While building our 61-foot Viking Rum Runner, we came up with a cool idea that allows our anglers to stay clued in to what the captain is seeing on his electronics suite. We installed a monitor on the back of our fighting chair. Release Marine made the chair for us and did a really great job.
The idea came out of necessity due to the fact that we installed a custom AC in the overhang where people normally put in drop-down monitors. We ran the power and VGA cables through the chair's stanchion after Bobby Soles' propeller shop (www.bobbysolespropellers.com) in Riviera Beach, Florida, performed a few modifications. Although it sounds like it wouldn't be a big deal, it wasn't an easy job.
The way we set the screen up works great for us since our anglers can watch the monitor all day and still see the teasers. It is also set up on a matrix system so you can switch channels from satellite TV to the onboard computer with Max Sea and/or Airmar system sonar, radar, sounder, plotter, and engine-room cameras or our Latham cameras. We can even reveal what's going on below the surface via our Towcam!
My mates hated the idea at first because they thought the monitor wouldn't be sturdy enough to last without breaking all the time, but they got used to it, and the screen really isn't in a place that takes a beating. With that said, I don't think this setup would be great for boats that fish in rough water all the time or on those that put a lot of water in the cockpit. There is some exposure to the elements, but not too much.
I have a separate cover for the monitor that we use when we run if it's going to be wet, and we even have another mount inside the pantry, where we can move the monitor to keep it safe if it really gets nasty. A lot of thought went into this little project, and we've been very happy with the results so far.
Capt. Joe Crawford
Rum Runner
Nicaragua
