Other People's Upgrades To Their Catalina 22 Sailboats
Hosted by Skip "Slow Flight" Meisch

Scott Sauve - GPS Swing Arm

The PO (previous Owner) located the GPS on the outside of the port cabin bulkhead, just under the compass. The problems with this setup are as follows:

  1. Have an electronic component in close proximity to the compass.
  2. The plug that attaches to the back of the GPS had to be connected and dis-connected upon each usage causing wear and tear on the pins and sockets of the plug and the GPS unit attachment points.
  3. The acute angel the plug wires had to turn from the lead-out location put stress on the wires
  4. Moving lines and equipment could catch the unit and cause damage.

The fix I came up with was to mount the GPS on a swing arm located just inside the companion way opening. This keeps the mounting of the GPS fixed related to the arm. The plug stays attached relieving stress. The wires have plenty of freedom to move and on many points of sail the GPS is in the shade making it easier to read, and it is out of the way from lines and equipment. If you have to enter the cabin underway, you can just slide around the arm (there is plenty of room) or with a simple twist of the GPS mounting arm it is out of the way. I have also tested it with the hatch closed and two hatch boars in place in the event of bad weather, and it still gets 6-8 satellite signals for a good fix.

By the way my GPS unit is also my depth finder so everything is close at hand and easy to reach.

Quad Deck Organizer Line Organizers Port

GPS Swing Arm Front View

GPS Swing Arm Rear View

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