Wiring my boat from scratch....

[David Gunn]

I re wired our boat (42 foot monohull) and installed a new circuit breaker panel to replace the fuse board. I was advised by an electrical engineer (who sails) to always solder joints and cover soldered joints with shrink fit.
I used all tinned copper wire and soldered all joints. To minimise joints I ran continuous wire from the device (instrument, radio etc) directly to the circuit breaker.
If there is an instrument attached to the end of the wire (with circuit board i.e. PCB) make sure to isolate instrument, before soldering otherwise you could damage components on the PCB.
Since rewiring, we have travelled 24,000 miles from Australia, over 15 years with no electrical problems including many electrical storms in Asia. We are now in the Caribbean.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by David Gunn

I re wired our boat (42 foot monohull) and installed a new circuit breaker panel to replace the fuse board. I was advised by an electrical engineer (who sails) to always solder joints and cover soldered joints with shrink fit.
I used all tinned copper wire and soldered all joints. To minimise joints I ran continuous wire from the device (instrument, radio etc) directly to the circuit breaker.
If there is an instrument attached to the end of the wire (with circuit board i.e. PCB) make sure to isolate instrument, before soldering otherwise you could damage components on the PCB.
Since rewiring, we have travelled 24,000 miles from Australia, over 15 years with no electrical problems including many electrical storms in Asia. We are now in the Caribbean.

I believe that soldering alone does not conform to ABYC standards. All wires should be crimped to tinned ring terminals. If you want to solder after that go ahead. I do that with voltage sensitive wiring such as battery monitors but it is not really necessary. A proper crimped terminal with a ratcheting crimper will not absorb moisture and will prevent corrosion.

[LargeMarge]

Gary,

In alignment with the political climate in fUSA, I suggest going with WOC (Wires of Color).

I suggest a dedicated battery for your helm.

I strongly second the motion for a wiring diagram. Hand that schematic to the next owner. I hear purgatory has a special level for amateur electricians.

Would I tape small flags at each wire end to identify its purpose == starter, loudspeaker, radio, RADAR, lights? You bet!

Tinned. Fuses and circuit-breakers. Di-electric grease?

And remember == wiring is a consumable. It degrades from the moment you install it. Vibration, volatile compounds, ozone, and generalized contrariousness. It all adds up.

[lifeofreilly57]

Originally Posted by LargeMarge

Gary,

In alignment with the political climate in fUSA, I suggest going with WOC (Wires of Color).

I suggest a dedicated battery for your helm.

I strongly second the motion for a wiring diagram. Hand that schematic to the next owner. I hear purgatory has a special level for amateur electricians.

Would I tape small flags at each wire end to identify its purpose == starter, loudspeaker, radio, RADAR, lights? You bet!

Tinned. Fuses and circuit-breakers. Di-electric grease?

And remember == wiring is a consumable. It degrades from the moment you install it. Vibration, volatile compounds, ozone, and generalized contrariousness. It all adds up.

I use dielctric grease in bulb sockets and other removable/replaceable pieces, especially mast mounted nav lights and nav lights in general.

One trick I learned from managing industrial manufacturing facility installations is to have a control set of electrical prints, or as I called it, a redline set. This set will have the original wiring diagram in black ink, with any modifications/corrections in red ink, if you have the original set on your computer, or even if they're hand drawn, a redline set will allow you to keep track of the changes you've made during your installation and make it easier to produce a complete, correct set once done.
If any changes are made later to the boat when systems are upgraded/added or deleted, always make sure to add any wiring to the existing prints in red ink until a new set can be made.
That way you always have a control set and an updated set, be sure to include a revised number and date to your prints any time you modify them, this will jog your memory in the future should you need to troubleshoot an issue.
While your at it, pull a few spares along with your harness, just make sure to label them on both ends as spares. The biggest pain for me in wiring the boat was getting from point A to point B with the wiring, through all the bulkheads, twists, turns, etc, etc. Pulling a couple spares to major locations means you have a ready made wire for future modifcation/additions or a spare to replace a wire that may have failed somewhere hard to get to. Gee, how many times does that happen?
Using the correct color coding is also great for future troubleshooting, especially in the loom between the engine control panel and the engine, as well as the charging circuit and controllers. In my case I had a buttload of red wire that came with a boat i bought years ago and made the original engine loom in all red, but with wire labels on them, because I didn't know at the time how I was going to run it exactly and didn't want to waste good wire, I can now take the whole loom off and recreate it on a bench with the properly color coded wire, then encase it in wire wrap and wire ties without having to fit my rather generous torso into a space it doesn't want to go.
In the past, when making a complicated wiring loom in a difficult space I've used regular wire, with cheap crimp connectors to make the first runs and get it all run nicely and correctly, then taken it out and used it for a template for the finished loom. It saves you from wasting a lot of expensive marine grade wire and connectors. I first used this trick when i used to build custom motorcycles and cars, in those cases it was about hiding all the wiring from plain sight, which can be complicated, in this case it's about running wires in tight spaces in a safe way that prevents future issues.

[Ike]

I believe that soldering alone does not conform to ABYC standards. All wires should be crimped to tinned ring terminals. If you want to solder after that go ahead. I do that with voltage sensitive wiring such as battery monitors but it is not really necessary. A proper crimped terminal with a ratcheting crimper will not absorb moisture and will prevent corrosion.

You are right. I was on the ABYC electrical committee (PTC) for many years. The problem with soldering is it creates a hard spot, and in the hard spot it effectively becomes single strand wire. Vibration and flexing makes a soldered join susceptible to breaking. So, ABYC says if you solder, it cannot be the sole support for the join. So most marine electricians crimp. But if you crimp and solder then you have satisfied the ABYC standard.

ABYC E-11.14.3.7 Solder shall not be the sole means of mechanical connection in any circuit. If soldered, the connection shall be so located or supported as to minimize flexing of the conductor where the solder changes the flexible conductor into a solid conductor.

EXCEPTION: Battery lugs with a solder contact length of not less than 1.5 times the diameter of the conductor.

NOTE: When a stranded conductor is soldered, the soldered portion of the conductor becomes a solid strand conductor, and flexing can cause the conductor to break at the end of the solder joint unless adequate additional support is provided.