Navigation Board - homemade

[NothingClever]

You can’t put this stuff on the internet without people expecting you to instantaneously become a vendor.

How many six packs of microbrew do I need to send you?

 

[M-Cameron]

Haha I appreciate that.

Ill tell you what, once the design is finished and flushed out, I’ll post the design files for y’all to use.

And anyone that needs help with the manufacturing I’ll see what I can do.


EDIT:

just getting some quotes for those interested.

for individual units, they could range from $160-350/ ea depending on materials and level of finish.

but if i can place an order for 10 or more, the price drops to $60-100/ea.

 

[M-Cameron]

So ive done some slight tweaking to the design and am currently pretty happy with it, going to have this water cut out of some 3/8" 7075 and well see how it looks.

im attaching the design files for anyone that wants to fiddle with them(DISCLAIMER: i cant guarantee fitment 100% at this point, as im still working with it)


if found that having them water-cut if SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than any other method of production (~$40-100/ea) so if you guys want to make your own, thats the route i would look into.

 

[vjb.knife]

Got the print finished and did a test fit , seems to be a good size..... need to order a compass and see how it mounts up, need to make some minor adjustments but I think this is going to turn out nicely

View attachment 564719

You can buy most of the military versions, but they start to get very expensive. I like your model a lot, although I think that making it out of UHMW poly or Marine grade starboard is more practical. Brunton and Ritchie are the go to brands of compass for this. If you need sources let me know but they are out there and relatively easy to find. You will need to make something to cover the underside of the compass.

 

[vjb.knife1]

Where are you on this project? I have had mine in the water a few times and it is so much better than using a wrist or console mounted compass, there is just no comparison. I think from what I have done that the design you are using is nice because it is more compact as well as lighter, and should still have all the funtionality. I believe that I would still recommend making it out of marine grade starboard in black which is available in 1/2" thickness for under twenty dollars to cover this size. It is very strong and will never have any corrosion issues. Another suggestion that I have is to cut out a round hole for the compass this allows installation without problem. Also, since the underside of the compass needs to be covered / protected, I used a black PVC Pipe cap, that I cut down the height of, from Lowes and it worked out very nicely. I routered out a groove in the board and glued the cap onto the backside of the board.

I ended up using a depth guage module w/ max depth indication made by Oceanic. So, if it were me I would cut a hole to match the OD of the module and glue it in place, which takes up less space than a top mounted wrist guage with a strap. The final item that I mounted was a small pedestal to put a light on. It is made so that a velcro strap can attach either a chem light or a teklight led light with one side of the lens blacked out. This keeps the light from shining up toward your face.

I recommend the Brunton compass over the Ritchie because it works as well and costs a lot less.

 

[M-Cameron]

Where are you on this project? I have had mine in the water a few times and it is so much better than using a wrist or console mounted compass, there is just no comparison. I think from what I have done that the design you are using is nice because it is more compact as well as lighter, and should still have all the funtionality. I believe that I would still recommend making it out of marine grade starboard in black which is available in 1/2" thickness for under twenty dollars to cover this size. It is very strong and will never have any corrosion issues. Another suggestion that I have is to cut out a round hole for the compass this allows installation without problem. Also, since the underside of the compass needs to be covered / protected, I used a black PVC Pipe cap, that I cut down the height of, from Lowes and it worked out very nicely. I routered out a groove in the board and glued the cap onto the backside of the board.

I ended up using a depth guage module w/ max depth indication made by Oceanic. So, if it were me I would cut a hole to match the OD of the module and glue it in place, which takes up less space than a top mounted wrist guage with a strap. The final item that I mounted was a small pedestal to put a light on. It is made so that a velcro strap can attach either a chem light or a teklight led light with one side of the lens blacked out. This keeps the light from shining up toward your face.

I recommend the Brunton compass over the Ritchie because it works as well and costs a lot less.

View attachment 618494

View attachment 618495

so this project actually got put on the back burner for me while i did some work on custom dive lights....I actually just finished those up and have a dive light im happy with, so i was going to dive back in on this project.

just actually placed the order to have the board water cut....going to order the compass now....should have an update in a week or so.

 

[vjb.knife1]

Please leet me know if you plan to have more than one made. I would probably be interested in one. Just for your info I found the Brunton 70P compass as low as $70 usd, which is a pretty good price. The Brunton is a nice compass and I have used it in the water and been able to navigate on course with great accuracy.

Are you going to have the board anodized?

 

[M-Cameron]

Please leet me know if you plan to have more than one made. I would probably be interested in one. Just for your info I found the Brunton 70P compass as low as $70 usd, which is a pretty good price. The Brunton is a nice compass and I have used it in the water and been able to navigate on course with great accuracy.

Are you going to have the board anodized?

will definitely keep you in mind.

im going to see how i like the design of this current model....if it dives well, im thinking i might make a small run of them.

i was able to snag a Brunton for $80 shipped.....although they seem like they are discontinued by the MFG now....i might buy some more while i can, or see what other options are available.

regarding Anodizing.....i probably wont make it a priority, but ill likely get it type 3 hard coated eventually.....but it would be mostly for aesthetics and peace of mind.

6061 aluminum is actually fairly corrosion resistant, and i havent had any issues with the uncoated aluminum dive light i made.

 

[vjb.knife1]

This is where I got the brunto 70P for $69.95 - Safety Devices - Personal and Portable Alcohol Breathalyzer - Air Compressor, Battery Jump Starters, Brunton Compasses a

Hard coat is a good idea. I work on a Submarine and we have corrosion problems with a lot of the Aluminum components. We did some test runs of type 3 Milspec A-8625 and it seemed to hold up pretty well. If I get one of yours I will send it out for that coating. We had parts done in an OD Green which would look badass on this board. But again this is why I would prefer Marine grade black Starboard, which is eay to cut with a saw or a router. And it has zero corrosion.

 

[M-Cameron]

just got images from my water cutter.....chassis looks pretty good!

should have updates in a week or so once the part comes in.