Need info on instrument panel fo my 2002- 225 Explorer.

[myaqua225]

Last year I became the proud owner of a 2002 Aquasport 225 Explorer. The instrument panel is cracked around the edges the screws being tightened too much and a corner is broken off. This has caused water behind and corroded the wiring and the tachometer stick and need to be replaced. I fixed all the wires but before I replace the instruments of I, of course, want to replace the panel. I found a label on the back that it was made by MG Electronics. Unfortunately the part number/ serial number is faded and not readable. I found MG and they said they might have some leftovers but without a number they can't help me. What I'm asking is  1:does anyone know what that number is? or 2: Does anyone know where I might find one new or used in the Tampa area?(I checked Don's marine salvage already). or 3:Does anyone have any ideas for a suitable replacement ? Smoked plexiglas the size I need would be $55 before I start making holes in it and I'm not sure I can fabricateit myself without damaging the plexiglass. Sorry for the very wordy first post but I hope I can fix this beforehte gulf warms up. thanks for reading this anyway.

[flounderpounder225]

The marine connection in Ft. Pierce has your full panel I believe, the last time I was in there I saw several AS panels, look at the pictures, there are some AS panel there.  Where are you located?  The stock they have is in 2 locations, the complete guage pannels already wired and
ready to plug in are inside the main showroom building.  I bought a brand new complete CB / Switch panel for my Osprey, just plugged it into the existing connectors, and worked great.  Then out in their wharehouse storage they have two or three large boxes with just panels stacked in them, all in varying condition, but I saw several AS panels in there also.  

As you stated you can make your own, but do not use plexiglass, it becomes brittle over time in the weather, use LEXAN (Acrylic sheet), remove your existing guages, use your panel as a template and purchase a piece of 3/16" thick Lexan (Acrylic), trace out the panel and the holes you need, after it is drilled and shaped, scuff the backside with sandpaper, and paint the backside black (Spraypaint).  It looks amazingly good from the front because of the shiny smooth lexan.  It is very easy to do, and lexan is stronger than plexi and less likely to crack when drilling the small mounting holes.  You will need some GOOD hole saws, 2" and 3.5" I think are the sizes, SEABOB can confirm that.  Of course if you want to spend the coin, and update everything, I would go with the "New Surplus" option at the Marine Connection, already wired and ready to go with brand new instrumentation.    
Marc
http://themarineconnection.net/Gauges.html

Last year I became the proud owner of a 2002 Aquasport 225 Explorer. The instrument panel is cracked around the edges the screws being tightened too much and a corner is broken off. This has caused water behind and corroded the wiring and the tachometer stick and need to be replaced. I fixed all the wires but before I replace the instruments of I, of course, want to replace the panel. I found a label on the back that it was made by MG Electronics. Unfortunately the part number/ serial number is faded and not readable. I found MG and they said they might have some leftovers but without a number they can't help me. What I'm asking is  1:does anyone know what that number is? or 2: Does anyone know where I might find one new or used in the Tampa area?(I checked Don's marine salvage already). or 3:Does anyone have any ideas for a suitable replacement ? Smoked plexiglas the size I need would be $55 before I start making holes in it and I'm not sure I can fabricateit myself without damaging the plexiglass. Sorry for the very wordy first post but I hope I can fix this beforehte gulf warms up. thanks for reading this anyway.

[myaqua225]

flounderpounder225
  Thanks so much for the tip. I looked on the link you posted and saw a similar dash in one of the pics. It was setup for twin engines though. I called them and they were great. They had one after looking through their apparently extensive inventory. At a great price too. I had recently priced special ordering just the gauges from the place where the orig owner bought the boat and they were more than twice the price. I am getting the whole panel, gauges, switches, breakers etc. prewired, for less than just the gauges alone would have cost. And it will be here in three days!  sounds too good to be true so I will let you know after I have it installed but I can't thank you enough. Now I gotta come up with a reason to convince my wife I need to drive the 3 hours to go there and shop, shop,shop.
thanks again.

[flounderpounder225]

Laughin my A$$ off   That is awesome, that they found one for you, I know they have a lot of AS stuff, but the bit about convincing the wife to make the trip... make a detour to some outlet mall on the way in or out... That place is Disney World for boaters.  Plan to spend at least 2 hrs in there.  I did the same thing, my panel cost less than the switches and breakers in it, and it's brand new and ready to plug in.  Hey.. I had to drive 9 HOURS to get there...  Very Glad I could help.
Marc

flounderpounder225
  Thanks so much for the tip. I looked on the link you posted and saw a similar dash in one of the pics. It was setup for twin engines though. I called them and they were great. They had one after looking through their apparently extensive inventory. At a great price too. I had recently priced special ordering just the gauges from the place where the orig owner bought the boat and they were more than twice the price. I am getting the whole panel, gauges, switches, breakers etc. prewired, for less than just the gauges alone would have cost. And it will be here in three days!  sounds too good to be true so I will let you know after I have it installed but I can't thank you enough. Now I gotta come up with a reason to convince my wife I need to drive the 3 hours to go there and shop, shop,shop.
thanks again.

