Building the glass helm console

Third Wave was always destined to be more than just a nice fishing and diving platform. Kyle and I have lived large portions of our lives defining, designing, implementing, selling and supporting high tech.  Neither of us are as enamored as much with the newness of it but rather with the practical utility it brings.  So Third Wave is going to be bristling with cameras and monitors and computers and sensors.  Automation is a big part of the fun here and will add a lot of utility, especially given that the boat will be kept remotely.  For example, we will be able to start the engines remotely whenever we want to and monitor them as they warm up.  Marine engines just don't like to sit.  They need to be run regularly.  We also wonder if there is not a product development opportunity to be had from all of this work we are doing.  I mean, if we first develop something we like for our own use, 80% of the work could already be complete toward offering it as a product to others in the future.

One of the areas of modernization and automation that seems like low hanging fruit is the development of a so called glass helm.  In most new boats, this refers to a flat console that supports several LCD touch screen products like autopilot, fish finder and the like.  All of the software for these products is embedded into them.  Whatever the manufacturer wants to give you is what you get.  In many cases this is adequate for display of data from sensors but in most cases it provides little opportunity for automation.

Enter the Third Wave glass helm concept.  While a significant part of our glass helm will be the traditional touch screen fish finder, we are incorporating a custom ordered, commercial kiosk grade 21.5" IPS monitor with 1300 delivered nit for sunlight readability which includes a multi-touch overlay panel.  We worked directly with Amy Shinho at Shinho Electronics to define the specs for this unit which was based on their existing product but with an upgraded IPS LCD which was 1500 nit from the manufacturer (note: the touch screen overlay reflects some of that back leading to 1300 nit delivered).  Needless to say, we were pleased with all aspects of our dealings with this company:

• While not "cheap" by any means, the $625 delivered price for this premium product was far less than what you could buy for here in the US.
• This was not an off the shelf product, Shinho developed it specifically for us at our behest.  Try that in the US if you like to hear someone laughing at you over the phone.
• The heavy aluminum anodized bezel and IP65 front panel are suitable for outdoor use in all weather.
• The HDMI output supports 1080p-60 operation in a 16x9 format.  The touch screen is an easy to use USB unit that does not require a 3rd party driver (i.e. HID over USB supported).

This is not a so called "open frame" bare bones monitor.  The unit is fully encased in sturdy aluminum sheet and has a very sturdy connector base.  This product runs on 12VDC and supports boot up of the monitor upon power up.  Also, when the computer driving it goes to sleep, the LCD is shut down and the monitor goes into a nice low power mode.  As soon as the computer wakes, do does the monitor.  The result is that this needs no power switch which is just one less thing to have to deal with.  This monitor is just what I wanted at a price we could afford and delivered in a reasonable time frame, especially given the requested LCD customization that was required.

In order to hold this monitor and other glass helm electronics we needed some kind of console unit.  One thing we knew is that we wanted heavily curved corners to avoid that boxy look of DIY.  So we started by finding a plastic storage bin as shown below and then spraying it with PVA for use as a mold release:

We then brushed on gel coat:

We then added in laminating layers of glass cloth and poly resin.  After it cured we popped it out of the mold.  While this provided us with a basic shape, the original mold was just cheap plastic and so the resulting part was not uniform in curvature.  So we made thin sheets of laminate and epoxied them in place to get perfect gentle curves on the edges.  We used a thicker piece of home made laminate in order to form the face plate.  Yes we could have used other materials and got it done quicker, like wood, etc.  But we never want to have to deal with weakness, leaks or rot in the future so everything is highly overbuilt glass and resin construction.

So now we had a nice watertight box with curved corners and a very flat front face:

We laid out the locations for the monitor, fish finder, aux touch screen display and autopilot head:

And proceeded to cut the holes at least for the components already in hand We have a good idea which fish finder we will use but have not pulled the trigger yet on that purchase.  We will wait until the actual fish finder is in hand before cutting its mounting hole.

The resulting unit is fairly heavy but what's an extra 30 lbs on a big boat like 3rd Wave which pushes 25,000 lbs?  If we want we can install grab rails on the side and use it to help hold on in rough seas.  It will never leak or rot or break.

Click here to see our adventures associated with integrating this console into the flybridge helm.