Could someone tell me the best method for drilling large holes in a fiberglass boat? According to the instructions with my new lowrance unit, I have to drill a 1" dia hole to run the power and transducer cables through. That's an awfully large drill bit. Would a hole saw work best for this? I only want to do this once and get it right the first time so any tips would be greatly appreciated. I plan to bring the cables up through the top cap right next to the console. Thanks in advance.
why would you drill into top cap. Cant you mount to console in any way. I would avoid the top cap at all costs. it will start to spider crack over time and is not a good place to mount a unit. I would run wires underneath console and mount to side. JMO
good advice above thats the rout to go ...a hole saw or spade bit will do the job but put masking tape over the area you will be drilling to prevent scraches chips and cracking in the surrounding area
Hole saw is the only way to go. After drilling the pilot hole, run the hole saw backwards until you get a fairly good start through the surface. That will prevent the chipping and cracking. Finish the hole with a small sanding drum.
I'm with Reggie. I watched a friend of mine install my GPS unit and antenna on my last Champ gunnel. . He did the reverse drill thing. Nary a crack or chip and this was done in 1999. New owner says no problems to date...
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tx Champ »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hole saw is the only way to go. After drilling the pilot hole, run the hole saw backwards until you get a fairly good start through the surface. That will prevent the chipping and cracking. Finish the hole with a small sanding drum.</TD></TR></TABLE>
+1
Everyone goes through this: But think of all the holes in your boat already!
Instruments, Bilge, Pump out, Transom drain and so on.
Follow the good tips on BBC and don't look back.
Heck My buddy couldn't believe I was drilling in my new boat but: My GPS was not going to float in mid-air.
Butch
Modified by bassin butch at 6:16 PM 3/20/2009
See ignorance daily
Thanks for all the advice guys. My boat is a 97 Champ 181 and there is not alot of room on the actual console itself to mount anything. I bought a Lowrance 522 iGPS unit which does not allow me to mount it in the dash because of the internal GPS antenna. So I bought a small RAM mount and the plan was to put it on the right side of the console. I have seen units mounted in that area on other bass boats but so far haven't found any pictures of similar Champions with mounts there. Here is a picture of my console with an arrow showing the area I am thinking of putting the RAM mount. What do you think?
Make sure it is far enough forward so you can see it easily. In my last Champ, I had the GPS mounted close to that spot. Mine had the external antenna which was mounted forward of the unit itself..Had the GPS on a Johnny Ray mount. Perfect...
This is on my previous boat, kinda hard to see and its not a ram mount but the stock mount. A buddy of mine had his mounted in the same area with a ram mount.
Perfect location! Tip use 3 stainless steel button head bolts in a triangle placement on the Ram Mount base. This will allow you to have an extra hole in the base to run the power wire through. Also buy a piece of gasket material and make a gasket that fits under the base, this will protect the hull from gouging as vibration is always at work in any moving boat.
Mine took 1/4 x 20 bolts if I remember correctly.
Butch
See ignorance daily
Thanks alot guys. Glad I found this board, it's been a big help! I will post some pics when I get finally get it done. I chose the RAM mount because I want to be able to swivel it around and see it from the front deck.
a Dremel tool with a round wood sanding bit actually works the best...drill a hole small enough to get the bit in then start makin it bigger with the dremel bits sanding ones work the best...thats what i use when i have to put holes in the boat
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 97Champ181 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Here is a picture of my console with an arrow showing the area I am thinking of putting the RAM mount. What do you think?
That's exactly where mine is mounted for a Johnny Ray quick connect mounted with a 332c -- I'll try to get a pic for you tonight...
My previous boat was a 181 and that's where I installed mine.
I cut the passenger console out of my 181. No problems yet.
This is a picture of my last boat 96 186 with a Johnny Ray mounted next to the console. be careful of the wires underneath, I also seem to remember a piece of pvc under there acting as a wire chase.
Thanks for posting the pics! You are right Dave, there is a PVC pipe in that area that routes the wires. Just have to make sure I drill far enough forward to miss it.
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