Rigging the boat.

[DMCI]

All of work with the engine related installation was completed by the people that sold me the motor. My job is to rewire the boat for everything else. That includes running lights, loud Hailer, radios, depth finder, and everything else not related to the motor. That job includes drilling the hall, installing antennas, and putting in transmission wires and electrical blocks, etc.

Tomorrow I have to go get some Marine plywood and reinforce certain sections of the interior to use mounting surfaces. The boat has a little storage deck under the bow, and it is my intention to mount some of the electronics on board which I will put under there. Not only will that provide a fine surface, but it will also provide a removable device with all electronics on it for security during storage. The chart plotter is fairly heavy so that reinforcement will also guard against damage during operation.

Continued Wednesday morning:

Yesterday as I indicated, I picked up a Hand Mike/Speaker for my new VHF. I monitored it all during my trip to Seattle, while I was there and then back of North with volume reasonably up, and squelch almost off. There was nothing to hear when in the scan mode except for one information call from Coast Guard/Seattle.

For a weekday, the traffic was essentially nil. I can see why in an attempt to boost user ship they have waived the domestic requirement for a FCC license. Traffic wasn't 1% of what it was years ago when I was a more active boater.

Today, I have two dentist appointments and then back on the boat. Will monitor VHF again on trip to Bellingham. With all that I've read recently regarding VHF my first impression is that currently the thing is a vast wasteland hardly being used. I can see why when we used channel 69 for club communications at 1 W we had no other traffic on a channel. Now admittedly, the handheld has a 0db gain antenna, but Coast Guard Seattle and traffic control channels certainly don't, nor do ship traffic in the local traffic control zones. Yet, there was nothing on the radio. I guess I will have to wait until I get the AIS receiver working on a radio before I learn more.

[Helmar]

So, how did this turn out Dave ?
Everything go together like expected I hope.

I have done complete wiring jobs and I do mean Complete so I know what your doing

[DMCI]

The whole process going fairly well if slowly.

I have about five kinds wire. Main feed wire is number eight red and yellow, subsystem extension wire is number 16 dual red and yellow, and electronics system feed wire is number 12 red and yellow. I also have some number 14 five strand wires or signal distribution purposes. I have also placed a high-capacity ground wire that runs the full length of the boat so that signal wires are not required to carry ground wires.

The calculations indicate that Ampacity is a critical factor in having sufficient carrying capacity for the wires. Literature and installation videos recommend that solder not be used. The recommended way of attaching wires is by using crimp fittings. I have therefore purchased number eight, number 1416, and number 1012 fittings for this purpose. Ring sizes are 1/4 inch and number 10. Appropriate butt fittings are also being used, and all clamping's are pull tested to around 5 to 10 pounds.

I was required to remove the starboard trim panel to run the wires. It turns out that it is deteriorating fairly rapidly and will therefore have to be replaced. Where required Marine plywood and Interlux Bright topside paint with multiple coats is and will be used. So far I have not used any primer.

In the end all existing wires and fittings needed to be removed. The new fixtures came with 8 inch leads and number 16 twin leads were fitted to extend them to their attachment points.

I believe that when finished most of the wiring will be up to Marine standards, with the proper fusing installed to the Marine code. The various YouTube demonstration videos have been extremely helpful.

The fuel tank is grounded to code at the fill point and at the tank. This is one of those things that the Coast Guard requires to avoid generating a spark when filling. The tank is 19 gallons and is installed once again to Coast Guard specifications.

[Helmar]

I find it odd that they recommended crimp over solder??
Some of older boat projects that had to be re-wired, most of the crimp connections were starting to get crappy whereas solder connections held fast.
I wonder they may have been talking about people not using the shrink tubing or something....

I always jerked on the ends of the wires to make sure the connectors would not pull off..

I will see if I the Marine Wiring color code on this computer.

Sounds like you got it on its way for sure.:cool1:

[TheBronze]

Interesting tip on the fuel tank grounding. I'm definitely going to look that one up when I mount the dual tanks on the 404. Twin plastic tanks on a plastic boat are sure to build up some static and I had never even thought of that possibility!

I'm also confused on the crimp vs solder issue. I always crimp for the mechanical connection and then solder to seal the leads from corrosion. This also helps by adding a second mechanical lock as the solder fills the gaps on the connector.

Your write up has made me think that I need to get a copy of the ABYC recommendations on wiring my boat when the time comes. Thanks!

[DMCI]

Wire colors and Voltages

Helmar:

It is my understanding that the designers and engineers needed a way to discriminate between low-voltage wiring and high-voltage (typically single phase 60 Hz AC.)

Their relatively elegant solution was to make DC pairs yellow and red and AC pairs black and red. This seems to work except that sometimes ship chandlers do not stock individual coils in both formats for each weight of wire. While my roll of number eight wire is yellow and red, the number 12 that I have is red and black. Both are Marine stranded wire rather than the domestic home pairs of solid core wires.

Well high-voltage AC is most often found in yacht service, it is not common on runabout type vessels. Because of the inability to obtain yellow and red pairs in all weights, my boat will have a little of both.

Interestingly, today I had a go to Sears and purchase a jigsaw for in letting switch panels and instruments. It seems that the shop has three reciprocating saws, but no jig saws. Also my dad's full collection of hole saws is coming in very handy for parts of this process. Perfectly formed round holes suddenly appear after only a few seconds of drilling.

Meanwhile the blue boat which I acquired from Dick Dow now has the Merc 60 Bigfoot on it, and is on hold waiting for a cable from Mercury Motors.

[Helmar]

Only thing I found out is not enough equipment to pull enough amps to worry about voltage drop on a 20 footer is what I found out for the most part.
I have done up boats with shore power as well. Got to get that microwave to working :GoodJob:

Like I said, I can't remember the color codes that are supposed to be used.
Its a standard code but I have relied on the book so much I forget its terms that was used...

Good tags on both ends would also do the trick in my book.

Sure sounds like you got it nailed Dave...

[DMCI]

Thank you for the compliment.

Some people think I make this stuff up, but there's a lot of information on the Internet and I have researched many of these topics in some detail. As far as voltage drop is concerned, the literature is quite adamant that critical systems like navigation and running lights really not be allowed voltage drops greater than 3%, while noncritical systems like windshield wipers, cabin lights, ventilation fans, etc. can live with a 10% voltage drop. Worst-case scenario, this will result in a one or two size increase in the wiring. Biggest wires are the ones which carry the load from battery to the front of the boat.

I also put a 50 amp breaker between the bow load and the battery. Code suggests that non-fused line directly from the battery to the load is a big no-no. This also operates as a convenient place for disconnecting the house load.