What is good switchboard wiring?

[coopec43]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

OP, perhaps I can clarify regarding my first post; Someone looking at that mess could easily say to themselves, "If what I can see looks like that, what might the parts I can't see look like".
Many of the discussions about rules/regulations and color coding, can go on

Thanks Bowdreie


I think they would quickly see the yacht has lightning protection, three large Rule bilge pumps, gas/carbon monoxide fume detector, bilge blower, recommended sized winches....... I think that would allay any fears of the yacht being unsafe

[coopec43]

Wht Are ABYC Standards?
Standards are the core of ABYC as they are continuously researched, developed, and revised by over 400 volunteer marine professionals on 16 Project Technical Committees (PTCs) from all fields of the industry including the US Coast Guard (USCG), trade organizations, and private entities. ABYC collaborates with safety organizations worldwide such as Transport Canada and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Standards and Technical Information Reports for Small Craft covers all the major boat systems and the development, and annual review of these standards correlates directly to the significant reduction in the number of boating accidents over the past six decades.
Today, 90% of boats on the water are built to ABYC Standards and over 3,000 technicians are trained and certified by ABYC so that boats are maintained with the highest level of technical expertise.

Only ABYC Members have 24/7 access to the Standards. Not a member? Join



Up until now I thought ir was the ABYC (American Boating and Yacht Council) that set all sorts of standards for recreational boating in the US.


Am I wrong?


e.g.

C-5 Construction and Testing of Electric Navigation Lights

C-7 Battery Switches for Use on Boats

C-1500 Ignition Protection for Marine Products

E-2 Cathodic Protection

E-10 Storage Batteries

E-11 AC & DC Electrical Systems on Boats

E-13 Lithium Ion Batteries

[lifeofreilly57]

Use as few connections as possible, there's loss in every connection.
Label, label, label! Draw a wiring schematic, use labels. It will save you much grief in the future. I had to buy a relatively expensive wire tracing unit to figure out where much of the wiring on the current boat goes, it sucked.
Support all your wiring, vibration will cause all kinds of issues.
Use shrink wrap connectors, they will also save you much hassle in the future.
Use the ABYC standards as a guide, their mostly there for safety standards.
And of course your using tinned wire.
Do you have fuses on your main battery connections? Many older boats don't. It could be the difference between losing the boat or just a battery.
Neat, clean and supported will be OK with a surveyor, they look for the quality and safety of your wiring, they're going to know it's not a factory job, most boats get wired internally during construction when there's more access. It's difficult to do on a completed boat.
The biggest hassle I had was figuring out the old wiring, many contractors had been into my boat prior to my ownership, most did it quick and dirty, while leaving all the old wiring there. The wiring bundle from the panel was so big I couldn't run new wire. Pulling the old stuff became the major work. First tracing it, then removing dead wiring, some was still live with no fuses! Just left to dangle.
Neat, clean and supported will usually make a surveyor happy, oh, and good quality wiring and connectors.

[nonav]

Originally Posted by Spot

Other than those hideous fluoro zip ties...what has the world come to, no waxed lacing?

The first time I saw this was in a NEVE recording console.

It is actually pretty easy to do, and leaves bundles flexible, easy to maneuver, and won’t slice cable or body parts into ribbons if somebody does not cut a tie perfectly flush.

I’d love to use it on boats!

[SaltySparks]

Originally Posted by coopec43

When I started wiring the switchboard of my yacht I watched videos, got expert advice from an auto-electrician, read that all motors should be on a separate fused circuit and there should be circuit breakers and isolation switches where appropriate. It started off very simple but got more and more complex particularly when I went for 12V as well as 24V.

I have deliberately avoided trying to make the wiring look neat by bundling cables together as I find it easier to trace circuit wiring in the event of a fault where it is not bundled.

To me the wiring in the second photo is preferable to wiring in the first photo. (If I cut each cable to an appropriate length mine would look better but as soon as I did that I lose flexibility)


What do the experts think?

cheap and nasty labels that are quick[/B]
using a Sharpie write on white heat shrink the name and where the conductor goes. Slide the heat shrink over the wire. If possible, only shrink the label after all the conductors are installed, turn them so you can read the label and shrink all the labels at the same time.
We used to precut several hundred pieces of each size ahead of time, keep them in a compartmented box with spare sharpies.
This is not good enough for Government work, but it is great for one guy doing a bit of rewiring or addition to boat, car or instrument panel.
If you want to use the sharpie directly on the cable, slide a bit of transparent heat shrink over the writing, IE. white AC wiring.
Colored heat shrink can also be used for plus and negative wiring

[sinnerman]

All of my wires are labeled wherever possible.

I use heat shrink tubing labels printed on an Epson LW-PX300 printer which can handle the heat shrink tubing tapes:

https://labelworks.epson.com/epson-l...0-printer.html

The heat shrink wire marker tubing comes in different sizes (AWG's). Note there are larger tubing sizes available which do NOT fit this printer (they are for the higher cost professional electrician printers only)..

I usually install labels on:

---The wire going from fuse (fuse block) to the switch.
---The wire going from the switch to the load
---The ground wire coming from the load where it is attached to the ground bus.