[pete]

we need to have one of our aquasport gatherings there,an aquasport scavenger hunt,definately worth the trip especially for genmar aquasports,good job Marc

[myaqua225]

Pete, that's a great idea. I'd even tow my baby out there for that. Flounder I got the panel in two days. Looks great, one small scratch but what do you want for sitting on a shelf for ten years. It's not even dusty, just shiny like new. It's 0800 Sat. morning and I have to tear myself away from this site and get to work on it. Can't thank you guys enough for the help. Don't know what i would have come up with without it. This is like new boat feeling. Will post pics when I'm done.

[flounderpounder225]

[gran398]

myaqua, gonna need one myself in a few months. If you don't mind me asking, how much was it? Thanks sir.

[fitz73222]

Scott,

You got a 73' boy...you need the genuine wood grained fake vernier switch panel...Santa doesn't make them for our boats anymore! What about Miss Marco did you save the switch panel from her?

[gran398]

Gotcha Fitz,

Always did like that stimulated vinyl look.

No, I didn't; Miss Marco didn't come with switches...

 

[myaqua225]

OK got it all installed and everything works, woo hoo. Sure gran here's the figures. First I priced just the instruments, special order from apopka marine. For Tach(with systems check), trim gauge, fuel, water pressure and voltmeter would have been $385 plus tax & a 20 mile drive. From Ft. Pierce I got the whole dash with wiring harnesses, all new switches & breakers for $358 including tax and shipping & arrived in two days. And it all works great, even the instrument lights. Gotta give a shoutout to Seabob for coming over and getting me pointed in the right direction. Now if I can figure out how to upload photos....

[Capt. Bob]

Now if I can figure out how to upload photos....

Try this first.
http://classicaquasport.com/smf/index.php?topic=12725.0

Now, once you understand how Photo Bucket works and you still can't post pics, try this.
Read steps carefully. <!-- s:idea: --><!-- s:idea: -->

1: Go to your Bucket account (you need one to post photos on this forum), open and double click on a photo you have downloaded to the site.

2. Place cursor on the top left of photo, tool bar will appear, place cursor on EDIT then click on RESIZE

3. In a few moments a new window will open (call it the re-size window) with your photo and a tool bar above it.
Note the current photo size in the tool bar.Since this site (Classic Aquasport) limits posted photos to 800 pix wide X 600 pix long you must re-size it in order to post it, if it is larger than that. So.....

4. Photo Bucket has preset sizes you can use. They are in a 4:3 ratio and you will notice them in the toolbar just below the width measurement. Also notice that you can manually enter the pixel size for both width and height. Also note that there are two selections you can make when manually selecting the number of pixels. Unless you're a photo genius <!-- s:roll: --><!-- s:roll: --> make sure you have the "proportion" button highlighted (little red dot to the left). This keeps your photo in the standard 4:3 ratio mentioned above. Why is this important? Under normal conditions, you hold the camera in the standard position and your photo is taken in the 4:3 ratio. Tilting the camera on end alters the width to height ratio. By leaving the proportion button highlighted, you can enter 600 px in the height box and the width will automatically change for a proper photo size.

5. This is where most members screw up. <!-- s:o -->:o<!-- s:o --> After you set the proper size you must do two (2) additional steps. First, click on the APPLY button on the right side of the tool box. Nothing much will seem to happen. Now scroll down and click on the Replace Original button. It's located underneath and to the right of your photo. If you do not complete this step, you will never place the proper size photo on the Aqua site. This is the thing most members do not do.

6.After clicking on the Replace Original button, the screen will take a few moments to do its thing and a new window will magically appear. Scroll down and look to the right and you will notice several options for "sharing your photo". Click on the last (IMG) one and notice how a little yellow box appears to the left saying "copied".

That's it, you're done.
Go back to your post and place your re-sized photo into the post where you want it by pushing "Ctrl + V" (at the same time) and it will appear as code. By previewing your post before submitting, you can check that you did everything correctly.

Try it. You'll like it. <!-- s:wink: --><!-- s:wink: -->