How To Install Boat Speedometer Pickup

How to Install a Marine Speedometer

by Matt Marsh

running f-1 speedboat paradigm by jazzid from Fotolia.com

Boaters always desire to know how fast they're going. Whether it's a 5-knot sailboat or a 100-knot racer, the obsession with speed is pervasive. Accurately measuring the speed of a gunkhole is a circuitous problem, but most of the hard work has already been done by instrument manufacturers- all that's left for the boat owner to do is to install a handful of parts, get out on the water, and start competing for every extra knot of speed.

GPS Speedometers

Pace one

Detect a suitable spot on the boat's instrument panel. Drill a pigsty in the panel, insert the GPS speedometer, and secure its mounting bracket on the back of the console as described in the speedometer's manual.

Step ii

Locate suitable sources of 12-volt power. Near GPS speedometers demand a ground connection and two +12-volt connections: one for the backlight and one for the musical instrument itself. On nearly boats, the existing instruments are connected to suitable power buses that the speedometer can share.

Crimp final fittings onto the ends of the speedometer's ability wires and connect these to the footing and power buses. The GPS speedometer should now be ready to use.

Pitot Speedometers

Step one

Mount the speedometer display and connect its backlight to a power source, in the same style as for GPS speedometers.

Step 2

Find a suitable route for the pressure tube. The display will be connected to the pitot by a sparse, stiff tube that transfers the h2o pressure level at the pitot to the sensor in the display. The tube has to slope downward toward the transom at all points; if there are sags in the tube, water tin can collect inside it and mess upward the instrument'south readings.

Footstep 3

Detect a place on the transom to mount the pitot tube. Information technology should be well articulate of strakes, trim tabs, rudders and propellers, and the tip of the pitot should extend at least 2 inches below the hull. Screw the pitot bracket to the transom with the pitot pointing straight down.

Drill a hole in the transom, well above the waterline, for the pressure tube to pass through. The hole should exist angled downward at about 45 degrees. Pull the pressure tube through the hole, connect it to the pitot, and secure it in place with sealant and cable clips. Connect the other end of the pressure level tube to the speedometer brandish, trimming information technology if necessary.

Paddle Wheel and Ultrasonic Speedometers

Footstep i

Buy a paddle bike or ultrasonic transducer, a brandish module, and advisable cables. These systems are expensive, but offer very authentic speed-through-the-water readings and piece of work as well at very low speeds every bit they do on faster boats. About modern systems employ a single NMEA 2000 cable for both ability and information, and NMEA 2000 displays tin can work with transducers from other manufacturers.

Step 2

Choose a spot for the transducer through-hull. Information technology should be in an area of relatively make clean water flow, and should not be behind a keel, rudder, propeller or other bagginess. With the boat out of the h2o, drill a hole in the hull for the transducer. If y'all have a cored fibreglass hull, drill the hole a bit oversize and line it with thickened epoxy to seal the core before drilling the pigsty again at the proper size.

Spread some bedding compound, such as 3M 4200, on the flange of the transducer through-hull and mountain information technology in the hole. Connect an NMEA 2000 cable from a T-plumbing equipment on the courage cable to the transducer. Plow on the boat'south electrical organization and set the controls on your display unit to prove the speedometer reading in the units and format you adopt.

References

• Teleflex Inc.; "Teleflex speedometer installation manual"; 2007
• Airmar Technology: Transducer installation manual

Tips

• Cull your speedometer blazon appropriately. Conventional pitot types work well on planing powerboats, but slower powerboats and virtually sailboats volition exist better off with a paddle wheel transducer. Very fast powerboats are ofttimes better served by GPS-based speedometers, which are also the fastest and easiest to install.

Things Yous'll Demand

• Speedometer kit (normally includes display, transducer/pitot and cables/tubing)
• Drill with hole saw
• Screwdrivers and/or modest wrenches
• Cable clips
• Crimp-on wire terminals and crimping tool
• Bedding compound (Sikaflex, 3M 4200, Dolphinite, etc.)

Writer Bio

Matt Marsh has been writing technical papers since 2004 and freelance writing since 2022. His articles appear on eHow and Answerbag. Marsh holds a Available of Science in engineering physics from Queen's University and is conducting graduate research in medical imaging.

More Manufactures

Source: https://itstillruns.com/install-marine-speedometer-7351706.html

Posted by: johnsonshaterecer.blogspot.com

Share this post