"Maine Sail" did a nice writeup of this replacement that can be found on the C36 site's upgrades section, at [url]http://www.c36ia.com/node/579[/url]

I did it a couple of years ago on ours -- but didn't document in Rodd's usual elegant style, I'm afraid.

When we bought our 36 I promised my altitude challenged wife I would redo the pedestal and lower the instruments so she could see where we were going from behind the wheel.
She was not amused when I told her Lindberg flew across the Atlantic without being able to see forward.

I replaced the pedestal guard with a 1-1/4 diameter tube. I used one instrument pod to accommodate the plotter and four instruments, instead of the two separate pods that obstructed the forward view.

I have to admit I prefer the increased field of view from behind the wheel. I will dig out my notes and provide part numbers with further details.

The thing I've found about working with the stainless steel pedestal guard tubing is that it is a really tough B**ch (and I'm not referring to a Beechcraft) to drill through. Maybe someone on the forum here has an easier way to do it. I used a drill bit(s) plus a Dremel with a grinding wheel, and it took a lot of time to drill a new hole and then enlarge it to my needs. Of course I was putting new holes into a pipe that I knew already had some wiring in it, so I was always concerned about damaging the wiring inside.

The above experience is from 10 years ago when the boat was new and I was installing all of the 'avionics' except for the factory depth and knot meters.

Larry, that is nasty stuff to drill for sure. I use a cobalt tipped drill bit in a great big old variable speed hammer drill that has tons of torque. I turn the bit slowly and oil it frequently to keep the heat down. Still tough going but that has worked the best so far. If someone else has some magic juju for drilling this it would be good to hear.

I used a single NavPod to hold the plotter and four ST60 series instruments.
Photo shows the initial setup and templates for positioning the cutouts in the NavPod. Notice the temporary ½ inch wood spacer to keep the NavPod off the compass. The plotter is an RL70/RC530 series, but there is room for a larger one in the future.

NavPod GP1170 Uncut Pedestal Guard Pod for 9.5” wide pedestal guards
There is a precut version for a Raymarine C80 plotter and 4 ST60 instruments.

[URL="http://www.starmarinedepot.com/NavPod+TP125+Top+Plate.html"]NavPod GP1170 Uncut Pedestal Guard[/URL]

NavPod AG126 Pedestal Guard 9.5” x 58” x 1.25.
I did not shorten the Pedestal guard. I mounted the Pod ½ inch from the compass. I did not drill holes into the stainless steel guard. SS is a bitch to drill (it work hardens from the heat of a dulling drill) especially large diameter holes. I cut a rectangular slot with cutting wheels using my Dremel tool and then ground the edges smooth.

[URL="http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=61656"]NavPod AG126 Pedestal Guard[/URL]

[URL="http://www.starmarinedepot.com/NavPod+TP125+Top+Plate.html"]TP125 Top Plate adapter[/URL]

I brought the old plate to a machine shop and had them bore out the holes to accommodate the 1.25 diameter tubing.

"SS is a bitch to drill (it work hardens from the heat of a dulling drill) especially large diameter holes. I cut a rectangular slot with cutting wheels using my Dremel tool and then ground the edges smooth."

By George, I think he's got it!

That, sir, seems a sensible idea.

