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I'm a first time BW owner as of last week! The boat I got needs some work, and I've started in. I have a question about what is the ideal side console size and location.

My BW has a homemade aluminum framed side console in it. It stands 28" tall, is 32" wide, and from the side is 12" in width. One thing I like about it is that is has a slanted section for the steering wheel mount. However, as soon as I saw it on the boat, I thought the whole thing looked huge, especially as regards the height. Would 28" generally be considered high? I'm thinking 24" would look better.

I should mention, mine has a bench seat, so the seating is at the level of the gunwales. If it were higher seating, I could see having 28", but even at 6' tall, I found I was having to peer over the top of the console.

I've taken it out and taken the "skin" off - it was sheet metal that rattled while the boat was in gear. I'm going to skin it with something solid, maybe starboard. Any suggestions on what to cover it with?

Now that I have it out, I could make it a center console. I like having the left side space with the side console, but having a center console is appealing too. Any pros or cons on why at this point I should go with one or the other?

Here are pictures of the console.

http://www.qbike.com/images/whaler-co...sole-1.jpg
http://www.qbike.com/images/whaler-co...sole-2.jpg

Here is what the console looks like.

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Holy smoke! That is certainly overbuilt and unnecessarily heavy. Also, Starboard is heavy for your purposes. If it were mine, but unfortunately it's not, I would build my console out of 3/8 marine plywood and varnish it. You could use 1"x1" material for the frame and put it together with titebond glue and screws. It would be plenty strong and much lighter than what you have. Enjoy your project and take the time to do it right and you'll be proud of it every time you use it.

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Welsome to WC.

Take a look at the parts photo album, download sections. For photos, review members personal pages. All of these are links on the left sidebar.

The OEM console design can be purchased from Nautical Lumber or Specialty Marine if you want.

Please update your profile to show where you are located. This will help us give region specific advice.

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NEVER plywood.

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John, you should see what they've done with marine plywood. It can be immersed in water for months with no delamination. For a given dimension it's much stronger than lumber Take a look at some of the older Boston Whalers which have the deck cut where the wiring goes under the deck to the rear well. Many boats have survived years with that plywood edge exposed and have had no problems. Marine plywood can be purchased in many thicknesses with many different types of surface veneer . Heck, there are lots of antique wooden boats made of plywood. But it's not the kind you get at HomeDepot.

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Thanks to everyone who replied. It's made of aluminum, so not too heavy, though when skinned with starboard or whatever, it's going to weigh a whole lot more. I really want to re-use what I have, just because I'm into re-use and I don't mind the setup.

My idea was to cut out 4" from each leg to make it 24" in height. I could see even cutting out 6" to make it 22" high. I researched and saw that the usual BW center console is 24" tall, so 24" I suppose is the standard.

As for the width, 32" seems plenty wide. There is nothing functional to do with all that space. I have a GPS that mounts on the top flat portion, but the rest of the space is unused. All that slanted space where the steering wheel mounts is unused. Does 32" seem wide? I could cut out those sections say 4" each and make it 28" wide. With the wheel positioned far left (like you see in the picture, it's pretty far left), I can sit near-center when out on my own and reach over for the controls.

So I'm thinking 22" tall and 28" wide. Same 12" depth. Does that sound practical?

Phil, I'll check out the image galleries.

David