Mon Ami's Instruments

Jim Joubert, Alamitos Bay, Long Beach, CA

After 20 odd years the helm station instruments on Mon Ami had died one by one until only the depth sounder was left & it worked on a part time basis!

The Instrument manufacturers are pretty good about repairing their product and I considered sending them in for repair. But years of sun and salt spray had taken their toll and my instruments really looked old and tired.

I decided to bite the bullet so purchased a set of Standard Horizon 45 series instruments. As projects always seem to go, it evolved into more than originally planned. The instrument pods were showing their age, so had to remove and paint them. The rest of the pedestal now looked a little tacky so had to paint it as well. Then the throttle and shift levers, which were pitted and green around the edges, looked out of place with the "new" pedestal. So had to remove and re-chrome for that "new" look.

I opted for the Standard Horizon 45 series mainly because they were the right size to fit into my instrument pods. After installing them, I am impressed with the quality of the hardware and how well written the installation and operating instructions are.

I was able to use my existing Signet depth sounder transducer which avoided the extra work of installing a new one. I believe most 200khz transducers are interchangeable with other manufacturers 200khz instruments.

The effort was worthwhile as Mon Ami now has a helm station that works, and the old girl looks a lot better!

By the way, Ericson Yachts has a web page, http://www.ericsonyachts.com/mainframe.htm. The page has a Yacht Specialties catalog that provides a lot of detail on the pedestal and interconnecting system. Also has detailed exploded drawings and maintenance instructions for Barient winches. It's all downloadable.....was pleased to get this data and thought others might be also.

Pictures:

The helm station picture shows the general layout. The autopilot control panel can be seen at lower left.



The close up picture of the helm station shows (L to R) the speed/log/timer, GPS, wind angle/speed, and depth sounder/anchor alarm.



Close up shots of the GPS show our "poor boy mount".

An $8.50 clamp from West Marine and a piece of .125" aluminum provide a base for the GPS bracket.





Close up of shift lever shows our "new" part following re-chroming.





Fairwinds, Jim


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