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One of my projects before the season kicks back off it rewiring my boat. It's a mess under there and things are starting not to function properly. My Marine Radio stoped working at the end of this past season and I ended up having to alligator clip it to the battery after not being able to find the bad connection.
I'm hoping it won't be too bad, but I know it's going to be a long drawn out proccess. Anyone here ever wired a boat? HOw bad was it? Any suggestions to make my life easier, short of paying for it to get done?
The best I can figure is just get a new fuse box and replace each wire one at the time. I'm hoping that will keep me from getting too  and screwing something up or missing a wire somewhere. Thanks for any help in advance.
Bryan D.
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is this on the cc boat? and does all the wires go to the battery one at a time or do the hook up to a terminal block inside the cc?
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Yea, it's on my center console. The battery is in the console, and the wires are routed through the stock toggle switches and a fuse pannel. I'm going to take a serious look at it this weekend and take a picture once I get the trim taken off the front. I know it's going to be a mess.
Feel like taking a trip to SC and give your boy a hand? LOL I'm just a few states south is all.
I'm trying to decide what type of set up to replace the old school fuse box with. I want something saltwater proof, and also shock proof.
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to tell you the truth,if i wasn't soo busy myself i would leave tommorrow morn.then i could swing in to see my dad in N.C. along the way.how far is columbus N.C. from you?lol
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Shouldn't be too far, i'm up closer to the top of SC. Florence, SC
That would be pretty sweet if you could, LOL, I won't hold my breath though. That's a long trip. The gesture is much appreciated. I wish I had more guys my way that would be willing to take a day and help out a fellow angler. At least with Bigfishtackle.com, we have the opportunity to meet other anglers that are, even if they are far away. [cool]
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Hey Brutha, I wish that I could be there in person to help but it is quite a drive from the West Coast.
Instead, I have some good pointers from you since I also repair marine electrical for most of the Sporties out here.
The terminal block is a good idea to begin with. You can easliy manufacture a cover for it utilizing some rubber gasket material and closed cell foam as a cover.
Each of your connections to the terminal block should be crimped and soldered with a low Sn or Sn(tin) free solder. I would recommend silver solder if you can find it.
At the point of contact on the terminal block, be sure to use the ring type terminals and mildly coat them with a Dielectric grease. This grease can be found at Home Depot or other hardware outlets in the electrical section. Brand name, "No-alox".
From that point, you will need to run individual cables to each device and utilizing an inline fuse to each component. If you decide to run to a separate fuse block, you can also seal that box with closed cell foam too.
Be sure to solder all connections to and from the switches too.
Give me a shout out if you need more details.[cool]
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Well, I was looking through the boatersworld.com website, and I think i'm going to replace the entire switch panel and all.
The original switch panel had the fuses built into it, now, of course, that aspect was by passed because of age and a stand alone fuse panel was wired in. All this was done before I purchased the boat. I'm thinking that it will be easier to just replace the switch panel entirely and start from scratch. I'd rather have the fuses intergrated into the switch panel, so there is no confusion. I'm thinking of rigging up a marine breaker panel instead of a normal setup. That way I can run a single main power line and just run power to everything off the panel. I'll just have to see. I know that being 12V and in boat, i'll still have to ground each component, unless I can find a breaker box that will do it.
I always solder each connection. I usually coat all my wire connections with liquid electrical tape. If you haven't used it before, it's pretty neat stuff. I coat all my exposed connections with it, and it works great and it's flexible.
I always forget to put that grease on the terminals. LOL, and if i do remember, I never have any handy. I usually coat everything in the boat that remains exposed with WD 40, or some type of commercial grade protectant. I do this about once a week, so that usually takes care of any corrosion due to use. But you're right, in this senario, I need to not forget. Especially since I go offshore in this boat. LOL, I don't need an electrical issue when I'm 20 miles from the hill and a storm is rolling in. With these new motors these days, everything has to right, including the electrical stuff; or the motor won't run.
Good pointers though steve, thanks alot. I ment to take a picture of the inside of the console, but I didn't take my camera with me when I went to the father in laws house. I'll try and take before and after pictures so you guys can see the progress. Thanks alot
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like like that liquid electrical tape,it is so much easier than heat shrink tubing.
i would still throw in a small terminal block just for future add-ons.its easier to plan for the future now,than wished you did later
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Tomc is right on the terminal block. At least you can do it for the ground or - connections. If you did it for the + connections, that would give you a chance to # them too. They have some shrink wrap numbers or you can use the clip on ones by the AWG size and then use some clear shrink tubing over top of them.
