Question related to wood fixture

[paulga]

The dc outlet has become on and off (lower helm control panel), the exact reason is unknown. I think it's easier to put a new one in than to diagnose the outlet. DC outlets usually have a lock nut behind the panel. Does the panel have an access port?

There are two wood covers on the back and bottom of the panel. Both are fastened using 4 dowels. Does this indicate they are not intended to provide access for maintenance?

 

[Delta Riverat]

How about removing all the perimeter screws on the panel and taking a look?

 

[Flatswing]

they are not dowels; they are tapered teak plugs which cover countersunk screws.
Just remove the 2 screws from the DC outlet. It is a surface mount and will come out easily. Btw, is that a 12v cigarette type plug with a USB adapter? or is it a dedicated USB outlet? I ask because the adapters are notorious for failure. Rod Collins recommended the Scosche brand. I found them to be a reliable, inexpensive upgrade. A second very common problem on boats is corrosion of the lightning male plug at the other end of the cord. Even the Apple versions wear leading to intermittent failure to charge. Look at the lightning end, any discoloration of the contacts, change the cord. I found i went through cords very frequently especially on the flybridge. Fortunately, cheap and easy to replace.

 

[paulga]

they are not dowels; they are tapered teak plugs which cover countersunk screws.
Just remove the 2 screws from the DC outlet. It is a surface mount and will come out easily. Btw, is that a 12v cigarette type plug with a USB adapter? or is it a dedicated USB outlet? I ask because the adapters are notorious for failure. Rod Collins recommended the Scosche brand. I found them to be a reliable, inexpensive upgrade. A second very common problem on boats is corrosion of the lightning male plug at the other end of the cord. Even the Apple versions wear leading to intermittent failure to charge. Look at the lightning end, any discoloration of the contacts, change the cord. I found i went through cords very frequently especially on the flybridge. Fortunately, cheap and easy to replace.

It's a cigarette type plug with a USB adapter. Do you mean this type of adapters have a high failure rate, or they cause more corrosion to the DC outlets?

 

[Flatswing]

I mean the USB Adapters are notorious for failures, of course there are issues with the cigarette lighter style sockets too but usually just corrosion issues or the plug doesn’t seat properly.
Check out Marinehowto.com, Rod covers the issue nicely & as I mentioned, recommends the Scosche brand which come in various configurations & outputs including USB-C

 

[paulga]

The lower helm's side profile has a "one step rise" shape. I wonder how the long narrow piece in the middle is joined to the neighboring pieces. I thought there are hidden screws at the joining interfaces. But it turns out, the screws are roughly along the middle line, as shown in the last two photos. How was the long narrow piece initially put there when they build the station?

 

[paulga]

I mean the USB Adapters are notorious for failures, of course there are issues with the cigarette lighter style sockets too but usually just corrosion issues or the plug doesn’t seat properly.
Check out Marinehowto.com, Rod covers the issue nicely & as I mentioned, recommends the Scosche brand which come in various configurations & outputs including USB-C

Thanks.
I tested other DC outlets. It works as expected in other outlets. So the problem is this outlet.

 

[CharlieO.]

Take the screws out of the socket face, pull out the socket, verify you have 12v coming into the socket, if not check for a fuse. If fuse is bad replace fuse. If you have 12v - replace socket with a USB socket. Get the replacement socket as a surface mount also for ease of replacement.
I had to repair the wiring on the two of my cigarette style outlets(because I have a plug in spot light, and they also came in handy for borrowing a 12v cooler) and added a combo USB-A and USB-C outlet with voltmeter at each helm station. Probably one the easiest and most convenient upgrades I've made on my boat for the least amount of money.

 

[paulga]

Take the screws out of the socket face, pull out the socket, verify you have 12v coming into the socket, if not check for a fuse. If fuse is bad replace fuse. If you have 12v - replace socket with a USB socket. Get the replacement socket as a surface mount also for ease of replacement.
I had to repair the wiring on the two of my cigarette style outlets(because I have a plug in spot light, and they also came in handy for borrowing a 12v cooler) and added a combo USB-A and USB-C outlet with voltmeter at each helm station. Probably one the easiest and most convenient upgrades I've made on my boat for the least amount of money.

thanks. that definitely is a nice addition to the station.
what confuses me is how the wood pieces were joined together, see my post 6

 

[Southern Boater]

thanks. that definitely is a nice addition to the station.
what confuses me is how the wood pieces were joined together, see my post 6

As DR mentioned, remove the perimeter screws from the control panel and lift it out as far as the gauge wiring will allow, get some light down into the back of the wiring room and investigate. Take photos of where terminals were connected and use masking tape with written indication of the origin of the terminals to which gauge if you need to remove the control panel itself for better access.
Most likely glued and screwed with access to screw heads behind the teak cover strips. It could mean destruction of the cover strips, so maybe investigate other options first, like gauge and head unit removal.

 

[paulga]

As DR mentioned, remove the perimeter screws from the control panel and lift it out as far as the gauge wiring will allow, get some light down into the back of the wiring room and investigate. Take photos of where terminals were connected and use masking tape with written indication of the origin of the terminals to which gauge if you need to remove the control panel itself for better access.
Most likely glued and screwed with access to screw heads behind the teak cover strips. It could mean destruction of the cover strips, so maybe investigate other options first, like gauge and head unit removal.

Thanks.
I'm just curious how I can put that middle piece in place if I work on assembling the station from scratch. this is the photo of the back side. The back side has some screws along the middle line. But these screws cannot explain how this piece is joined to the neighboring members

 

[NStenger]

Don't mess with any of the woodwork. Just pull the instrument panel out by removing the screws. There will be enough slack in the cluster wires to pull it away from the cabinet and do whatever you need to do behind it. That is how it would have been installed and how it should be removed. The certainly didn't build the cabinet around the instrument cluster.

The woodwork is likely joined together by a mix of screws, glue joints and glue/biscuit joints.

 

[paulga]

Don't mess with any of the woodwork. Just pull the instrument panel out by removing the screws. There will be enough slack in the cluster wires to pull it away from the cabinet and do whatever you need to do behind it. That is how it would have been installed and how it should be removed. The certainly didn't build the cabinet around the instrument cluster.

The woodwork is likely joined together by a mix of screws, glue joints and glue/biscuit joints.

Thanks. are bulkhead panels joined to the hull using similar joints, or using only fiber reinforced plastic?

 

[NStenger]

Structural bulkheads would be epoxied to the hull with fiberglass reinforcement.