After we had painted the boat years ago, the boat was used very little and eventually ended up in a storage barn and was kept there for over 7-8 years. Being stored inside a enclosed building out of the weather helped keep the boat from further deterioration. Other than a good cleaning and servicing, the boat appeared to be good to go. However, the electronics were old and barely visible to read so the owner wathe nted to install new. He chose to go back with Furuno brand and chose their latest Navnet model - dual TZ Touch MFD's.

Because of the original design of the flybridge console, the MFDs were too large to be mounted in-dash so we opted to use Furuno's included brackets. In order to do so, we had to make a couple of custom stand mounts to order to attach them to the very slanted console top. Since the flybridge was easily accessible and not secure and exposed to the elements, installing the units on brackets would allow for removal when not is use and stored safely away.However this practice eventually led to dropping one of the units while removing it from boat and shattering its glass.

The next year and several thousand dollars later to repair the dropped unit, the boat was hauled out, cleaned up and put back into the water. However it was shortlived, since something happened to the starboard engine. The boat was hauled back and the engine was determined to need to be overhauled. And the other one as well. Instead, the owner opted to replace both engines with two Yanmar 370 V8's.

Since the boat was going to be down for a while with the engine install, we suggested modifying the console to avoid the potential issue of dropping the plotter again. We came up with a design so the MFDs could be mounted in the dash permanently but would require a little fiberglass work. The owner agreed and gave us the green light to proceed. So while the engines was being installed, we could work on fixing the console.

Further investigation revealed that we could remove the upper console part from the flybridge. Since fiberglass work is extremely messy, dusty, itchy, and time consuming, being able to remove the console from off the boat was indeed a blessing sent from heaven, even more so, considering how many times climbing up and down a ladder would entail...and the mess...yes..the mess.

The new design moved the steering wheel to the port side to allow the shifter to be placed in the center.

In order for the MFD's to be flush-mounted into the dash, the original dash face had to be removed and a new panel fabricated and glassed in. We also angled the panel face  allowing enhanced viewing of the chartplotters.