The Classic Parker Reference Library is Now Open!

[cbigma]

The idea for this Reference Library has been kicked around by ParkerNation for almost 17 years. A separate collection of all the electrical schematics, stringer layouts, and other such treasured reference documents we have collected as part of our Project Posts throughout the years. By assembling these documents in this common place we will no longer have to scour the Project Posts with the search engine to find that diagram we thought we saw once a couple of years ago.

We all began this journey in 2006 to provide support and share creative ideas among Parker owners and in the process create a Body of Knowledge, the unofficial Parker Owner's Manual. Along the way we have each accumulated a stash of documents that are useful to all Parker owners as they explore individual project ideas. Please contribute whatever and whenever you can to this valuable shared resource.

We should not limit this to documents from Parker Marine exclusively. If you have a manual, or reference document from equipment commonly used on Parkers, such as windlasses, bilge pumps, chartplotters, that you think others might find useful, please create a thread or add them to an existing thread for that type of equipment.


Thank you.
John

 

[Brent]

Thsnks

 

[tomc585]

I've been lobbying for this for sooo long.
Who is/will be cataloging the documents?
I have a Parker folder I've been building and sharing that I'd like to make accessible.
How will file maintenance/organization be handled with duplicate files/names and such?
How can we help?

 

[cbigma]

Hi tomc585,

Thanks for your interest and willingness to share your “stash” with the rest of us. This spirit of cooperation and support is what makes ParkerNation such a great place to hang out.

I am convinced that for ease of maintenance and to encourage contributions to the Reference Library, we should keep it simple and avoid unnecessarily complex taxonomies. In the case of “As-Built” Diagrams and Schematics, using the one-thread-per-item method should make both contributing and reviewing the documents quite simple.

For example, if you are looking for Stringer Layouts, you open the thread for Stringer Layouts and scroll through until you find the model you need. Alternatively, you could just use the search tool as we all do now.

This method appears to be working quite well so far, as we already have half a dozen wiring schematics uploaded to the single thread in just over a day. Many thanks to all who have already posted.

If you have information to share that does not fit into the category of an existing thread, open a new one. Just as I did for “Windshield Wiper Installation and Maintenance Manuals” last night. There may have been a dozen models of wiper motors used over the years, or there may only be one or two. Either way, they should all be able to be loaded into a single thread.

When you start a new thread for a category, please use generic descriptions like “Windshield Wiper Installation and Maintenance Manuals” instead of “Marinco/AFI Wiper Motors”. In this manner others will follow your lead and contribute different models and manufacturers to your single thread without creating entirely new threads.

Duplicates will continue to exist, just as they do in the Project Posts Forum now. Duplicates are OK, since a drawing or modified design schematic may have a different revision date, or there may have been a typo during uploading. We can never eliminate all duplicates but keeping the single-thread concept will help to reduce them.

When you think you have a new category of equipment document to upload after having scrolled through the existing threads, use the search tool to verify the document is not already in the library.

It is in our best interest to keep the process as intuitive and simple as possible to encourage participation.

John

 

[SamR]

This
is
AWESOME !

Thank you so much.

 

[cbigma]

Thanks for generously sharing your "stash" of documents with us. You have just made it easier for some other lucky Parker owner to care for his pride and joy. It's important for owners of vintage-aged Parker models like we both have to share their records as encouragement for the continued preservation of the older classic models.