1996 Prostar 190 on-going general refurbish

[Jeffer]

Not sure what the former owner was thinking, but all the screws pulled from the brackets so he put some random welcome mat pad on the platform, then drilled holes through the fiberglass and into the brackets. On top of that, there were many dock dings in the corners and edges - pretty much everything you'd expect from a 1996.
So I started the project by removing the brackets and repainting them, then removing the pad with a scraper and using gel coat repair for the bashed corners. I wet sanded the areas and sprayed them white (I did not need to cover the center section since I was replacing the pad). I ordered a template kit from Seadek and drew out what I wanted, sent it back along with my color choices (to match the new interior). While I was waiting, I reused the existing bolts into the old brackets, but set them deeper on top and leveled the top with gel coat as well.
Once the pad came (that took about 5 weeks), I watched their easy-to-follow video instructions to clean and apply it, and got a great-looking finished platform. The pad was $220 (you get a credit for the template once you order your pad). I'd have preferred a teak one, but I'm keeping what I got. Next projects are the bimini top canvas replacement and the dash/gauges, which I'll post as well.

[Jeffer]

So in my on-going effort to post (as a thanks for everyone's help to me) and help others, here's some work I did on my dashboard. When I purchased the boat, a few of the dash panel star nuts for the screws had pulled out of the rubberized dash itself (particularly on the speedo/tach panel). as you can see in the photo. I tried searching the forum for anyone that had repaired this as I figured it had to be a common issue. Also, the plastic hold-down strips on the leading edge of the dash were both broken, so the part of the dash closest to the windshield lifted up and down. If you haven't removed the dash, it's not hard but takes time. After removing the panels (label everything!) there are a couple screws on either side of the inside dash itself screwed into the fiberglass, and the steering wheel and teleflex steering assembly has to be removed from the dash as there are three screws through the tilt wheel assembly that hold the dash to the boat. Also there are two screws up under the leading edge of the dash.

[Jeffer]

For the holes completely broken out, I cut pieces of a DVD case (roughly the same thickness of the dash) and PC7 epoxy'ed them into place after drilling a hole and setting the star nuts (I had them all, still stuck on the dash panel screws) into the holes and aligning them. After the epoxy dried, I cut pieces of fiberglass cloth and glassed them on the backside to further strengthen them (I thought I had taken pictures of that, but hadn't). Also, I cut strips of thick gasket material and Gorilla Glued them to the portions of the dash where the forward attachment pieces were, then laid fiberglass cloth and fiberglass over the glued section. This gave me a flexible "bracket" to attach to the inside of the dash to strengthen the mounting at the front edge of the dash.

[Jeffer]

Now I wanted to update the old look of the dash panels, and really didn’t want to just paint them. I searched on the web for a company that could give them a new look, and I found Tecnografic in Florida (search them). I had written to them, and Marc responded and at my request sent me a sample of a carbon fiber panel that I was thinking of after looking at the website. It came pretty fast, and I realized that with my interior colors and new gauge colors, the carbon fiber just didn’t look right, so I had them do it in Maserati Burl. They can silkscreen labels, and I had that done for the engine and transmission warning lights, but I replaced all the switches with labeled ones so I didn’t need those panels silkscreened. The panels came back fast and an absolutely amazing job was done! I’m not sure exactly what the process is that they use, but I’ll attach a picture to show the quality of the returned panel even at the edges. Once installed, they look great coupled with all new Teleflex gauges and Carling switches, as you can see. I have a new wheel on order that closely matches the burlwood look, and I can’t wait to get that installed, along with a depth gauge that’s sitting on my bench waiting for a location TBD.

[mikeg205]

nice.... very nice...

did you use the original star nuts? tried finding those but no luck - do they have a different name?

[Cloaked]

Originally Posted by mgorczak1

nice.... very nice...

did you use the original star nuts? tried finding those but no luck - do they have a different name?

I found an alternate solution to the inserts of which you have inquired. It is a common expandable/compressable rubber grommet type insert that I found at the local hardware store. Worked very well for me on a 93 dash...same situation....

[Jeffer]

I used the original star nuts and just epoxy'ed them back in place. I like the expandable compressable idea, though, Cloaked. There was so much broken out of my dash that I figured I'd have to rebuild the hole anyway. Time will tell if it's a solid-enough fix to withstand some bumpy water days. If it doesn't, I'll be posting another attempt NEXT winter!

[mikeg205]

Thanks cloaked and jeffer...I planning a dash refurb in the near future...was going to do it this year but would have to replace all switches...the plastic tabs on the tabs holding in the switches have lost all pliability and crack as soon as any pressure is applied to pop the switch.

all works looks decent....will save the project for a year or two...

[Jeffer]

I had found www.newwiremarine.com for labeled switches, pretty much anything I needed switch-wise for the dash and they were great to order from (small shop, not much on their site except some electrical stuff for boats). I had a hard time finding a site that had the switches I wanted, so if that helps, save that site somewhere. MOST everything was fairly plug and play except nav/anc which had a little different pin layout than stock, plus if you have a bilge with on/off/on, the one on their site is on/off, so in order to get the auto bilge, you need to buy a different switch (on/off/on) and the bilge switch cap.

[catamount]

That burl looks so damn nice! Great choice. Beautiful boat.