Boat Electronics Box

Boat owners purchase and install electronics boxes for a variety of reasons, ranging from replacing a damaged OEM part to adding more mounting space, to aesthetic upgrades. Read More

Adding Room for More Electronics

If you’re running out of space on your console for flush mounting or bracket mounting electronics, an overhead electronics box is an easy way to add room for more equipment. VHF radios, audio head units, and backup or secondary GPS receivers are good fits for overhead boxes since they don’t need to be as readily visible as primary chartplotters or fishfinders.

Likewise, dash mount boxes can create more real estate for mounting electronics when older dash equipment (like analog gauges and switches) is no longer needed. As a bonus, overhead boxes also provide a good amount of waterproof, lockable bulk storage for gear like charts, documents, handheld electronics, emergency distress signals, and more.

Locking Up Electronics and Other Valuables

Another reason boaters add electronics boxes is the ability to lock up electronics and other valuable items when away from the boat. Nearly all boxes are designed with a locking latch. Many also feature black or dark-colored doors to hide electronics from would-be thieves when closed.

For boats kept at a dock or on a lift, a locking electronics box can provide both security and peace of mind.

Starting Over With a Clean Slate

Boat electronics and rigging change over time. Chartplotter and fishfinder screens have gotten larger, touch screens have largely replaced keypads, and analog gauges and switches are being gradually replaced by digital switching and gauges. That means when it’s time for an upgrade, chances are that the new equipment won’t match the cutouts and holes patterns from the old.

Installing a helm electronics box is both an easier and less expensive way to replace a “Swiss cheese” console with a clean panel than having the fiberglass professionally repaired.

Replacing Existing Electronics Boxes

If your factory electronics box is damaged or weathered, replacing it with a new one is an easy upgrade.

If you’re replacing an existing electronics box, your manufacturer or dealer may be able to supply the part. Otherwise, Boat Outfitters, which supplies OEM electronics boxes to many boat builders, can quickly fabricate a direct replacement for hundreds of different models, or design a custom solution for your application.

Virtually any T-top or hardtop can accommodate an overhead electronics box. Simply measure the distance between port and starboard legs and order a box of the appropriate width. Console electronics boxes can be custom-fabricated to fit almost any size opening and accommodate anything from a single device to multiple large displays.

T-top electronics boxes are typically bolted to flat plates in the aluminum frame of the T-top, but they may also be clamped to the tubing. Hardtop electronics boxes can be mounted either to the frame or the fiberglass hardtop. Console electronics boxes require an appropriately sized cutout in the console face. Then the frame of the box is screwed or through bolted to the fiberglass.

Boat electronics boxes can be made from almost any common boat-building material. T-top boxes are most often made from gelcoated fiberglass, although they can also be made from aluminum. Console electronics boxes are typically fabricated from plastic sheeting like Starboard. Doors are usually made from acrylic, which can be either transparent or opaque.

You can always get a fiberglass shop to fabricate an electronics box from scratch, but a built-to-order Starboard custom electronics box from Boat Outfitters is a quicker and more cost-effective choice. The “build your own” Helm Electronics Storage Box allows a lot of customization, but for more specialized applications, a fully custom box can be built from scratch.