How to Guage Progress - New Engine Controls

Harmony needed a new engine.  To solve that issue we purchased a new Yanmar 4JH4-HTE diesel.  This engine will give us 110 HP, but I don't think we'll do any tubing or wakeboarding once we get underway!  However, we should have ample power to get through tough currents or opposing seas.

So, with the new engine comes a new control panel.  This control panel needs to be mounted in the cockpit so that rpm's, water temperature, and charging current can be monitored.  More than that we need to be able to start the engine!  The new engine comes with a lovely looking control panel.  However, it has a different shape and different dimensions than the old Perkins panel.

After some consideration, I decided to dress up the control panel housing and to provide some 12v outlets for use in the cockpit.  Having a 12v outlet in the cockpit comes in real handy when one needs to use a spotlight or needs to run a hand held GPS.  West Marine sells a convenient double outlet 12v receptacle which fit very nicely into the my panel housing design.

Well, now that I had the new housing designed, I needed to make it.  I chose to make the mounting face out of Merranti plywood because it was waterproof and would be able to withstand the rigors of cockpit life.  I chose teak to frame the housing in order to match the cockpit, which was sheathed in teak. 

Our new engine control panel and 12v receptacles which will be mounted in the cockpit

The nifty thing about the new Yanmar control panel is the push button start capability.  With our old Perkins engine in Poetry, I always worried about water intrusion at the key slot.  While we never had a problem, it was one of those nagging issues that awakened every time I started the engine.  Yes, I understand the potential for reliability challenges with these new fangled gizmos, but I still like the ease and convenience of push button control.

Once the panel is permanently installed, I will either purchase or construct a lexan/polycarbonate cover to protect the Yanmar panel from splashes and UV damage.  I have spoken to Seaworthy Goods (www.seaworthygoods.com) which manufactures a product called "ProductVisors" for Yanmar engine panels.  However, our panel is so new that they have yet to design the exact a cover for it yet.  We are scheduled to revisit the situation in a few months.

Next I went to work removing the old cockpit engine controls.  The old Perkins had 1200+ hours on it before it or the tachometer died.  After cutting a few wires and removing a few screws, I had all of the last vestiges of the old engine removed.

The empty hole in which the old Perkins control panel was housed

I could now test fit and mark cutouts for the new control panel housing I had made.  After clamping the new panel housing to cockpit, I was able to scribe the lines I needed to cut out to fit the new Yanmar panel.  I decided to leave the cutting out until another day because I am going to have protect the engine room underneath from the dust mess resulting from the cutting-out process.

The mounting lines and cut-out marks for the new Yanmar control panel

While it doesn't look like much, this step was a major move forward.  The final installation of the engine will begin soon and with it a flood of projects will start that leads to Harmony's launch.  It always nice to see a visible indicator of progress being made, and this engine control panel provided just that!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!