Dropping headlining on SO32

[rodgerg]

Has anyone done this? It looks like I need to replace my ST60 Speed sensor which has given up the ghost. Just wondering how to run the cable and how to drop headlining to do it? or could the wires be cut and soldered as an alternative?
Thanks in advance

[mikebz]

I've dropped the headlining on our SO32. Prise the plastic caps off the screws and undo - simple job but 3 hands are useful when refitting. 

[tedp]

Rod - is it the sensor or the display you need to change? If it's only the sensor I would cut the wiring under the forward floor board and leave the wiring in the boat as it is. Attach the new unit to the existing wiring using car type flat connectors. If it's the display, you need to access the rear of the mounting board over the companionway. I need to get at that wiring as well - I have Raymarine connector trouble. Not yet sure how to get there. I think it may be possible to remove the sliding hatch by removing the teak rails, but I haven't tried yet.

The headlining, as Mike says, is easy to remove.

[rodgerg]

I am not sure where the fault lies. I was getting spurios readings showing me at 50 knots at one time. It is now pretty much always zero now however..I read part of an article about a fault where the temp guage if inaccurate stops the speed display. I never normally have the water temp showing so put the paddlewhhel back in and saw I was supposed to be in a sea at 22c. No way in clyde around Bute. Watched it change on the homeward journey to 17c then the speed display started all sort of readings. Water temp then went to 15.5c and speed display went zero again. Article talked about disconnecting wires and adding a capicitor which is beyond me. Am I right in saying that to get to the instrument display I need to remove the lrge panel in front of windbreak. If so are those large self tapping screws or phillips heading bolts with a nut hidden below? This is looking like a job for the winter more and more.

[tedp]

The temperature sensor is a well-known problem. Mine reads about 45 degrees C at the moment, but I don't care. The log reading is different - if it's low or zero, the paddle wheel is stuck. If it's high it must be the signal. The first thing I would do with spurious readings up to 50 knots is check the connectors - unplug any, check for corrosion and reconnect. There may be some under the floorboards in your boat, I don't know. If not, it may be the connectors behind the display unit over the companionway.

I wonder of the sliding hatch of the companion can be removed by unscrewing the teak rails on top on the companionway. You need a fairly large Phillips screwdriver. Not sure if they are self-tapping screws or bolts with a nut underneath. A nut should be accessible if you remove the headliner around the companion.

[mikebz]

Is a the water temperature sender a standard fitment (integrated into the log?). The water temp display on our ST60 only ever reads one invalid number (can't remember what), I assumed it was because we don't have a sender. 

[tedp]

The temperature sensor is an integral part of the log sensor unit. The temperature sensor often goes way off the scale and outside calibration range, so it is useless. I always switch the display to miles run. The log sensor itself can be calibrated fairly well, but if it is offset to one side of the hull it will read differently on each tack. I normally use the speed calculator on the GPS to determine my speed.

In Rod's case the log reads inconsistently and far too high. It may be due to a sensor fault, but I suspect cables are the culprit. In a 10-year-old boat the connectors may start to corrode - I have experience of this as my own Raymarine systems are connected by Raymarine three-prong cables.

I have intermittent trouble with the log and wind displays refusing to power up. I also had a 'no data' problem on the autopilot. The latter I fixed by removing all the connectors from the pilot computer unit (including the compass connectors) and re-fitting them, the former is usually cured by a firm tap on the display mounting board over the companionway.

[rene460]

Hi rodgerg,

Did the the article give a value for the capacitor and did it say which wires to connect it between?  It should not be too difficult and well worth trying if the alternative is to replace the unit.  Capacitors are low cost and not too easy to damage.

Rene460

[Anwen (Deep Joy)]

I've had the hatch off on my old SO32. You need to remove the teak rails, but beware - the screws are machine screws with a nut on the back. On the stbd side, you can get to the nuts by removing the headlining. As others have said, undo the screws and you can remove the headlining, although there is also high strength Velcro used in places, and there are plywood tongues which slot under the neighbouring section to stop sagging, so you have to start with the outermost panel by the windows, and work inwards.

The big problem with removing the port side teak hatch batten is that the nuts for the screws are impossible to get at once you have undone the screws as they are above the rear cabin side wall. So you remove the batten and then need to work out how to fix it back. I ended up having to epoxy threaded inserts into the fibreglass of the coachroof to screw into. So my advice would be to see if you can get at the back of the instruments by removing the head linings in the saloon. If you need to remove the hatch garage, then it is fixed with self tappers into the main coachroof. I know this because one of them leaked, and I had to take it out, fill the hole with Sikaflex and then replace the screw. I can't remember whether you will need to remove the eyes for the main sheet blocks to get the whole moulding off, and if so, how hard it is to do this. What I can tell you is that the cables run forward and down the mast compression post, but you probably already know this.

[jmannen]

Jul 28, 2014 12:30:11 GMT Anwen (Deep Joy) said:

I've had the hatch off on my old SO32. You need to remove the teak rails, but beware - the screws are machine screws with a nut on the back. On the stbd side, you can get to the nuts by removing the headlining. As others have said, undo the screws and you can remove the headlining, although there is also high strength Velcro used in places, and there are plywood tongues which slot under the neighbouring section to stop sagging, so you have to start with the outermost panel by the windows, and work inwards.

The big problem with removing the port side teak hatch batten is that the nuts for the screws are impossible to get at once you have undone the screws as they are above the rear cabin side wall. So you remove the batten and then need to work out how to fix it back. I ended up having to epoxy threaded inserts into the fibreglass of the coachroof to screw into. So my advice would be to see if you can get at the back of the instruments by removing the head linings in the saloon. If you need to remove the hatch garage, then it is fixed with self tappers into the main coachroof. I know this because one of them leaked, and I had to take it out, fill the hole with Sikaflex and then replace the screw. I can't remember whether you will need to remove the eyes for the main sheet blocks to get the whole moulding off, and if so, how hard it is to do this. What I can tell you is that the cables run forward and down the mast compression post, but you probably already know this.

Hi Anwen,
I have serious problems removing the hatch garage on my SO33i and found your answer above where you mention that you have removed your hatch garage on your so32.
What do you mean by "it is fixed with self tappers into the main coachroof" in your text above? I have unscrewed the 6 screws holding down the garage but cannot remove it anyway...