| The aluminum pod came from
Layline in North Carolina. I fabricated a couple of "L" brackets from aluminum so the pod could be bolted to the sea hood, thus positioning it over the companionway in front of the traveler. |
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| The pod was large enough to fit
five regular size Nexus displays so, of course, I filled it up. It was also narrow enough that it did not get in the way of the traveler control lines. In this view you can see the mounted pod and the holes left by the original Datamarine instruments that were removed. I found a compass that fit one of the holes and used a piece of acrylic plastic to fill the other one (you'll see the final result in a later photograph). |
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| The CPU box is very compact. It fit nicely in the space originally designed to house the somewhat deep Datamarine instruments. All wiring is small gauge, 4 conductor wire. Nexus supplies everything you need to install it. |
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| I fabricated this small bracket
which attaches to a Forespar mounting boss. This allows the remote to be right at hand. It also can be tilted up or down and can swing right to left. A crewperson sitting on the port side can swing it around to use it while seated. The remote slips out of its mounting bracket and has a long cord so you can hold it and use it from anywhere in the cockpit. |
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| From this view you can see the remote as well as the Nexus instruments in the pod (with their plastic covers on). |  |
| This shows the pod with the
five Nexus displays. From left to right, Multi, Wind, Speed Trim, Tactical (Compass), and Multi. The glare in the photo is much worse than anything I have ever experienced. I never have any problem reading the instruments from the helm position. Also, I never have to worry about crew leaning back and covering an instrument! |
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| He we are underway. Even in this relatively poor photo you can read most of the instruments. The Speed Trim (center) is not in use at the time of this photo (just cruising). You can also see the compass that I mounted in one of the holes left by the old Datamarine instruments. |
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| From a bit further back . . . You can see the remote, easily accessible from the helm position. You can also see the compass and the piece of acrylic covering up the old holes. Note how the instruments are up high enough that you don't have to move your head and re-focus to see them. It really helps me keep my head out of the boat and paying attention to what's around me! |
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| I had the sail loft make up a
canvas cover for the instrument pod out of matching canvas. It looks nice and neat when it's all buttoned up. Note the Garmin TracPack unit mounted on the stern rail (the small white object on top of a 1 foot piece of stainless tubing) - that's the GPS receiver that feeds position information to the Nexus CPU. |
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| With my trusty crew, Yahoo (a
fierce 9 pound miniature Dachshund). You can also see the Garmin GPS near the left edge of this photo. |
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