I upgraded my pedistal guard a couple of years ago adding a large navpod which perfectly fit a Garmin 4212, Garmin GMI10 and a Raymarine autopilot display.
In no particular order here ar some thoughts.
I used the existing guard, having it bent to 25 degreees leaving about six inches of guart sticking out above the pod. I didn't rebend above the pod as in many newer pod/guard configurations.
Obviously I had to remove the guard to have it bent and I had a pro do the bending in a shop. Not many bucks.
Even if I wasn't bending I would recomend taking the guard out to do the work. With the numerous wires you will be running you are going to need to enlarge the hole/holes where the guard sits on the deck. I enlarged both sides to the inside diameter of the tubing. I ground back the core between the inside and outside surfaces of the deck and sealed the core.
Drilling that tubing is pretty difficult and in the end I found that the best thing to use was a little cut off wheel in the Dremmel. I used up 3 or four blades but the cutting went fast. The holes needed to be large enough for a number of wires including ones that had molded on connectors. To accomodate these wires I cut slots that were about 3/4 inch by about 2 inches long. Everything went through nicely with no sharp bends at the exit into the pod. Be sure to grind down the edges so the wiring is not damaged.
Play with the wires which you are goiing to feed through to figure which goes where and which goes in first and last. In general anything with a conector needs to go through first with bare wires following up. Lube the wires with "wire pull" lube or soapy water or whatever you think will work. Be patient. This is the place that you will be very happy that the guard is not installed on the deck as while it sits on a bench or even the dock box you can easily reach both ends of a wire to facilitate feeding.
If I remember correctly there are a total of 11 wires running through my guard, maybe more. Some of those has connectors which barely fit through the tube but once those were through everything else followed easily.
When I re-installed the guard I sealed it to the deck fitting and the deck fitting to the deck.
There are some lengthey discussions on the site re any effects your new equipment may or may not have on the pedestal compass. Lots of different opinions. In my installation the compass seems to unafected by the close proximety to all that electronic gear and the dreaded magnetic door on the 4212. I have to say that having all that info right there in my face is best for me. If I were ever going to be in a situation where I thought I may need to rely heavily on a mag compass and I thought that my binacle mounted one was compromised by the plotter then I would mount one somewhere else in the cockpit after checking for the best location.
I have no luck getting a pic onto this website so send me a note a [email]flynr@aol.com[/email] and I will be happy to send a pic of the end result.
Good Luck

Guys,

While drilling stainless can be tricky drilling the larger holes is quite easy. I use a Lenox hole saw and it chews through it with ease. I probably do 20-25 holes like this per year and am still using the same hole saw. Not all hole saws are created equal. Use ONLY Lenox..... Real tool stores or electrical or plumbing supply houses will stock Lenox..

You MUST have a drill, when drilling SS, that will GO SLOW. As SLOW as can humanly be tolerated and I am talking about 60 RPM. You CAN NOT STOP once you start drilling or the SS will cool and worked harden and then you're "F'd".... Use a cutting lube! You also need to use real drill bits not the JUNK sold at Home Depot or Lowes and passed off as "tools"... The drills I use are used by my local machine shop. Ask your local machine shop where they get their drills from and then go to that source and pony up. Trust me they cost about 6X what the toy drill bits do at Home Depot do but they actually work if you treat them well..

SO...

GO SLOW, VEEEEEERY SLOOOOOOOOOW
DO NOT STOP ONCE STARTED
USE LUBE
USE REAL TOOLS, NOT TOYS

If your drill won't go that slow you will also need a real drill....

Michagan Drill is basically the last drill manufacturer here in the US. You can find their website at [url]www.michigandrill.com[/url] they manufacture in Michigan and Florida. They sell drill kits and singular drills. For the most part a Jobbers drill HSS (High speed steel) with 118 degree point general purpose will suffice with care. A drill set with the index 1/16" - 1/2" in 1/32 increments is about $86 list.
Surface footage for SS (Primarily 303, 304, and 316 grades) is approximately 50SFM which equates to feet/minute the following is a guide for you;
1/8" drill= 1528 RPM
1/4" drill= 764 RPM
3/8" drill= 503 RPM
1/2" drill= 382 RPM
So keep in mind as you drill a hole your speed (RPM) needs to go slower as the drill diameter increases. You can increase this speed slightly by going to a colbolt based drill or with some of the newer titanium nitride coated drills. The issue you will have for the most part is the speed of the drill you more than likely will be using, most are fixed.

Totally in agreement Gary; and I find the cobalt drills somewhat better than the titanium on SS for some reason. I drill about a hundred 1/8" holes a year in SS (and occasionally a few larger) for bimini and dodger installations.

[QUOTE=Maine Sail;15902]GO SLOW, VEEEEEERY SLOOOOOOOOOW
DO NOT STOP ONCE STARTED
USE LUBE
USE REAL TOOLS, NOT TOYS[/QUOTE]

Waiting for Steve Frost to comment...

Replacing the pedestal and upgrading instruments on my '91 is on my list also. Have you considered the new Vision pedestal from Edson? It is similar to the ones on the new boats and was designed as a replacement for the older pedestals like ours. The base was even designed to cover the old holes on the cockpit sole. It's design leaves plenty of room for running wires, no cramming wiring through tubes. You might want to check it out....

[url]http://www.edsonmarine.com/newproducts/vision2.php[/url]

Mike