installing nasa clipper instruments
Belt and braces, compass and wiring up
NASA recommends strengthening the speed transducer installation by also glassing it into position, the reckoning being that if
the outer flange is torn off through a grounding or any other reason then the inner section will remain in place and watertight. It’s
not essential to do this – but seems very sensible.
A log and echo sounder are essential on a cruising boat and an electronic compass with all its benefits an added bonus. The
NASA Clipper range will do everything that’s required and shouldn’t break the bank either. Installation is pretty easy and if you
have spare space on your existing instrument panel and don’t have to make a new console the job can be fairly quick.
4
The strips of saturated cloth are now
wrapped around the fitting, again
keeping clear of the masked area.7
For the
compass
sensor a simple
ply shelf was
bonded into a
magnet-free
area beneath
the port bunk.
There’s plenty
of adjustment
on the sensor
for final
alignment later.10
A single feed was used for all the
instruments in the console as the
power draw is very low.2
Cut thin strips of glass cloth then wet
them out by stippling resin into them
until the glass appears semi-translucent.5
Stipple to remove air from the glass
cloth as it is built up. I used two
layers of bi-axial cloth for this job.8
The wiring between the instruments,
transducers and power supply could
now be run through the boat.11
Power was switched on and
everything worked correctly. We even
managed to get up to 16 knots in the shed!1
Temporarily
fit the paddle
wheel assembly,
note how far down
the thread the nut
goes, then remove
and mask off more
than enough
thread to ensure
it’s kept clean
while you’re
glassing in the
lower section.3
Wet out the area around the fitting,
avoiding the masking but ensuring
you cover the lower part of the tube.
6
Having some resin left over it
seemed sensible to repeat the
process with the echo sounder transducer.
9
The final connections can now be
made to the back of the console unit
before it’s secured in place.