FINCHASER Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 So I see these mounted to the inside walls of consoles on PVC board.... would love to hear from those who've done this on exactly how you did it. IE, what thickness PVC board, what epoxy did you use, how did you attach the charger etc. These chargers are heavy and for the life of me I dont see how the charger just doesnt rip the screws outta the PVC board?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyB Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 Most of those board are likely starboard. The ones I have seen the board is through bolted on the side of the console. It would be possible then to countersink screw heada in the back of your board to bolt your charger down. Every thing I have seen has just been screws onto the board from the face side with stainless wood screws. the largest ones that fit whatever you are mounting. If the screws are tight they hold on very well. I’m sure Others will chime in with more knowledge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCFD rtrd. Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 I mounted a charger to Starboard, then attached to fiberglass console years ago and it's still there. Don't own the boat anymore and can't remember if it was Starboard or PVC. Start by lying charger on Starboard, cut to correct dimensions and pre-drill holes to attach charger to Starboard. I roughed-up the back side of the starboard with a metal grinding disk (at least 1/8" grooves). Find the exact area to mount to fiberglass, then clean fiberglass two or three times to remove the shine. Use Bondo (body filler) to adhere Starboard to fiberglass. Support and tape in place for several hours. If you are worried about the weight, make the Starboard longer then needed to mount charger and let the bottom edge of the Starboard sit on the floor. You might be able to use some existing screws or bolts to secure the Starboard. The same screws or bolts that secure things like rod holders to the console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bernieNC Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 My Stealth chargers are mounted (thru bolted) directly to the sidewall of the console. AC on one side and DC on the other. Almost 7 years and no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 Agree with all of the above, mine is through bolted on the console using s/s carriage bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoneyB Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 I would say the only reason to use a board would be to put one larger board for multiple mounting locations with less console penetrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 The charger on my Pathfinder came mounted from the factory on a piece of starboard. MBC used some type of adhesive to attach it to the side of the console. I could never find out what it was. Maybe someone else knows but no holes are better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeviam Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 1 hour ago, FINCHASER said: So I see these mounted to the inside walls of consoles on PVC board.... would love to hear from those who've done this on exactly how you did it. IE, what thickness PVC board, what epoxy did you use, how did you attach the charger etc. These chargers are heavy and for the life of me I dont see how the charger just doesnt rip the screws outta the PVC board?? I thru-bolted mine directly to the fiberglass wall of the console. I too, was concerned about the weight of it pulling out the screws in a mounting board. I made a mounting board out of 3/4" painted Coosa Board (white Kilz Primer and Rustoleum Marine Topside paint from Lowes) for the opposite side of the console to mount smaller stuff and keep the console from looking peppered with holes. Made a 3/4" thick floor plate out of the same Coosa Board to support the weight of 3 batteries as well. It's lighter than Star Board and has good screw retention strength. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin-addict Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 3 hours ago, MuddyBottomBluz said: Agree with all of the above, mine is through bolted on the console using s/s carriage bolts. Mine is directly through bolted to the front inside of the console since 2003, no problems. Also have heavy troll n tab control box mounted to starboard side of console without any problems since 2003. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale Nelson Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 I mounted mine in your old boat with existing bolts from the rod holders- just used longer ones through a piece of starboard, then screwed the charger to that on the inside. Never have had any issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINCHASER Posted January 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 Thanks for the info thus far.... definately not interested in thru bolting it, I do know for a fact the factory is gluing PVC board to the inside of the console to attach charger when they do it. Hopefully someone who has done that will come along sooner or later. Dale.... good idea Idea on using existing holes but I wont have that option in my case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE OUTLAW Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 3M two way tape , right to console . 17 years n counting . Stuff is strong. 🇺🇸🏴☠️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINCHASER Posted January 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 Thanks Ill check it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smilemaker Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 Cut some pvc board as big as the inside will let you . Place the charger on the board before gluing the board. Drill holes and place some ss tnuts on the back and epoxy the board in place. Now you can bolt to the board using the tnuts. To help heat dissipation place a small space nut between the board and charger. The extra board area will help with future projects. All materials easy to work with 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 8 hours ago, Headhunter said: The charger on my Pathfinder came mounted from the factory on a piece of starboard. MBC used some type of adhesive to attach it to the side of the console. I could never find out what it was. Maybe someone else knows but no holes are better. 👇 http://www.weldmountsystem.com/products-adhesives.php 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 10 hours ago, FINCHASER said: So I see these mounted to the inside walls of consoles on PVC board.... would love to hear from those who've done this on exactly how you did it. IE, what thickness PVC board, what epoxy did you use, how did you attach the charger etc. These chargers are heavy and for the life of me I dont see how the charger just doesnt rip the screws outta the PVC board?? My Stealth is on 3/4 starboard but I didn't want to thru bolt everything so the Stealth is mounted to board and thru bolted with screws countersunk. The board is then thru bolted through the console. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradM Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 I’ve done several now and use expanded pvc board. You’ll want to use a 2 part epoxy with methacrylate in it (good marine epoxies will have this ingredient). There isn’t anything that sticks GREAT to King Starboard, and that’s due to the chemical makeup of the material. I posted a few years ago about installing the amplifier in my boat and the same process can be used to mount an onboard charger. You can also glue two 1/2” thick pieces of PVC board together if you want to ensure plenty of bite with standard screws. For my application, I used stainless t-nuts and stainless machine screws. Here’s my old thread. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINCHASER Posted January 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 Smilemaker great idea on the nuts and especially the spacer Brad... Thanks for the epoxy info and the T nut idea they look taylor made for that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 Fin, If you have a concern about the PVC board....go 1" thick and then use a 1/4" backing of aluminum which you can then epoxy to the back (larger than the charger) and then through bolt. It for sure will not be coming off that..... BTW, on my MA17, I just mounted it on a PVC board and on to the floor of the console...up off the wet floor and been doing great for 2 years. DC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.