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teak helm rack for the GPS, VHF and Air Horn |
I decided that I needed a place to store the handheld GPS, the handheld VHF and the air horn where they were convenient to the helmsman. I decided I would rather have something made out of teak than the white starboard or stainless units I had seen in the chandleries.
Materials Required:
1 pc teak 1/2" x 8" x 12" ($5.00 from Exotic Lumber)
1 pc teak 1/2" x 30" x 4" ($6.00 from Exotic Lumber)
1 pc Lexan (1/8" x 4" x 12" ($2.00 in scrap bin at plastic distributor)
8 ea. #4 x 1/2" Brass FH phillips wood screws ($.80 at West Marine)
Total cost of this project: $13.80
I started with a piece of 1/2 inch teak and fabricated the back panel that would mount on the pedestal guard. To make it more visable I decided to tilt it slightly to suit me while standing at the helm. To get this mounting angle I made 2 teak blocks which were tapered. These blocks are shown in the photo below.
Next I measured the GPS and VHF so that I could fabricate the teak sides and bottom for these units. Using a 1 and 3/8 inch hole saw I drilled a 1/2 inch deep hole for the air horn in the bottom teak block and a similar hole through the 1/2 inch upper teak piece. The teak pieces were glued and screwed from the rear of the back panel and the screw heads covered with teak plugs.
After finishing the teak with 6 coats of Cetol, I fabricated the front panels for the VHF and GPS out of 1/8 inch Lexan and attached the lexan with #4 x 1/2 inch brass flathead phillips wood screws.
The final results can be seen in the photos below.
