| My original Raymarine 230E VHF marine radio had deteriorated to the point that reception/transmission was dependent on the exact position of the curly handset cables - something it's no longer possible to replace.
The 230E was a central system Marine VHF with handsets at lower and upper helms. However, I wanted a fixed unit at our normal (upper) helm position and a handheld remote at the lower helm position. This left me with the difficult decision about to where to mount it and I decided that I really wanted it above the existing chart plotter housing.
This is a little tricky because the top of the housing isn't exactly flat:-
There's a cable gland option but I decided not to use it as I was already taking cables down underneath the housing support into the superstructure (power, antenna, remote handset) and it was neater to carry the NMEA output cable down with those and divert with existing cables already feeding into the bottom of the housing.
Nevertheless, I needed something between the VHF mounting bracket and the chart plotter housing.
I opted to create a dedicated mounting spacer to clear the bulge and duplicate the bolt-hole slots in the bracket for easier use:-
The recesses I made weren't quite deep enough to clear the existing housing screws, but a minor modification with a large drill bit solved this. I considered printing the spacer in white ABS but over time this would lose its original bright white and end up a cream colour. I printed the spacer in grey PLA, which will degrade in sunlight, so I painted the sides in white enamel to match the housing and make it more durable:-
I'm pleased with the end result - the position is ideal when helming.
12th June 2022 | 
Kevin Millican
