J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Mounting a new SailComp 103AC

A new KVH SailComp has just arrived, waiting for Spring installation.

Am looking for some recommended mounting locations for the various KVH parts from other J/30 owners...what has worked well, what would you avoid?

Will, of course, follow the KVH recommendations for the Fluxgate to be "as far as possible from iron, steel or magnetic fields while still being close to boat's center of gravity" which, in principle, excludes the mast itself....Was looking at the well protected spot near the base of the mast between it and the bulkhead.

Corey,
When I had a sail comp I installed the fluxgate sensor on the shelf behind the head. The display was hung on the end of the sliding hatch cover in a home-made bracket. The display was removed when we locked up the boat. I've long since switched to a Nexus system with the fluxgate sensor mounted high in the port bilge just ahead of the forward head bulkhead.

Rob

I've got a TackTick T070 Racemaster with an internal fluxgate sensor and mount it right on the mast. Since the mast is aluminum, there is no magnetic interference. You could probably safely mount the sensor on the bulkhead immediately aft of the mast.

Many thanks for the info Rob & Bill....

I have my KVH compass mounted on the bulkhead just forward of the ice box in the seat back storage/locker. Access is behind the starboard aft settee back cushion. It is out of the way and close to amidships.

I mounted the Fluk gate sensor in the forward bilge just behind the poop tank. I epoxied in a peice of lexon to mount it on. It's just off center to port so one side has a riser; the other side is epoxied directly to the hull. The electronic control panel is mounted aft of the standard electronic panel in the main cabin. I bought a second read out. Both are mounted in the cockpit, one on each side below the magnetic compasses.
One mistake, I mounted the push buttons in the cockpit next to the port side readout. Bad place as the crew occationally lean into the buttons and mess up the display (switching it into compensation mode). It doesn't hurt anything, it's just frustrating. Mount the push buttons somewhere else.

We replaced the original 'top-hat' years ago and placement was dictated by the length of wires supplied. KVH didn't like you cutting or splicing, not sure why. Ours ended up on the starboard shelf, behind the smoked glass just forward of the icebox with the controls on the shelf aft of the panel.

A mast-mounted display is much better than bulkhead. We have both and 95% of the time that's the one skipper and crew watch.

If you only have one readout the mast is problably the best bet for where to put it. We're pretty pleased with a readout mounted on each side in the cockpit.
We bought the wire extentions that are available from the KVH. First we (I) tried making our own extensions, got the pin connectors mixed up and let the smoke out of the control box. Net result, it cost a lot to have the control repaired. So much for trying to save money with a DYI.