flush mount material

[trapper]

Hi Guys, With my new Lowrance has Live 7, I have to reconfigure my flush mount. What is the best uv resistant material, composite? plastic? polycarbonate? to use for the flush mount in black? I painted starboard for the last install but it scratches off easily. Thanks

 

[Blaugrana]

Not sure the most UV resistant but I assume they are similar and it comes down to preference... What’s the look you want? What color?

Here is the starboard ( have acrylic as well along with NewMarine and BoatOutfitters)

King StarBoard Marine Board HDPE Sheets and Custom Cut : TAP Plastics

Looking for the toughest thermoplastic to use in marine applications? Look no further than King Starboard and our assortment of cut-to-size HDPE sheets today.

www.tapplastics.com

 

[SkunkBoat]

Painted starboard? they make black and off-white starboard and it is a pretty good choice, easy to work....

Other good choices are ABS plastic, plexiglass/acrylic and lexan/polycarbonate. I have a piece of black plexi right here waiting to do my flat dash...
They can be "chippy" when cutting if you are not careful.

Plexi is most scratch resistant... lexan, abs, starboard scratch most easily

ABS is available with different finishes and patterns.

 

[Parthery]

Acrylic/plexi or carbon fiber looks the best in my opinion. Starboard is the easiest to work with, but it does ripple a bit in high heat environments.

 

[trapper]

Thanks guys, still seeing what is available locally. Priced starboard and need a piece 10"x 19" approx. they would only sell me a full sheet 12" x 54" for $150. No thanks. I'll keep looking!

 

[Ky Grady]

Picked this up at Menards $29 + tax. 7/32" x 24" x 36" Will be flush mounting my Simrad in it.

 

[Blaugrana]

Thanks guys, still seeing what is available locally. Priced starboard and need a piece 10"x 19" approx. they would only sell me a full sheet for $150. No thanks. I'll keep looking!

Depending on where you are located, try TAP Plastics. I had them ship across the country and was only $37 with routing and rounded edges. They finished the front so I just focused on the back and cutouts. They would do everything but I had no clue all of the dimensions at the time.

Next time, I would go KY Grady’s route but there are no Menards nearby...

 

[trapper]

Thanks Blaugrana, I updated my last responce to include the size for for $150 12'x53" Our choices here are limited by price and the unwillingness of the merchant to cut to size even to the nearest foot. I'm thinking now by reinforcing the original flush mount I can use the same piece, but have to remove the both MDF's for a larger size refit, if there is enough material as the new Lowrance7 is bigger than Gen1 7

 

[Don Davis]

Here’s my flush mount project. I sent a PM with details.

 

[SkunkBoat]

Thanks guys, still seeing what is available locally. Priced starboard and need a piece 10"x 19" approx. they would only sell me a full sheet 12" x 54" for $150. No thanks. I'll keep looking!

they definitely sell 1/4" and 1/2" starboard in 12"x 24"...most marine stores.... $27 on amazon prime free shipping.

 

[Hookup1]

I flush mounted mine in Seafoam colored Starboard. It's off white and matches my boat. Don't paint it!

 

[Don Davis]

Our local plastics store could not order the 1/4” Seafoam Starboard so I went with the black ABS for now, I may change it out for the Seafoam if they get it in stock later. It’s nice to have options.

 

[Parthery]

1/4" is a little thin if it has to support the weight of the electronics as well. I had better luck with 1/2" starboard. Some of the acrylics are available in 3/8 which is the way to go.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

I flush mounted mine in Seafoam colored Starboard. It's off white and matches my boat. Don't paint it!

View attachment 18994

That's clean!

 

[PNW_Drifter]

1/4" is a little thin if it has to support the weight of the electronics as well. I had better luck with 1/2" starboard. Some of the acrylics are available in 3/8 which is the way to go.

3/8" is ideal. I have 1/2" acrylic and it's overkill. Though it's stronger than starboard. The stock Grady clear covers are 1/4.

 

[Blaugrana]

3/8" is ideal. I have 1/2" acrylic and it's overkill. Though it's stronger than starboard. The stock Grady clear covers are 1/4.

Agree....I was on the fence thinking 1/4 too thin and 1/2 too thick after seeing in person. So I went with the 3/8 starboard but think you may be able to get away with less if acrylic

 

[Hookup1]

The 1/4" Starboard should be fine to support the weight. If you zoom into my photo above upper left corned you see the top top panel is 1/4". Behind it only at the top is a 1/2" piece used to extend above the fiberglass panel to trim it out. Screw holes you see are for the unit and into the fiberglass. Panel was 5200'ed in. I believe there are. a few short screws installed from behind to secure the front panel.

 

[Fowl Hooked]

I used 1/2" Starboard initially, then went back and added a piece of 1/8" carbon fiber ABS plastic that I had leftover from another project. Was solely for appearances but matches what I'd done for the switch and instrument panels and I like how it turned out.

 

[Parthery]

My experience with 1/4" Starboard is it would ripple worse in the Southeastern US Summer Heat. Moved up to 1/2" and - yes - it's thick, but it won't ripple. I still stand by 3/8" as the way to go.

 

[BrooklynJoe]

I used 3/16 acrylic to match the thickness of the original doors. This way I could reuse the enclosure for storage. Works good for my Simrad GO9..