Laptop mount

Four pics of Steve's Shearwater starting here. I realize his is a CD25 and you have a CD40, but this is a literal answer to your query, and perhaps the first time an engineer ever got a straight answer from a millwright.
 
I've also been looking at a way to mount a laptop on the SeaDNA but don't really like those options. For most purposes, I don't really need the keyboard so I've been looking at mounting it to the bottom of the electronic shelf with the key board upside down so that the monitor opens and swings down.

Then to be useful, you need to rotate the screen display 180 degrees. Depending on the video card in your laptop, doing this can range from easy (with a software install) to impossible. Some software even flips the mouse. With a small USB keyboard and mouse (only plug in the keyboard for logins), this might be a viable option. It would make for a clean install of the laptop but would create a little additional clutter with the external keyboard and mouse.

Roger on the SeaDNA
 
My idea is to mount the laptop in a padded pocket on the back of the bulkhead to the VBirth and then plug in a remote touchscreen monitor mounted on the dash somewhere. This way I don't have to have a keyboard at all. I'm also thinking a marinized trackball instead of a mouse.
 
Gary,

Given that I have a spare laptop but not a touch screen monitor that would involve some new $'s.... However, if I was gonna do that (and believe me I've thought about it when the wife wasn't monitoring the brainwaves!), I'd be tempted to go with a Mac mini for the 'puter - the small ruggedized, $500 package would be hard to beat as GPS/DVD player/MP3 storage device (with the obvious issues about reduced choices in GPS software). The mini combined with an LCD flat planel could be had for <$1k. Combined with bluetooth and a wireless card, you could use a bluetooth mouse and in some marina's log into the net. Just another thought but sort-of hijacking DoD's thread....
 
Actually, my reason for the touchscreen is more to do with being able to read the computer in the bright sunlight. My laptop screen is not readable in the sunlight. Plus an 8" touchscreen is not too expensive.
 
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