How thick

[Achilles]

should an instrument panel be?
I'm replacing my 'fixed in place' instrument panel with a new one that will fold down and give me access to all the wiring and the back of the instruments.
It will be made from teak veneered marine ply, but I'm not sure how thick the marine ply should be. It will be about 26inches high and about 18 wide, and will have to hold the GPS, VHF, the DC switch panel, and a few other smaller instruments. Don't want it to be bendy and flexible hence the thickness question.

Best regards

 

[Joe_Cole]

Depends on if it is supported all round, how many holes are cut in it, and how close the holes are to eachother. Having said that I would think about using 6mm, possibly going up to 10mm if you want it to be "belt and braces".

 

[Talbot]

Alternatively, you could consider using a piece of dark smoked acrylic as the baseplate. easier to cut and will probably be easier to get looking good!

 

[LORDNELSON]

I made one last year for my boat; about the same size as you propose but with the long dimension being horizontal. It was in teak veneered water resistant ply and has been very satisfactory and stiff, you might be able to use thinner but check the fitting arrangements for the instruments and see if the thickness/thinness of the panel throws up any problems

 

[LORDNELSON]

Forgot to say I used 10 mm ply!