Considering updating your console with a new acrylic or Starboard dash panel? The process of having a custom panel designed and fabricated is simpler than you might think, but there are some decisions you’ll need to make along the way. Here’s a quick guide to boat dash panel material choices and mounting styles.
Contents
Starboard or Acrylic?
Most of the dash panels Boat Outfitters makes are gloss black acrylic. The finish looks sexy and matches well with the glossy faces of most of today’s marine electronics. But King Starboard is also a good choice. It’s significantly less expensive and tougher over the long haul, and its lightly textured matte finish, although it lacks the visual appeal of acrylic, resists glare.
There are a few drawbacks to Starboard as a material for dash panels. First, black Starboard readily shows scratches and scuffs. Starboard is softer than acrylic and scratches more easily, but in colors other than black, the scratches don’t show. Boat Outfitters doesn’t recommend Starboard dash panels in black.
Starboard doesn’t work well for stud mounting.
Second, Starboard doesn’t work well for stud mounting (see below for more information about mounting styles). If you want to stud-mount your panel, acrylic is strongly recommended. Starboard panels should be face-mounted.
Third, Starboard also flexes more than acrylic, although this is rarely an issue with dash panels, since there aren’t typically large unsupported spans. In the rare case of a panel that has little support from the old fiberglass dash and has to bear the weight of large, heavy displays, acrylic would be less prone to flex or sag from its weight.
Matte or Glossy?
Again, glossy dash panels look great and closely match the sheen not just of screens but also of gelcoat. On the other hand, glossy panels require a bit more maintenance since they show fingerprints and water spots more than matte. Plus, some boaters prefer a non-reflective finish to minimize glare.
Besides Starboard, matte acrylic is another non-reflective choice. And unlike black Starboard, which readily shows scratches, matte black acrylic looks great. The drawback is that matte acrylic is more expensive than glossy acrylic, which is already quite a bit more expensive than Starboard.
Black or White?
Black dash panels always look great and keep you from having to worry about whether your panel will exactly match the gelcoat around it. On the other hand, choosing black effectively limits you to an acrylic panel, since black Starboard tends to show scuffs and scratches.
White and off-white look good too and open up the less expensive option of a Starboard panel.
If you’re trying to match your panel to your gelcoat — whether you’re going with acrylic or Starboard — order a sample chain to make sure. You simply can’t tell from a photo on a phone or computer display.
Choosing black effectively limits you to an acrylic panel, since black Starboard tends to show scuffs and scratches.
Half, Three-Eights, or Quarter Inch?
Dash panels can be made from 1/4”, 3/8”, or 1/2” acrylic or Starboard. For stud-mounting (see below for more information), 1/2” is the only option as the extra thickness is required for the threaded inserts.
Aside from that, the thicker the material, the stronger and stiffer your panel will be. But thicker material is also more expensive. Additionally, some switches cannot be mounted in a 1/2” panel. We can mill out the back of the panel to make the material thinner around the switch cutouts, but this adds expense.
How much thickness you need depends on several factors, including how much support your panel will have from the fiberglass dash behind it, the weight and location of the electronics and other devices you plan to mount, and, of course, how you use your boat.
A 36-foot Yellowfin running back and forth to the canyons at 50 knots and a 45-foot single diesel trawler cruising the ICW at 8 knots are two very different animals. Our engineering team can recommend a material thickness based on your dash configuration, choice of electronics, and intended use.
Face-Mount or Stud-Mount?
There are two main ways to mount dash panels: face-mounting and stud-mounting. With face-mounting, screws or bolts are inserted through holes in the face of the panel so their heads are visible. With stud-mounting, threaded studs on the back of the panel allow it to be mounted with no fastener heads visible for a cleaner aesthetic.
Stud-Mounts
There are a couple of things to be aware of regarding stud-mounting:
- First, it’s only an option with 1/2” thick acrylic panels. Starboard panels and thinner acrylic panels simply don’t hold the threaded inserts well enough.
- Second, stud mounting requires access to the back of the mounting surface. Face-mount panels can be installed using self-tapping screws if access to the back of the dash is impossible, but stud-mount panels cannot.
Stud-mounted panels are also somewhat more expensive than face-mount, all else being equal. That’s in part because stud-mount panels are delivered with a CNC-cut wooden template that makes it easy to locate the holes for the studs.
Face-Mounts
Face-mount panels are normally supplied with mounting holes pre-drilled and countersunk for #8 flathead or oval head fasteners, although some customers choose to drill their own holes. With visible screw heads, face-mount panels never look quite as seamless as stud-mount panels, but using matching powder-coated screws or bolts makes a big aesthetic difference.