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Aside from a fantastic day on the water Saturday I managed to make some progress on two projects;  mounting the electrical panel and adding some chafe-protection to my dock lines.

Electrical Panel

In case you need a reminder on what the baseline was check out the Original Panel.  With the old panel ‘un-mounted’ the next step was to cut into the fiberglass false bulkhead allowing for the deeper panel clearance my new hardware requires.  I did this with a drill and jigsaw, cutting fiberglass is a mess. It was a first for me and I’m glad I had a shop-vac on hand for the clean up.

In this shot you see the old panel (still connected) and the cut out fiberglass panel.  The base for the new panel has also been epoxyed to the side of the hull.  I toyed with other fastening methods including anchoring to the cabinetry forward of the panel (like the old panel) but opted for a continuous shelf instead.  I notched the back of the board on the forward and aft ends to allow for any potential drainage in case there is a leak.  Here is a close up;

I’m not going to give any advice on epoxy work… this was a messy learning experience for me. I’m going to go in with some sandpaper later to dress it up.  Despite the look this is actually level!  Next step was dry fitting the hinges;

I chose hinges with removable pins to make panel work more flexible in the future.  Also I opted for through bolts with washers instead of the provided wood screws.  Once the panel was actually attached we have the (nearly) finished product;

I’m not 100% happy with the washers on the front of the panel.  I was in a rush so I left it for now but I’m considering some other options including just going without the washers altogether.  The opening action is smooth but I’ve got to do some adjustments with the top left side as it binds a bit on the cabinetry.  Next step will be to fine tune the hinges and install the barrel bolts. One final shot of the panel;

Dock Line Protection

Less glamorous but very important, I added some chafe-guards to my dock lines.  My floating dock is mostly steel and the ‘ears’ that I’m provided to tie off dock lines have done a number on several lines already. Luckily my friendly marina staff had a stash of old garden hose to donate.  Here are the results, easy job and one I’d recommend for anyone with similar issues with chafed lines;