It significantly increases the work adding these labels, but it helps troubleshooting in the long run.

Use a heat gun (not a lighter) to shrink the tubing (the heat gun is your friend).

For large diameter wires/cables, I print a normal Brother label, stick it to the cable and wrap it with clear shipping tape to secure it to the wire.

My elec panel is neat, but not as neat as the production one pictured in the beginning of this blog, as I am adding wires as I add components. The boat basically came with no electrical stuff installed. So, I have a small amount of "wire soup"..

my two cents.

cheers

[Hartleyg]

My $.02..


The first picture certainly LOOKS neater, and doesn't contain the wire color problems of the second. I would be dismayed by several things, however: three 1-2-both switches are completely unlabeled with what they do - while wire/cable labeling is a good thing, labeling switches should be MANDATORY (IMHO), as this is something that crew members (not engineers/electricians) may need to deal with. Perhaps there is a placard just out of view, but..


The second picture has the above-mentioned wire color issues (it is VERY disturbing to see blue being used for both positive AND negative! but the fuse panel is neatly and readably labeled - a real plus. The biggest "neatness" issue I see is the need to reduce the cable-tie population by 50-70% -- if you look at the main bundle in the approximate center, just bite the bullet, cut ALL the ties (big & small) then rebundle using the minimum number of ties. Continue the process throughout the wiring harness - it's oh-so-easy to add a couple wires to a run and just add another tie or two - but the result is the mess we see there. I usually try to start by removing all possible ties then rebuild after I add the new wiring. Cable ties are CHEAP - especially if you buy in 100s or 1000s! As a side note, most (but not all) have had the end of the tie fully trimmed off - when I see those little rippers sticking up, I get out the flush cutters and start trimming!



I do note that the first picture clearly shows that this wiring was all done at one time - likely on build/commissioning. As evidence, the really neat loop in the bundle going to the multiple breakers/switches at the top of the picture - every wire is exactly the same length and dressed identically - I'm sorry, but adding a couple new wires or replacing a run to that assembly will likely NOT be that neat. [Unless, of course, you're one of those OCD folks who completely rewire your boat every time you add a new gizmo ]


Like I said, my $.02 - and worth every penny! I see a lot of good advice in this thread.


Hartley
S/V Atsa

[Calaban-Alleria]

Originally Posted by sinnerman

Use a heat gun (not a lighter) to shrink the tubing (the heat gun is your friend).

Butane soldering irons are available that can be fitted with curved vane for doing heat shrink. Much more controllable than those touches or a lighter and can be easier to sneak into a tight spot sometimes than a full size electric heat gun.

Great for when you don't have power as well - like when you have the power off while you work on it!

[nofacey]

Coopec, not using heat shrink/self sealing end terminals is a big miss, but it’s your inconsistency of wiring colour that makes a surveyor or next buyer leary of weither you knew what you were doing.
Neither panel appears to have close to enough wire labeling, and almost no one goes back & labels properly after the fact.

[Tedd]

Wish mine looked that good. I bought a brand new boat and the wiring looks like a bird's nest. One day I'll take the plunge and tidy it up.

[sinnerman]

[QUOTE=Hartleyg;3866546]My $.02..

The second picture has the above-mentioned wire color issues (it is VERY disturbing to see blue being used for both positive AND negative! but the fuse panel is neatly and readably labeled - a real plus. ..

Interesting point.

My boat is a Catalina 30 circa 1984 and per the old Catalina documentation has (had?) a very basic wiring color code for about six wires in the boat's lighting circuits.

Most of ABYC stuff I encountered about color codes was specific to the engine harness / engine control panel gauges.

Almost all the DC wires I installed in the electrical panel are red/black.

Wire colors for the engine harness are to code.

Interesting note: the "NEW" color code for the DC GROUND wire is now YELLOW to prevent confusion with BLACK "Neutral" wire in the boat's 120 volt AC system.

Duplex DC wires now are available in Red/yellow. (see below)

My two cents

Cheers

[IanTrail]

When I saw the first photo I thought "I wish my switch panel wiring looked like that".
Then I saw the second photo and thought "Actually I even wish it looked like that!":
The product of decades of incremental changes for minimal effort. OK, not pretty but it's safe and worked for 25 years. I'd rather spend my time going sailing than striving for admiration of my wiring..

[Seabeau]

All of my conductors are labeled at both ends.

[pcmm]

[QUOTE=sinnerman;3866614]

Originally Posted by Hartleyg

Interesting note: the "NEW" color code for the DC GROUND wire is now YELLOW to prevent confusion with BLACK "Neutral" wire in the boat's 120 volt AC system.

That "new" colour code for the ground wire has been around for 25 years. When I rewired my last boat I used the Yellow for ground (-) everywhere. Doesn't really cost any extra to it that way

[TeddyDiver]

I'm about to start all wiring on my boat next summer (EU compliant colours) But to reduce long wiring and easier installation I intend to have a few sub-switchboards. Heavier cables to stern cabin/head switchboard with it's own fuses, another for nav/electronics and maybe it's own for galley/saloon too. The main switchboard having then fewer outlets, three 12V and one 24v for winch plus DC-DC converters and battery switches.