My camera memory card is looking much lighter with these older subjects I wrapped up a while back finally getting published. This one probably sounds trivial, but it turned out really cool.
Back when I was installing the walls in the aft stateroom, I drilled holes and slotted the edge of the mahogany plywood so I could fit wires inside. Those wires are the switch leads for the LED lights in the head. One day in 2019, I got sick of having to twist the wires together to turn on the lights. So I decided to install the switch and, while I was at it, make a mahogany switch plate.
There’s three kinds of switches: Chinese junk, Cole Hersee, and super tiny Cole Hersee
I foolishly bought a bag of Chinese switches on ebay a few years back. They were cheap but looked OK and seemed to work fine. Turns out, they were not OK. Within a month of installing the aft stateroom headliner, I had to pull the headliner down and replace the orange piece of junk with a proper Made in USA switch. The Chinese switch literally fell apart after being flipped no more than a couple of dozen times. Fortunately, the Whisper Wall headliner system on my boat is designed for easy post-installation removal and re-installation.
Lesson learned.
For the aft head switch, I went with the tiny Cole Hersee switch.
See that pretty switch plate hiding in this piece of mahogany scrap?
I think this 1/4″ solid mahogany was leftover from when we cut the new mahogany toe rail pieces to their final height.
Looks about right
I sanded the wood with 120 grit Mirka Abranet to remove the fur from drilling the holes
Next I cut the rectangular plate off and test fit the switch
With shrink connectors, that’s going to be tight…but it’ll fit
We don’t have much space to work with
Like I’d hoped, a perfect fit!
Nice!
Lights work!
Next, I took the assembly apart and prepped the plate for varnish.
I gave the edges an 1/8″ radius with a router, then sanded with 240 grit Mirka.
First coat looks great
Three coats later, and the switch is installed
Boom…done
Next up in our 1969 Chris Craft Roamer 46 Refit: Recommissioning the Kidde CO2 Fire Extinguishing System
1969chriscraftroamer46 