TV Mount

[Sjhopeiu]

Hey all! I'm considering adding a small tv for an extended stay in the cuddy cabin of our '01 268 Islander. Have any of you done this? Where did you mount it and type of hardware used? I am thinking on the vertical surface just between my hatch and anchor locker but I don't necessarily want to go through to the outside of the boat if possible and if I did I would like the hardware to have a finished look etc. Thoughts on how you would do this.

 

[DennisG01]

That area you are talking sounds fine. I wouldn't worry one bit about the screws protruding into the anchor locker. Keep them short so they don't tangle with the rope. Epoxy the holes to avoid water intrusion into a wood core and finish with a good sealant and there will be zero issues. Essentially, better than a factory job.

 

[Sjhopeiu]

That area you are talking sounds fine. I wouldn't worry one bit about the screws protruding into the anchor locker. Keep them short so they don't tangle with the rope. Epoxy the holes to avoid water intrusion into a wood core and finish with a good sealant and there will be zero issues. Essentially, better than a factory job.

Thanks for the reply Dennis. On the anchor locker door was sort of my second option. There is a vertical surface just above that where I suppose the bow seating is molded and the hatch just above that. I am unsure how thick it is and it is carpeted. Maybe I could get away with 1/4 screws there and not see them protruding on the other side? Otherwise I guess a nut and bolt with a rounded cap nut would be fine. I just don't like the idea of making holes all the way through just for tv. Thanks again.

 

[DennisG01]

Maybe I misunderstood. You mean that the bolts/nuts would be VISIBLE on the outside of the boat? Functionally, it would be just fine - but I agree with you that it's not ideal aesthetically. Do you have some pics of the possible mounting areas? It'll obviously be a smaller TV - some of those TV mounts you can get have a pretty small footprint - maybe that would help.

If the anchor locker door is secure enough, that would probably be OK? You could always make it more secure - on the assumption that you probably don't need to get in there all that often.

Or... maybe just use a laptop?

 

[Sjhopeiu]

It is the space just above the speakers and anchor locker. It's about 2 foot wide and would mount nicely, just concerned about thickness... Now that I'm in the boat I can feel the wall is only about 1/8th inch thick so some finished nuts with bolts would be needed. If anyone has mounted elsewhere that is less intrusive to the original look please let me know.

 

[DennisG01]

Ah, OK. That pic helps tremendously. I see why you're saying the hatch door is not ideal. OK, I'm going to answer as if I was doing this to my boat, so this is just my opinion...

After I knew what mount I was going to use, I would cut two pieces of 3/4" plywood to be at least 2" larger than the mount. Then epoxy the pieces together (or possibly a 2x10/2x12, for example, depending on mount size). Hold this wood piece up to the area you want to mount and trace it onto the headliner material. Cut the headliner and remove it. You're going to epoxy the wood to the fiberglass (after sanding to get rid of the majority of the headliner glue) with thickened epoxy... but first make the wood look nice. Once it's mounted, you can now use 1" or even 1-1/4" screws to secure the TV mount to the wood. That will be VERY secure and there is no protruding hardware to the outside.

When you are done, this will look very nice and will not detract from the aesthetics of the interior in any way.

Possible ideas to make the wood look nice...

-- Just paint the wood.
-- Fill, sand and smooth the wood with bondo, then paint.
-- Cover the wood with matching headliner material - stapled to the backside with SS staples... or even better, Monel staples.
-- Cover the wood with something else... white vinyl that matches the other vinyl in the cabin... use one of the other colors of vinyl... even black vinyl will look nice since the TV mount will be black.

I would cut the headliner a fraction of an inch smaller than the wood so there's no "gap" where you see the bare fiberglass.

All that said, is mounting the TV there conducive to watching the TV? Or would you rather have it somewhere else?

 

[Sjhopeiu]

Ah, OK. That pic helps tremendously. I see why you're saying the hatch door is not ideal. OK, I'm going to answer as if I was doing this to my boat, so this is just my opinion...

After I knew what mount I was going to use, I would cut two pieces of 3/4" plywood to be at least 2" larger than the mount. Then epoxy the pieces together (or possibly a 2x10/2x12, for example, depending on mount size). Hold this wood piece up to the area you want to mount and trace it onto the headliner material. Cut the headliner and remove it. You're going to epoxy the wood to the fiberglass (after sanding to get rid of the majority of the headliner glue) with thickened epoxy... but first make the wood look nice. Once it's mounted, you can now use 1" or even 1-1/4" screws to secure the TV mount to the wood. That will be VERY secure and there is no protruding hardware to the outside.

When you are done, this will look very nice and will not detract from the aesthetics of the interior in any way.

Possible ideas to make the wood look nice...

-- Just paint the wood.
-- Fill, sand and smooth the wood with bondo, then paint.
-- Cover the wood with matching headliner material - stapled to the backside with SS staples... or even better, Monel staples.
-- Cover the wood with something else... white vinyl that matches the other vinyl in the cabin... use one of the other colors of vinyl... even black vinyl will look nice since the TV mount will be black.

I would cut the headliner a fraction of an inch smaller than the wood so there's no "gap" where you see the bare fiberglass.

All that said, is mounting the TV there conducive to watching the TV? Or would you rather have it somewhere else?

Fantastic ideas here. I couldn't have asked for a better description either. The location is the direction we sleep and would be ideal. Thanks again.

 

[DennisG01]

You're welcome!

You would need to rig up a brace to keep the wood in place while the epoxy sets, but that's easy enough. On that front, cover the headliner well with tape to avoid any "squish-out" onto the headliner from sticking. But also, don't put the thickened epoxy to close the edge to begin with.