Mariah Dash Reinforcement (Pre-97)
 

My Shabah's steering assembly, where it mounted to the dash, was not firm or secure. This was a 1993 Z212 which had the earlier "flatter" style dash rather than the later "stepped" style dash (see picture #3 below) . It felt like the whole steering assembly would easily twist back and forth in the dash with very little force when turning the steering wheel. I was concerned that too much pressure on the wheel could cause the dash to break or crack. On examining behind the dash, where the steering assembly mounted, I discovered that the dash mounting area had not been designed very strongly, and probably it had also become more unfirm over time. The dash was a preformed plastic shell with only a thin fiberglass frame behind it and it looked like it would be susceptable to breakage. My steering assembly was a Teleflex rack and pinion.

I bought a length of 1/4" by 3/4" aluminium flat strap as well as as some 3/16" by 1.5" aluminum angle. I mounted short lengths of the angle to two of the existing steering assembly base mounting bolts, right and left side, behind the dash as well as one piece of angle at the end of the steering rack assembly (see picture #2 below). I also screwed 3 short lengths of angle (left, middle and to the right) to the reinforcing wood located up under the dash where the windshield frame is mounted (see picture #1 below- The left side and middle brackets can be seen, the right side bracket is not in the picture). Use short screws (#12 or #14), about 3/4" long so that they do not go through the outside gel coat. I installed 3 screws per angle.

I then cut and bent 3 lengths of the aluminum strap. The 3 straps are bolted between the 3 angles on the steering dash assembly and tie to the 3 angles which were screwed and attached to the wood support under the windshield. Bend or space the strap as needed to clear the radio.

When completed, the dash was firm and felt like it should. It took me about 2 hours to do this. The actual work was quick and easy. Most of the time was spent crawling in and out of the boat to make the various cuts and bends.

Note-- the rack part of the steering assembly does not appear in my pictures for picture clarity. Removal of the rack is not necessary.

Pictures below-

Nice work
 

That looks great! I bet it is much more stable.

Looks great Rick! :wink_thumbup: I'll move this to the projects section so everyone can see how to do this. Thanks for sharing your tips!