Making a side console

Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
25
Has anyone got plans or a website on how to construct a side console for an aluminum boat. Thinking om making it out of aluminum or wood frame covered with fiberglass. I am buying a 17 deep river aluminum boat and would like to install a side console. This way I can use my 50 hp and use the cables and steering from the boat I have now. Does not have to fancy, just functional. Any ideas would be appreciated. :confused:
 

txmntman

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
108
Re: Making a side console

Hello.
I turned my side console starcraft into a dual console boat, and made both consoles out of wood. basically, I just made a box with one side going all the way to the deck, and the other side connecting to the gunnel on the boat. I then bought windshields from Cabelas. I even made a "glove box" on the passenger console. It is not fancy, but works well. I have included a couple of pictures, but they don't show it very well. Actually, I patterned mine after the aluminum console that came on the boat. It is not hard to do. Come back to me with questions, if some come up....good luck.
 

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Woodnaut

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jul 4, 2007
Messages
634
Re: Making a side console

Moose, when I built my boat I just stuck the controls on the side. They are mounted on 1/4" marine plywood covered with fiberglass and then painted. I also put a small holder for charts, sunscreen, etc., which has turned out to be really handy.

DSC07758.jpg
 

5150abf

Vice Admiral
Joined
Aug 12, 2007
Messages
5,808
Re: Making a side console

I made one last year, I came into a new Teleflex control box and wanted to replace my old OMC one.

Made mine at work but I am sure you could find a machine shop by your house that would do if for a reasonable amount, I have a shear and brake at work.

Mine is 1/8 aluminum sheet, top is 7'' side is 9'' and then I added a 1/2 lip to give me something to attach it to the boat worked out really well.
 

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scoutabout

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
1,568
Re: Making a side console

That's some nice work, guys. Here's two images of a side console retrofit to my trusty old 1970 Springbok 14 footer. She was my runabout 35 odd years ago as a kid and is due her rightful resto for my own kid now. Hope to get started this summer.

Anyway, we attached a pre-fabbed, aluminum side console (sorry, can't remember who manufactured it) and just rivetted it to the side of the boat, ensuring the lowest rivet point was still above the waterline.

It was light enough that no other support was needed. The throttle control was screwed to an L-shaped piece of aluminum which was similarly rivetted to the side. Steering and control cables just run down the side, zip-tied to the oar lock and seat supports. None too pretty, but I can't imagine fabricating a box like that would be difficult.

A word of warning. This one has absolutely no access to the inside. I'm going to have to cut a hole in the back and make an access door should I ever need to get at the steering's innards. Or easier, drill out the rivets for the back panel and replace with screws. Not too much planning ahead there!

Also, now that I'm grown, I find the console too low, so you'd probably want to make sure it sits above the boat's gunwales, like txm's does. Just make sure to spend some time figuring out where the most comfortable steering wheel location is before afixing things permanently.

(When I was a kid, I'd actually sit on the floor of the boat, using the middle seat of the boat as a backrest and looking through the spokes of the wheel, a la classic woody. Oh, it was a cool rig and I spent many hundreds of hours dogfighting unaware seagulls in my trusty "speedboat" getting a blistering 10 knots out of that little 7.5 merc :) )

Springbok_console2.jpg


Springbok_console1.jpg
 
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