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Saving relay display costs when installing yacht electronic systems

What is the issue?

Electronic systems for yachts are highly expensive. Worse you have to pay twice for the display units as they are required both in the cockpit and below decks at the navigation station etc. This repeating of display units adds dramatically to the system and installation costs.

Why address this?

Provisioning to both environments is quite simply the best approach. However, it makes setting up a vessel with instrumentation particularly expensive for those on a budget or cruisers who are operating on a shoestring. If your budget is constrained, even in the short term, it may be too much of a challenge to fit the vessel out above decks and below.

How to address this?

A cost efficient way may be had by setting up a single suite of instruments on a swivel panel just inside the companionway door as presented below.

Swivel mounted panel that may be seen below decks and above
Drawing: Tony Gibson

The panel may be turned inside and outside as required and fixed with a sliding bolt in either position. Make certain when installing that the cable has plenty of flex room and the panels are covered behind the board should you catch a wave.

Though the optimal solution is to have repeated instruments, this system has an added advantage of keeping the instrument panels inside and out of the weather when not in use. Plus, and although theft of such equipment is negligible, it is no harm to shut them in when the vessel is unattended. Indeed if security is a prime consideration it is easy to have a plug and drop on hinge arrangement for the panel board so that it can easily be removed when leaving the vessel.

With thanks to:

Michael Harpur, Yacht Obsession.

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