255 FSH - Replacing Acrylic Access Panel on T-Top with Stainless Steel - Molle Panel Ideas

[MBrand]

Just took delivery of my 2024 FSH - H. Looking to add VHF and Halo 20+ at the break in servicing. The dealer said that the access panel is acrylic and cutting it tends to break it. Seems like a waste of good real estate. Has anyone replaced the panel with a stainless steel one, so a radio can be mounted there? Looks like a site such as SendCutSend can fabric a custom panel, have it pre-drilled with counter sunk holes, and powder coat it for a reasonable price. This would make a great place to mount the VHF, maybe an engraved boat name (akin to what they do on custom aircraft panes with the registration number) and a spot for future ideas...

I'm adding a steel powder coated molle panel to the underside of the seats to mount things to, such as boat manuals/documentation in a waterproof pouch, tool kit, flare gun, 2nd fire extinguisher, a misc. pouch, etc.. I plan on adding a molle panel to the overhead up near the front, with a 1/4 inch clearance under the current part that has some holes in it, and then going to the stern @ 6 inches. The loss of head room won't be an issue. This will give me a shelf to put binoculars, odds and ends, while hanging a first aid kit, flashlight holder, etc. via the molle panels and keep it all above the sightline. Has anyone else done this? Not looking to reinvent the wheel.

Looks like a future project will be to fab up a framework in the head, and attachmolle panels throughout, making some removable so as to access the back of the panel, etc.. This should allow me to get everything up off the floor, organized and secure. I've used the heck out of molle panels in off road applications and trucks. But have yet to see them in the marine industry.

 

[AlpharettaRK]

When I get around to a radio I figured I‘d make a panel out of 3/16” aluminum either just mount it or use it as a backing plate behind the acrylic panel. Unless you have access to something like a water jet machine I always thought stainless was a PITA. I made lots of stuff for my race car out of alyewminayum. Cut the straight edges on table saw, round the corners and you’re done. No fancy logo tho.

 

[MilesPrower]

Molle panels — that's a fantastic idea!

Acrylic panel — yes the material is delicate, and mine came with chips where the factory had overzealously tightened the mounting screws. (My mid-pandemic boat was built like crap throughout.) With that said, I've cut, drilled, and mounted many things to my panel without chipping it further.

Inside of that panel, I have the mainframe of my Vesper Cortex VHF Class B+ AIS radio system, an extension of my NMEA 2K backbone, a 6-pack fusebox, a powered USB hub for my Sionyx Nightwave night-vision camera, and a buttress for my Halo 20+ radar.

On the panel itself, I drilled a large hole, beveled the hole with a trim router, and covered the inside of the hole with smoked acrylic so I can see the status LEDs of my Cortex mainframe. A waterproof speaker for the Cortex is mounted on the right side of the panel. Since taking the first photo, I flush-mounted three backlit pushbuttons on the panel as well as a USB-C power port for my InReach satellite communicator (which sits in a RAM Mount below the panel), and a clamshell port to route a cable between a RAM Mounted tablet and my Sionyx Nightwave system. That's all visible in the second photo, which shows the panel hanging below the opening.

That's a long way of saying, don't be afraid to drill or cut that acrylic. If you have acrylic bits, use those in your drill. If you only have standard high-speed bits, then use blue tape judiciously and start your holes slowly.

BTW, the top surface of the T-top is extremely thin fiberglass. If you don't want your Halo 20+ to wobble (and you want to be able to image a diving bird a mile ahead of you when you're pounding through chop), you need to reinforce the top surface by mechanically coupling the top surface to the bottom. I fashioned a 3-piece HDPE buttress such that (a) the bolts of the radar dome's Scanstrut go through the upper "platform" of the buttress, (b) the bolts that connect the whole T-top to the boat's T-top/console frame go through the bottom "platform" of the buttress, and (c) a vertical "bulkhead" is screwed into both platforms. This buttressing scheme effectively connects the radar mount to the metal frame of the T-top/console. The bulkhead also serves as the mounting surface for the Vesper Cortex and the NMEA backbone extension. The USB hub and fusebox are mounted to the bottom platform of the buttress. Anyway, you get the idea — implement whatever strategy you feel will best stabilize the radar mount.

