Advice needed from fellow KW owners

[dbplug]

Daddy had a good few months and the slush fund has grown. I can't think of anything to do with the money on other than throw it at the boat, so I bought some electronics and stuff. I need help on placement of devices on the console. I want to make sure there is no interference between devices(compass too).

Heres what I currently have on the KW 1720 CC:
Factory compass on top of console, left forward corner.
Eagle depth/FF right in the center.

I just purchased:
Standard Horizon Quest GX 1250SA with flush mount, 4'antenna w/rail mount,
Garmin GPSMAP 178C w/ext antenna, one transducer, WAAS option and antenna, (will probably sell the Eagle if the garmin works out)
Bennett M80 trim tabs w/rocker switches,

QUESTIONS
Can I mount the radio above the doors on the console?

Can I put the Garmin unit where the eagle is now, or should I move it over to the right forward corner?

Should I drill one hole or two for the radio and GPS antenna cables?

Plastic zip ties for cabling undeer the console and up the rail to the antennas?

My Eagle tranducer is in the middle of the chine. There will not be much room between the trim tabls and motor for the transducer. Shall I put it dead center between the two?

Am I missing any considerations? thanks

[Tom Keels]

QUESTIONS
Can I mount the radio above the doors on the console?

That's where it is on ours. But more over the left door I think because of the helm clearance.

Can I put the Garmin unit where the eagle is now, or should I move it over to the right forward corner?

Is the garmin unit a FF as well as a gps? If so I would put it dead center of the console.

Should I drill one hole or two for the radio and GPS antenna cables?

I would do one big enough for both. Make sure to use a grommet and a clamshell.

Plastic zip ties for cabling undeer the console and up the rail to the antennas?

You can do it under the console but I would try to avoid it if possible on the grab rail simply because its a grab rail. If its covered in zipties it may be uncomfortable to grab (ever grabbed a zip tie cut off at an angle?) OUCH. Perhaps some soft velcro straps instead?

My Eagle tranducer is in the middle of the chine. There will not be much room between the trim tabls and motor for the transducer. Shall I put it dead center between the two?

As long as the ducer is in front of the tab, you should be able to put it fairly close to it. It has been my experience that you want it as far from the motor as possible.

Am I missing any considerations? thanks

The trim tab installation will be tricky because of the livewell. You may want to look at getting the external hookups so you don't have to run the hydraulic lines through the transom. This was the problem I ran into when I was looking to put them on our Key West.

You want the rocker switch as close to the throttle control as possible so you minimize the movements you have to make in a rough sea (where you'll use the tabs the most)

[dbplug]

Beautiful, thanks Tom! Looks like this will be my rainy weekend project.