. Put down a fresh layer of blue tape at the perimeter of the units. Put the units back into place, then cut the tape around them. Removed the units and peeled off the tape which was under the units, leaving a clean outline of them. A thin bead of life seal was applied to the gel coat under the units, and they were bedded back in and bolted tight. The excess life seal was easily cleaned up, then the tape was removed, leaving a clean edge.

Installed on the boat, and temporarily connected to validate the wiring.



Final step will be this weekend, when the wiring is cleaned up underneath, and the tub is reinstalled.