🔌 6 Gang SeaSense Switch Panel Review

You get what you pay for. This summer (the third season of operation) one of the backlight switches (the backlight that turns on when the switch is in the on position) has failed. Not a big deal as this switch still works but it will be annoying every time I use my boat until I give up and replace the entire unit which should last 5-10 years (these panels are usually found in boats over 10 years, sometimes longer, no problem).

The plastic they use to protect the front panel is under the switches and fuses. It cannot be completely removed and if you try to "cut tightly" with a razor blade it will scratch the black surface and leave it silvery. Due to their construction, switches cannot be removed without damaging them. What a mess! I had to throw mine away. such a stupid detail. I think with all the good reviews these people just left plastic which looks cheap to me!

This is the 3rd panel I have bought. The maximum service life of the switches was one year. This time I (re)installed the new panel correctly, closed the boat for a month and took it off today. Preparing to pull it out, I started the engine and checked the switches. Only one worked. I used a test lamp on the back of the panel to make sure there were no wires. Every time I buy this panel the quality degrades a bit. The quality of this product is now as poor as it gets. Please do not waste your…

The first rating bothered me, so I thoroughly tested the circuits of this switch. This is great for a sailboat application (in my case a Catalina 25 model from the 80's). The ground for each circuit on your small boat should be connected to a ground bar, just like the ground bar on this panel. Note that your battery ground must also be connected to the ground rail (not the distribution board). What might put some off are the illuminated rocker switches. Light switches are wired in parallel with

This was a simple replacement for the old West Marine brand with only 4 switches. I have an O'day 22 sailboat and it is more than adequate for my needs. However, I had a strange experience installing it. After the wires were connected to the panel I went ahead and connected the (+) lead to the battery. Some switches didn't work. After following the line to see where I went wrong, it just worked with no fixes. It works great now but this experience got me thinking. Overall, the quality of the…