Montauk 170: Choosing and Installing Multi-function Display

[sea_of_hands]

I'm about to buy a new multi-function display for my 2002 Montauk 170. I'm leaning towards the Lowrance Elite 12ti or an HDS-9 Gen 3. It looks like the 9-inch versions will fit on top of the console right of the all-round lamp socket. My eyesight is getting bad and I'd love to install a 12-inch screen. The guy at the boat store says they can move the lamp socket and add a piece of plastic under the mount to cover up the old lamp socket hole. I was also looking at mounting a 12-inch multi-function display using the adjustable RAM Mounts This way I leave the lamp socket where it is now and have the flexibility to customize the position of the display whether I'm standing or sitting.

--has anyone mounted a 12 inch display on a Montauk?
--is a 12-inch display worth the extra money and hassle of mounting?
--at that size are the RAM mounts shaky?

Your thoughts, comments and photos are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[jimh]

The suggestion to move the location of the white all-round lamp must be considered for compliance with the navigation rules. Generally the white all-round lamp must be on the vessel centerline. But International Rule 23 (d) (iii) provides for moving the lamp off centerline "provided that the sidelights are combined in one lantern which shall be carried on the fore and aft centerline of the vessel..." (Inland Rules don't seem to care about where the white all-round light is located.) Because the 170 MONTAUK uses a combined sidelights lamp, this seems to give flexibility for the location of the white all-round light, and you could move the lamp socket slightly off-center line at the helm console and still be in compliance.

If you move the lamp socket, the hole left behind could be used to route the several cables necessary for connection to the display. Typically you will have at least two cables: one for power, one for the transducer. A third cable for NMEA-2000 network connection is likely. The three cables can pass through the hole in the console left from the navigation lamp socket.

ASIDE: I looked for images showing the all-round lamp deployed in position on a 170 MONTAUK, but I could not find any. Having that navigation lamp right at the helm position must be a bit awkward when underway at night. What is the height of the pole?

I don't see the advantage of the ball mount device compared to the standard mounting bracket supplied. You probably won't be adjusting the display horizontally at different orientations; you'll just be adjusting the vertical tilt. The U-bracket mount will be more rigid than the ball mount.

As for display size, compare the pixels between different size displays to see if you really get more screen resolution. Sometimes the larger displays have the same number of pixels as a smaller version. Larger displays tend to command a premium price and generally don't offer any other features besides the larger display compared to devices with smaller displays.

[Jefecinco]

We had a 10 inch Lowrance display on our Dauntless 16. I thought it was perfect.

Mounting took some careful consideration. The Dauntless 16 console did not have a lot of space to work with. Ultimately I installed the display directly forward of the steering wheel.

To make the installation workable required relocating the steering compass which was in the way. Fortunately the compass was a perfect fit in one of the two cup holders in the console. I fabricated a Starboard patch for the space left when the compass was relocated. I drilled a hole in the patch to pass the display wiring through for connection to the transducer, power and external GPS antenna cables. I used the furnished gimbal mount for the display. If I remember correctly I used some small Starboard shims to make the mounting perfect and a pair of aluminum backing plates due to the size and weight of the display. When the installation was complete adjusting the viewing angle just perfectly allowed the top of the display to just clear the windshield grab rail.