external vhf mounting

woot · 15 December 2003, 22:34

Have just taken delivery of a 5m Humber Assault which I now need to kit out with electronics. I have put a Lowrance fishfinder to one side of the top surface of the console behind a small screen. This leaves just enough room for a gps/plotter on this top surface. The console is too small internally to flush mount a vhf/dsc unit so I think my best option is to bracket mount on the side of the console. This would leave the unit very exposed to water ingress, does anyone have any experience or know of any companies that provide housings for this type of application. I'm sure RS /Maplins etc provide housings I could botch but wondered if there was anything custom built out there.

Daniel · 15 December 2003, 23:00

Had my Icom M59 (fully wayerproof by design i beleive) mounted on the side of the console for 2 years of ownership and no problems - exposed directly to all the spray.

DS Developments would be the people if you wanted an anclosure, but lots of £££'s!

Jelly · 16 December 2003, 08:51

Hi Woot
If you are going to mount a waterproof radio on the outside of the console, there are a few things to think off:
- are you going to hit it with knees etc d/t wave action/opperator error ;-)
- security if it looks easy to remove some low life will recycle it for you

- If you are not going to mount it in a waterproof case ( I would) then angle it so the water runs off it and doesn't collect on the instrument front - water has a habbit of creaping past seals ( of the rubber type) over time and pressure changes.
- some sailing clubs mount the radio inside the consol with the mke and speaker lead out, this offten means it gets left on an flattens the battery or you spend you lift undoing the hatch to change the fequency.
- waterproof any connections you have exposed, if perment there was a recent thread on permant wiring recomending that you use the proper crimps and glue filled heat shrink to seal it. If semi permanted then wrap it in self amalgomating tape and then a layer of insulation tape to protect it from nicks and uv.
There are many ways to seal the connections, some garrenteed for 20yrs on an oil rig but thats a big extreame and gets messy!
Hope this helps
James

Pete7 · 16 December 2003, 09:54

Woot, have a look at this.

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=960

very nice job done by Rene,

Pete

Rupert Bear · 16 December 2003, 09:55

It can be done even with a bigger battery than standard fitted (85ah instead of 70ah)

woot · 16 December 2003, 19:22

Thanks for the replys plenty of food for thought. The flush mount job posted by Rupert Bear looks good and I'm encouraged by Daniels experience of side mounting. The first thing I have to decide is if it can be shoe-horned into the console and flush mounted, is this the way I would want to go security wise. The boat is kept in a yard a long way from home and I like the idea of taking the electronics home with me at the end of a session on the water. This would also mean ingress can only occur during time on the water not during storage. At the moment I'm edging towards a side mounted waterproof unit with some sort of splash cover to keep off any major onslaught from waves over the side or bad weather.
Rupert Bear is your Yamaha the four stroke? if so what sort of consumption / range do you get. I've currently got two 25 ltr tanks under the console and wonder what sort of range on a coastal cruise this will give me.

Rupert Bear · 17 December 2003, 09:50

I have a two stroke 60hp. I didn't want to mess around with small tanks so fitted a 70lt underseat tank. Its a lot neater and cleaner than small tanks with fewer connections. That is the tank you can see through the hole in the console before I fitted the waterproof hatch over the hole. I carry a small 5lt tank in the well at the stern for emergencies.
I have found that the main problem with radios in RIBs is the cable connections, esp the aerial. Water gets in and rots the screen making the aerial useless. This is the main reason I mounted mine flush as at least these are kept dry.
This pic shows the almost completed console

Mike B · 17 December 2003, 17:09

I have a (claimed) fully waterproof humminbird vhf side mounted on the outside of the console.

I've had no problems (touch wood). But agree with angling the speaker down.

I remove it (along with GPS and compass) whenever the boat is left so that it doesn't appeal to anyone.

As usual fully advocate a fully charged h/h VHF in pocket just in case. You can guarantee it will just when you need it most.

Cheers

Mike