Chart Plotter on CP 19 XL

[Craig Weis]

Skippy here purchased and installed a Raymarine 435i. The ' i ' means that this chart plotter is fitted with an internal antanna, and that means we have no additional wires to run through the hull or any 'bump' antenna to mount someplace. Where ever you put this thing it is always in the way sometime on a cruise!

Just to be sure of where to put this thing and assure my self of recieving a signal, I powered it up with a 12 volt battery charger and took the chart plotter down below deck. Even into 'sump' [that is my ice box and my sump pump is down here too] under the potty. Anyway this thing worked in any location I could think of on my CP-19.

So make a cardboard cut out template and with PVC electric tape figure out where you want to put it.

I picked the starboard side bulkhead about 3-3/4" down from the cabin top and 1" over from the slide for the drop board.

VERY IMPORTANT! MY boat  is an XL and that means I have a fiberglass insert inside the cabin and NO teak wood trim. We have about 0" at the top of the insert to the cabin roof inside. And at the bulkhead, a tapered slot about 4" between inner and outer bulkheads at the cockpit seat level to nothing at the inner/outer cabin top. So measure the chartplotter thickness and find that spot where it will be mounted flush on the outside and not intruding into the inside.  

You know that this chart plotter is big compared to the surface area on the CP-19 bulkhead. It is a small boat. so find the LOWER limit of the cut out and drill a 1/16" hole to probe and feel with a stiff wire the space between the inner/outer bulkheads. Need more thickness space? That hole now can be closer to the UPPER limit of the cut-out. Make sense?

You need to be low enough [3-3/4"] down from the top of the cabin so when the hole is cut on the outside bulkhead you do not cut into the inside bulkhead. [That is why my compass on the opposite bulkhead is mounted on to a teak ring that allows the compass to stand-off from the bulkhead and not penatrate the inner XL lining]. Make sense?

I cut out and filed template hole, after...#1 Thinking about it for one day. And #2 leveling the boat and trailer and then the hole. I used a sabersaw over a completely duck taped work area. Otherwise the sabersaw 'tracks' will show on the gelcoat.

All wiring is run through a on/off, push/pull switch from AutoZone mounted next to the factory electric panel. And the reason for that is that this chartplotter is hard to be certain that it is turned off.

HINT: Once the hole is cut for the chartplotter a hand can be reached in to run wires. Since it is not possible to get behind the unit to run nuts on studs or machine screw it in, I simply used screwed studs into the back of the chartplotter, cut to the right [short] length and drilled the holes in the fiberglass along side of the cut out [Their is not a lot of distance between the mounting screws  of the chart plotter and the cut out. So keep the cut out tight. Other wise you'll be mounting the screws into air] and use 3-M 5200 slow set to secure the chartplotter. It's not ever coming out again. Without some heat and a lot of cussing. Make sure this thing works before gooping it in.

By the way the 435 i mounting bracket and thumb screws looked real good in my garbage can.

Once I accidently left it on while docked for a few days and YEP! dead battery. Same for my Davis anchor light even with a daylight sensor on it, my af/fm/CD player [disconnect the clock yellow wire, do you really need an electric clock?]. I only have one 1000 cold cranking amp battery with a 300 milli-amp sun panel charger.

Good luck. Be carful. This is not rocket science. I think you can see this mounting in the pictures referenced below. Questions...if possible I'll take a stab at it.    owlsnest34@hotmail.com  skip.