Help with rewiring my boat

[Andys Delight]

OK, I am planning on rewiring everything on my boat with the exception of the main engine harness.  I have the typical crow's nest you see in most older boats and I really want to clean it up and maybe even ad a couple switches for some of the electrical.  I've been doing my homework on what I'll need, but I still need a little direction here.  Will be rewiring all lights, nav lights, onboard electronics, spreaders, the works.  Talk to me like I'm stupid, let me know what supplies and tools you think I'll need to do this.  Also any potential roadblocks/issues I might run into that a noob at this might not be considering.  I'm probably gonna start doing this sometime in February.  Thanks.   

[Fishin Dude]

Rewiring the whole boat, go for it and don't be intimitated by "miles of wires". I'll give my 2 cents worth of tips:

Use only AWG marine grade wire, not SAE automotive wire.

Use marine grade connectors, and I always extra seal them with liquid electrical tape.

If cutting/removing more than 1 wire at a time, label everything! You can also snap some photos to help refresh your memory when it's time to connect the new wires.

You can attach the new wire to the old wire, then when pulling out the old wire, it will run your new wire.

Might be a good idea to replicate the same colors as the original wiring/  wiring diagram if available. You can also go by the Marine Wire Color Code :http://www.cncphotoalbum.com/doityourself/wiring/wiring.htm This can also assist anyone in the future when they are working with the electrical system.

Wire ties make for a neat installation, and keeps wires from moving around.

Keep all fuses easily accessable.

A Fish Tape is a great tool when running wires.

I'm sure I'm forgetting some tips,  I'm sure others have some good ones as well. When you are doing the job next month, you can always seek more advice if you encounter a roadblock.

Good Luck, keep us posted on your progress. <'((((><

[Offshore Madness]

Hey Mike,hope all is well with you.As you know i redid my old boat bow light to bilge pump and every thing in between just a bit smaller then your vessel but same concept.I will text you saturday and give you my run down,It would be wayyyyy to long to type here. One thing i can tell you Start one switch and wire at a time finish one then the next then the next this way you move down the line and you cant make a mistake...I started with the gagues if it had 4 wires id pull 4 new wire connect one wire at a time......any way hope all is well for you and your.

[Hunter 2]

Pick up some heat shrink and a butane torch to protect the connections. You will also need a good crimper for the connectors.  you might want to install a new or additional fuse block.

[IKAT]

Doing this when wires are frozen is not a good idea  It will make the job twice as hard. It is hard enough to run wires that are flexable. I know the new ones will be fine but pulling old brittle wires is a real pain.

One more thing--if you are repositioning some wires-try to keep your ducer,mfd,and ant. wires away from your power cables.

[Andys Delight]

Thanks for all the replies, definitely helpful!  I intend on replacing the existing fuse block as well.  As far as the cold, I'm just gonna have to suffer through it.  My problem is always the conundrum of why do this when I can be fishing, which is why I think now is the best time to do it.  My boat is shrink wrapped with an entry flap so at least I'll be protected somewhat from the weather.  I also expect it to heat up in their just from my body heat alone like a greenhouse, though if I find that's not working I will bring a small electric heater in with me. 

I also was wondering, my helm has probably been opened up a thousand times over its lifetime and all of the screw holes are worn or shredded.  I filled them with 4200 last time I opened it but that's not holding too well either or it just kind of looks sloppy.  Is there a good way to maybe re-glass all of the holes and then drill new ones?  Also, I may want to replace the dash in the helm as well since that's been beaten up through the ringer over time as well.  Any thoughts? 

[Still Running]

Mike,
Try Marine-Tex to fill the holes, you can drill and tap it.

[Andys Delight]

Mike,
Try Marine-Tex to fill the holes, you can drill and tap it.

Good call Rick, thanks!

[Offshore Madness]

wait for it buddy tex ya some time 2marrow

[Hunter 2]

Mike,  Try wrapping the the screws with fishing line then screw them in the holes. I never tried it but its in a mgagazine. Saltwatersportsmen or the other one..

[Andys Delight]

wait for it buddy tex ya some time 2marrow

You got it bro, thanks!  

[BigAl13]

If you need 10 port fuse block use a 12 and so on it never hurts to have extra. Also I would definitely wire in a 12v cigarette  lighter for charging things like cell phone flash lights etc. Simple is better use as many on-off toggles as you can the more you add to them like lights positions etc the harder it gets. Also make sure you take the positive lead from the battery off while doing any wiring and test every accessory when you finish terminating it so you dont go to test when your all done and have a big problem with fuses popping switches melting etc. Shrink tube liquid electrical tape and marine connectors are your friend IEI in hazlet will have everything you need

[DJ76]

a good quality voltmeter will go a long long way.  that way when you wire something wrong, backwards, etc. instead of rewiring you can keep testing down the line until you realize a crimp is bad, loss connection, etc. and just start back up were you know its good to go.


question....i own a landscape company and deal with snow plows and salters. I always have dielectric grease in the cab of the truck and anytime the salters or plows get unhooked or hooked grease goes in.  I also do the same thing on my boat with connectors, seems to help, especially with the fish finder connections.  I saw someone mentioned liquid elec tape...is this along the same lines or am I way off here?

[Andys Delight]

First off, Aaron, I owe you a call.  I didn't forget buddy, those damn NYE tenants that trashed my Pocono house kind of took up my whole weekend. 

Anyway, my plan is to replace the fuse box and expand it, rewire all electronics and change out some switches that have a couple things piggybacked to it that I would like to dedicate (IE the radio is grounded through the Spreaders, etc).  I am also thinking of moving the main fuse box.  It's currently off to my right down by my feet.  The wires then run blind through the wall over to the helm, which has another access opening underneath in the removable helm.  I'd like to run the main power wire to that area and install the new fuse box there.  This way if I ever need to do work on it, I can remove the helm and have direct access to the fusebox and wires, rather than always having to guess which wire goes where since currently the wires are behind that "wall" running from the helm to the current fuse box.  My concern is I will probably have to extend the main power lines to move it.  I'm hoping I will have enough slack with that wire, but my gut tells me no.  That means I'll have to snake a new wire through from the battery switch near the stern all the way back to the helm.  This is not an easy boat to snake wires through, I can say that from experience with my transducer.