Thanks! It was a surprising amount of work, but it gives the boat a much more modern feel. I can't wait to get back on the water and actually use it!Originally Posted by Gambler69
Thanks! It was a surprising amount of work, but it gives the boat a much more modern feel. I can't wait to get back on the water and actually use it!
Stratovarius, thats exactly what I'm wanting to do with mine. Any tips or pointers??
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1997 Gambler Outlaw
Powered by Mercury
HDS 5 & HDS 7
Glowin' Thanks to Bluewater LEDs
[QUOTE=flubyu;10890627]Stratovarius, thats exactly what I'm wanting to do with mine. Any tips or pointers??[/QUOT
Absolutely, cutting a hole big enough for a 9" graph is not for the faint of heart. My dash was already hacked up pretty bad by the previous owners attempt at a custom dash. You can definitely use the factory U shaped graph mount and attach it to the dash plate if you don't want to do too much cutting. Speaking of dash plate, I used aluminum composite material that I purchased off of Amazon. It's two thin sheets of aluminum sandwiching some sort of plastic material in the middle. It's around .100" thick. I then wrapped the panel in 3m carbon fiber vinyl. Careful layout of the gauge holes and good sharp hole saws make the holes easy. The factory circuit breakers are still utilized and hidden under the dash. I replaced the stock gauges with new Mercury units and wired in 4 pin duetch style connectors to make the harness cleaner. It's a lot of work to do the wiring, and of course the hydraulic steering hoses must be taken off and pulled up and out of the way. Then the helm can come out. The push button switches are also from Amazon and are the only ones on there rated to 10 amps. I can dig up links to these components and materials if you or anyone else wants them. It's definitely not "hard" to do, but you do need to think a few steps ahead and make sure that you are not skipping over any large details. The switches are right to left: bilge pump, nav/gauge lights, and finally interior lights. I consolidated a TON of goofy wiring that was done by the previous owner, and what helped the most was labeling EVERYTHING even if you don't think it's important, label it before it comes apart. That's all I can think of at the moment, but I will update with more info if I come up with something else. If you have any specific questions, I am more than happy to answer.
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