Decision. Finally. Hopefully a good one.

So, after years of speculating, after the last week's inputs from blog followers and an attempt to see it all with fresh eyes, I made a decision on where to put which holes in the boat.

The plotter will be in the starboard side main bulkhead.  Good point from Andrew with visibility on starboard tack, but just as important, it will not interfere with the cleat and screecher sheet from starboard winch to the same degree as it would on port side.

Compass will be in pop top aft edge.  This will place it as far away from metal parts as possible. It will also double as a lock for the companionway panels when the boat is locked off.  Also, I might be able to use one red led as light for the compass as well as for night light in the cabin (see trough compass).

The two Nexus instruments will be in the port side main bulkhead.  Whether these will be sitting side by side or vertical is not yet decided, I have to look closer at the cleat and sheet situation, but being two smaller units, it's much easier to get a good solution than with the rather large plotter unit.

Today I cut a hole in the pop top.  The removed area was the one damaged when a welding in the original aft mast support failed and the mast fell on the pop top.  The new aft mast support is quite a bit higher to accommodate my large mast section when raising, and it is much better welded.  The problem with it is that I didn't get the support until well after the brackets were fitted, and thus did I not have an instrument to make sure they (the brackets) were placed exactly parallel.  This makes it very tricky to remove as it jams in the brackets.
A vertical panel extension to make a large enough area to receive the compass was fitted using another panel off cut to align it.

This Silva Racing compass is the one responsible for all the discussions.  It is amazingly stable and also features a tactical scale to make it easier to catch wind shifts etc.

While waiting for liquid water it can be good to enjoy shots of another F-22R racing down under. 

Also recommended stimulation are the videos of full blooded big sister F-32SR Jailbreak during shakedown sailing in Florida.  Reaching in 5-8 knots wind.  Upwind work in 7-10 knots wind. Pure trimaran porn, enjoy!