Please keep us posted. I used to work on some intricate machinery that was shipped all over the world. 99% of my service calls I could troubleshoot over the phone or with photo assistance.[cool]
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Well, what i'm going to do for the ground is use a "ground bus." You run a heavy gauge wire from the battery negative to the bus. It's inline and you just connect the ground from each unit to it. It's going to be pretty simple to hook up.
The biggest thing is going to be tracing all the wires down to see what they go to. LOL, that's going to be a pain in the you know what. But, i'm just going to do it one wire at the time. I might also color cordinate each component and make a master diagram so i'll always know what goes to what. It all depends on how cold it is outside. [  ]
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Well, I ordered my 6 gang rocker switch panel yesterday. It should be here in the next few days. I got one from boatersworld. The brand name is Paneltronics. They are pretty top notch panels, totally water PROOF, not water RESISTANT. That's a big issue that many people don't think about. The panel is completely pre-rigged and ready to install. I also ordered a 6 gang ground bus to use in the wireing. Shouldn't be too bad.
Once I get everything, and I have a weekend that isn't freezing cold, i'm going to tackle the console. I'm going to take before, during, and after pictures of the wireing job as I go along so everyone can see what a mess I had and how it's suppose to look when it's done properly. [cool]
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thats cool,i was wondering if you got started yet..it should be warming up soon,march is on its way
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Ok I have done this once, notice I said once. Here is what I learned. First off for some stupid reason boat manufacturers cut a hole and then cover it with a pannel to cut smaller holes into . This is your gauge cluster and toggles. When they do that they put a few screws in to hold the pannel on but they don't caulk the pannel to keep water from getting behind it. This is a huge oversight in a CC boat.
The wiring process is a chore at best but if done right you will only do it once. First make full runs from point A to Point B, no splicing pieces to save a buck. Next install a wiring block and life is so much easier. Everything gets wired to the block and use a P touch labeler to label every wire. Then everything gets wired from the block to its end point. Also use dielectric grease on every block connection as it will repell water and keep the metal to metal connection from getting rusty. The entire connection could rust over but the point where metal meets metal will still be clean under all the rust. Every connection should get crimped and shrink tubing to keep water from wicking up into the wires. It costs a lot to do it this way but again you will only do it once.
Also be sure the entire area is cleaned and all access areas are caulkedwhere needed, and be sure access hatches close and seal out water. The hatch may also need to be removed cleaned and recaulked.
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That pretty much sums up exactly how I was going to tackle the console. I re-did the wooden hatch at the head of the console last year, but I clear coated it with the wrong type of poly, so it's cracking already. LOL, go figure. So, i'm redoing the console as well. I bought a high quality ground bus w/ cover from boaters world, as well as a high quality, pre rigged, 100% water proof lighted rocker panel. I'm tired of the toggle switches. This stuff is top notch. And since I don't have but 6 accessories to wire in, i'm planning on not only running single shots of wire from each connection, but color matching each hot for each accessory as well; so there is no guess work if I ever have an electrical problem.
Thanks for the tips though Capt, every little bit helps. In these new boats, the wiring is crucial for the boat to function properly. Hopefully it'll come out OK.
Thanks again
Bryan
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If it's warm weather that you are waiting for, then just bring your boat over to Cali. It has been in the upper 80s to lower 90s. Just think, your poly coat will dry alot quicker so you and I can get on to some fishing!![cool][cool]
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LOL, who's paying for the gas to pull my boat there? I think it would be cheaper if you just packed up a little warm weather and brought it over here. [ ]
No worries on the warm weather though. I think a new wind is about to blow. The first of March is comming in hard, and the weather is already finding the mid 60's and lower 70's. I just hope it stays in there. Once the water temp hits about 65, it's time to do the nasty. [cool]
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The water is already starting to perk up here. I'll go ahead and send you some sunny weather with the flies that I made.
Just don't forget to add 1/2oz of sunshine to your Captain Morgains and Vanilla Coke mix. It tends to smooth it out a bit.[cool]
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LOL, i'll be sure and do that. Infact, I might just pick up a bottle this afternoon. [cool]
I didn't get to the post office yesterday, but keep a look out for your package this week. If I new how many stamps to put on it, i'd already have your stuff sent off. But i've got to wait on a slow day at the office to get it out. [  ]
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Well, I got my panel and bus bar yesterday. I went by the father in law's house to check them out. Man, what a nice panel. My father in law has already taken the trim of the console off, as well as the drawer. I couldn't believe the room that opened up. LOL, I hope he doesn't get bored sitting at the house in this great weather and install it ahead of time. I really want to post it on the website.
I couldn't believe the extra crap that's under the console. The boat has 6 switches and only 3 fuctions are wired into them. It's a mess. But soon, that'll all be taken care of. Stay tuned fellas, i'll be updating as I go. [cool]
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