 

[MBrand]

How is your Sionyx Nightwave system working? I was going to have that installed by the dearlership and they won't do it, as he has had several of them be dead on arrival, fail quickly after installation or otherwise be difficult to get working properly. He says they are great - when they work and so long as they are working.

I'm cutting a molle panel to fit under the space where the panel is with a second under the seat/leaning post, so I can put in my inReach (use it a lot for backpacking and dirt bike riding over the years), spare VHF, flashlight, knife (to cut impellers free - had AR210 and sucked up a ski rope...), 1st Aide kit, fire extinguisher, binoculars, waterproof documents pouch, pouch to hold emergency throw line, and using a molle drink pouch to hold a micro fiber towel.

Long term project is to build up a framework in the storage area in front of the helm with molle panels so I can secure 2nd anchor with chain and line, tool kit, hang life jackets from, misc. pouch, blankets, hoodies, rain gear, etc.

 

[MilesPrower]

@MBrand — sounds like you need a recovery jack in case you take your FHS overlanding. ?

But seriously, a molle panel underneath the area below the acrylic panel is a great idea. You can see in the photo that I installed a block of HDPE (using longer bolts to mate the block to the metal platform of the frame and then through the T-Top to the HDPE bulkhead platform for the radar)... so I can mount things underneath the panel. Currently, I have my tablet mount, inReach mount, and mirror mount (for wakeboarding) attached to that HDPE block... but a molle panel there is a better idea because it would've given me way more options.

Molle panels in the center-console locker is also a totally awesome idea.

And I'm totally going to copy your idea of a molle panel under the helm seating.

I love my Sionyx Nightwave cameras — plural because I have them on both my boats. My second boat also has a Black Oak LED Nitron XD camera, which is almost 2.5× the cost of the Nightwave. In anything other than near-absolute darkness, the Sionyx is so much better than the Black Oak. Most of my boating requires navigating before sunrise or after sunset... and most of my fishing is in the middle of the night. Night-vision cameras are crucial for transiting unfamiliar waters — especially poorly lit harbors.

I use a Samsung Active4 Pro rugged tablet (waterproof, heat-resistant, etc.) that I move between boats to view the Nightwave's image via hardwired USB. The image is much higher-resolution and more stable via USB than it is via coax or Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi implementation flat-out sucks — definitely not reliable. The Samsung tablet also comes in handy for updating the Navionics+ maps on my MFDs (Simrad NSS evo3s on the Yamaha, Garmin 86-series on the Jeanneau), and it can also function as an nth screen while networked to the MFDs.

I should mention another point to consider while you're working up there in your T-top cavity, if you keep your boat on or above the water along the Gulf Coast. Living in the Redneck Riviera, you've surely experienced the extreme amount of condensation that forms at night on anything and everything, when the temperature and dew-point drop. During the summer especially, the inside of the T-top cavity is the hottest part of the boat on sunny days. At night, when the temperature drops, condensation forms inside the cavity. When I first started adding stuff in there, I noticed that it was always wet inside. On some days, there was a significant puddle of water at the back of that cavity, where the stereo speakers are mounted — weeks into a dry spell with zero rain. All that wetness was due to trapped condensation. I added vents (under clamshells) all around the perimeter of the T-Top cavity, and I no longer have water puddling inside. If you go this route, make sure you put some kind of grating on the vent holes so small birds (and mud wasps) don't make their way into the cavity. See attached photo of one of the four vents I installed along the wall of the cavity, underneath the overhang of the T-top.

 

[MilesPrower]

Here's my comparison video of Sionyx vs. Black Oak LED:

Click through to YouTube, then click on the settings cogwheel and make sure you're streaming the video at 2160p in order to see the Sionyx's full resolution.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

No comparison really…. Amazing you can see the stars in the flat water..