Run Electric Wire Through Bulkhead

[workmaster2n]

A previous owner spliced into the main feed for my house lights, and now 20 years of corrosion has set in and I need to rerun that main line.

The issue I face is that the holes drilled through the bulkheads for the electrical wire aren't big enough to pass a new wire through, and some of the holes are sealed, so I can't just removed the old wire. It looks like I'll need to drill some new holes in the bulkheads to get the wire through.

I'll need to pass through one or two bulkheads. The one I know about for sure is the main mast bulkhead (I own a catamaran). The other bulkhead separates the engine bay (mid mounted engines) from the front compartment.

None of the current holes for fuel lines, water runs, or electrical wires seems to be reinforced. It looks like the PO just drilled holes and put whatever they needed through.

Is there a something mid range that I could do for the 2 holes I need to drill that is slightly better than just drilling a hole and being done and not as involved as running Blue Sea bulkhead pass throughs (I don't think they are available in Australia)?

If I was to put a soft silicone sealant in the engine bay bulkhead hole (I think this bulkhead is designed to be water tight) after I run the cable, would that be sufficient?

And for the load bearing mast/main bulkhead, if I were to epoxy in a piece of PVC piping (to avoid rough edges and provide a bit of stability) would that be enough?

All my lighting is LED, so the wire will be small and the amperage will be low.

[tkeithlu]

The essential task is to prevent vibration/rubbing of the wire insulation against the bulkhead. You can achieve that lots of ways. Stiff insulating foam will seal it, so will silicone caulk, and so will grommets or PVC pipe. Given the low amperage, I'd be inclined to use goo of some sort for convenience's sake. Go for it.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by workmaster2n

A previous owner spliced into the main feed for my house lights, and now 20 years of corrosion has set in and I need to rerun that main line.

The issue I face is that the holes drilled through the bulkheads for the electrical wire aren't big enough to pass a new wire through, and some of the holes are sealed, so I can't just removed the old wire. It looks like I'll need to drill some new holes in the bulkheads to get the wire through.

I'll need to pass through one or two bulkheads. The one I know about for sure is the main mast bulkhead (I own a catamaran). The other bulkhead separates the engine bay (mid mounted engines) from the front compartment.

None of the current holes for fuel lines, water runs, or electrical wires seems to be reinforced. It looks like the PO just drilled holes and put whatever they needed through.

Is there a something mid range that I could do for the 2 holes I need to drill that is slightly better than just drilling a hole and being done and not as involved as running Blue Sea bulkhead pass throughs (I don't think they are available in Australia)?

If I was to put a soft silicone sealant in the engine bay bulkhead hole (I think this bulkhead is designed to be water tight) after I run the cable, would that be sufficient?

And for the load bearing mast/main bulkhead, if I were to epoxy in a piece of PVC piping (to avoid rough edges and provide a bit of stability) would that be enough?

All my lighting is LED, so the wire will be small and the amperage will be low.

This is something I have had to do a few times and while I worried about it, I just used a hole saw, drilled the hole, and passed the wires (or hose) through. That was the approach used by the builder. I really didn't know what else to do, exactly. That was 43 years ago. I have looked at these passthroughs often and sometimes pulled wires or hoses out to replace them. I have never found any sign of wear on the wires or hoses. So, some kind of protection would best practice but I'm not sure it is needed.

That being said, I had to run wires through the propane locker and this needs to be sealed. I used silicon sealant.

[MicHughV]

You could drill a new hole and smear it with a light coat of WEST system epoxy or similar, using a Q-tip.
Should last forever.

[s/v Jedi]

Here is the way to do it without weakening the bulkhead:

- Use a short piece of fiberglass pipe (Centek sells them) with an inner diameter large enough for future expansion etc.

- Measure outside diameter and cut a hole just a bit larger (1/8”) through the bulkhead, staying away from the very edge (leave an inch clearance to the edge)

- Measure bulkhead thickness at the hole and cut a piece of pipe 1/4” longer than that, use thickened epoxy to glue it in place with 1/8” overhang at each side. Use a finger to smooth the epoxy into a fillet around the pipe at each side.

If this is at the top of the bulkhead in a cabin, you don’t really need to seal the hole after running wiring.

[Bowdrie]

A simple way is to just use a plastic thru hull fitting and sawing off the excess threads down to the flange nut.
Seal with whatever you like, (plumbers putty is cheap, keeps water out, and is easily moldable and removable).
Available in straight and 90s of all sizes
This just as an example; https://www.westmarine.com/t-h-marin...-17042870.htmlle;

[goboatingnow]

Drill hole , thread wire. Good for 30 years