Looking across the board, sailing instruments don't seem to be as common in Macgegors as what haters would call 'proper' sailboats but I just wondered where people who had installed instruments had fitted them and whether they were happy with their placement. I have a lovely set of raymarine st80 instruments which I intend to fit to my Mac26x. Trouble is there are 4 of them and I already have a compass installed where you're 'meant' to fit them. My other concern is that when your crew are sat in the cockpit, do they obscure your view of the instruments?
My though was that they could possibly be installed in the companionway hatch. They would always be in view and even if you changed your mind, replacing a coach roof hatch is easier than re-fibreglassing up 4 4" holes in your hull! You would have to make some coiled wires to allow the hatch to open and close but my real concern is the structural strength of the hatch after 4 holes are cut in it. It's never favourite to stand on the companionway hatch but if one chose to do so while reeling the sail for example, when your mind is on not falling overboard, a heavy stomp on the edge could be risky.
Your thoughts? Has anyone done or seen this done? Am I bonkers?
Sat, 19/03/2016 - 6:25pm
#1
james.brine
Instruments in companionway hatch?
James,
I agree Macs do tend to be light on instrumentation by modern standards but I have to say personally that allows more focus on sailing and less on technology.
(that's my personal inner conflict between engineer and sailor :) ) Depends of course on what your doing.
I did consider mast mounted instruments, that creates an issue with stepping the mast that needs a waterproof connector.
FWIW my thoughts on the hatch structure would be:
Keep the cutouts as high as possible to leave as much 'meat' as possible in the bottom edge to take tension loads if the hatch is stood on.
Keep the holes round or obround, i.e. no sharp corners to act as stress concentrators.
Back up the cut section with extra layup of grp
or a stainless plate bonded to the back of the cut section.
or a bar along the bottom edge bonded on.
Use a cable chain or a block and shock cord to form a cable reeler to keep the cables out of the way.
Beware the depth of the instruments behind the lip of the hatch as it will restrict how far the hatch opens.
You may need to restrict the hatch movement to protect the instruments if someone pushes the hatch all the way.
Good luck
Dave.
Dave Newton Sailbadthesinner
Thanks Dave, yes, sound advice.
GRP-ing a bar across the bottom of the hatch would strengthen it up nicely and I could also incorporate an inside lock or draft excluder strip to it. The instruments require a round cut-out so that's favourable.
Don't think mast mounting works for me. The instruments are fairly big but it's quite a long way away. They are designed to be recessed and there are 4 of them so it's going to be a bit cluttered. Hadn't thought of that though.
I know what you mean about using instruments removing the spirit of sailing somewhat but to me it's all part of it. Sometimes you want to just use the wind on your cheeks but other times it's great to get your geek on and use the wind instruments to trim you craft within an inch of its life! My co-sailor is very into sail trim, I can loose him for hrs with a flicking tell-tale. It's also a great way to get the best out of your boat. The Macs do sail in a non-traditional manner, particularly to wind and establishing that being heeled at 50 degrees to point up just means you'll be sailing sideways is useful for the next time. If nothing else, where we are a depth transducer is an important part of navigation. If you've got a chart of the Severn, look at the areas under the bridges. The 'shoots' are a deep channel which you need to stay within and if you're tacking down the steep change in depth is your signal to come about. A lot of Mac owners don't seem to have them. I guess because they float in a puddle! I find it reassuring however, feeling my way up a drying channel. It can mean you can get in 30mins early if the tide is dragging its heels!
Hi James , I would counsel greatly against putting instruments , which can be quite delicate electronically , in a hatch that you are likely to be taking on and off , and sometimes in a hurry.....we need to boat hook NOW or the extra long line or ...forgot to switch the main battery on .....type sagas come to mind.
You may not have one yet but a spray hood is an absolute delight to have so that you can sail with companionway left open....so crew can pass up drinks!
have seen instruments fiited onto a modified upper edge of sliding hatch but that makes them further away. I think most find that rthey are ok on the bulk head either side of the companionway ad /or on a steel loop fitted to binnacle. You could consider getting a multi reading display.
I have chart plotter on binnacle, which shows speed thro water, speed over ground etc , depth to one side of companionway and compass the other side. My auto-helm controls are on a separate arm. I dont think we need windex system . If you dont want to curt holes then consider a board that hinges out across the companionway and can easily be pushed back for access. The Healeys have this arrangement on their 19and it seems to work quite well. I believe they even fit their radio to it , hence giving easy access to that from cock-pit.
Finally , when fitting radio , its worth checking whether the electromagnetic field induced affects your compass. I had to adjust for this in fitting mine.
Roly
Hi James again...and afor anyone who reads this ....Depth is not only a good idea where youare , I think it ESSENTIAL on any boat. ....On day skipper course we were taught that depth may be the only thing youve got in poor visiblity ....esp if your chart plotter has gone down......also means your crew can scream at you when you have been looking at the sail trim and not how close you are to shore !
(all spoken from experience I might add , Im afraid)
Roly
I very much agree Roly. Better to set a depth alarm with my motley crew! They're too busy enjoying themselves.
Having had a good look at the hatch, it doesn't look like they'd fit comfortably anyway. The risk is too high I think. Hadn't thought of the access issue.
Roly, you mentioned your Autohelm is on an arm. Does that mean you have a Raymarine Sport pilot? If so, any good?
Roly, James,
Have I misunderstood what was being proposed?
I took it that the proposed location was in the aft vertical edge of the sliding hatch not in the much larger area of the drop in washboard.
But having reread the posts I'm confused.
Replacing the sliding hatch would be a dramatically greater cost than the washboard but fitting to the washboard would be very inconvenient as Roly pointed out.
If they will fit in the edge of the sliding hatch, subject to a bit of reinforcement and a clever bit of cable management underneath that seems to be a nice location only further away while the hatch is open.
Dave.
Dave Newton Sailbadthesinner
Hello again Dave, yes the sliding hatch was what I was getting at. I think putting them in the weatherboards/washboards would leave the instruments open to damage and they're not cheap or really available any more!
As mentioned, I'm going to fit them where Mr Macgregor intended. Just got to propare myself psychologically to drilling 4 holes in a perfectly good boat now!
Wish me luck.
Perhaps I am coming into this exchange a little late but you might consider using a Pod mounted on top of the Pedestal. Your wiring then fits down the pedestal. You then have easy constant visual access from the helm. The downsides of this arrangement are the cost of the Pod and adapting your wheel cover if you use one.
Thanks Colin. Yes, I've looked at pods but I'm saving that spot for the autopilot when I've saved up the pennies. (Around 2035 I reckon!)
My instruments are as follows: compass on starboard, depth on port, chart plotter on binnacle with auto-helm above that. Handheld VHF goes in a bag on front of the binnacle. This works very well except for glare on the plotter screen. Also, I use depth readings more than anything else. Having an M, wind instruments are not really an affordable option.
David
David Claassen
"Logan's Run"
2006 26M
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