Rewiring the boat

[Thunderbutt]

I'm going to rewiring my boat so I need some ideas on location of the fuse block. It is now on the transom with a maze of wires that look like I threw a pot of spaghetti at it. This is a 20 foot cruiser.

[Unchained]

For a better idea than the hairball of wires wrapped in tape I used some of this electrical cable.
http://www.duct-o-wire.com/festoon_1.gif
I'm a distributor for this equipment.
The cable comes with up to 12 wires in a flat cable or up to 36 wires in a round cable.
It's double insulated and it's pretty cheap also.
8 conductor cable is $ 1.25/ft.
I throw away anything less than 20' lengths.
We have it on 500' spools.
If you were closer I'd give you a left over length.
On my boat I used a piece of 8 conductor flat cable. The wires come all numbered and color coded.
Mark

[Craig]

You also might want to check out Painlesswiring.com They make some nice kits. I used one to wire up my old jetboat and will use one of their musclecar kits whenever I get my GS going :)

[kojac]

Unchained:
For a better idea than the hairball of wires wrapped in tape I used some of this electrical cable.
http://www.duct-o-wire.com/festoon_1.gif
I'm a distributor for this equipment.
The cable comes with up to 12 wires in a flat cable or up to 36 wires in a round cable.
It's double insulated and it's pretty cheap also.
8 conductor cable is $ 1.25/ft.
I throw away anything less than 20' lengths.
We have it on 500' spools.
If you were closer I'd give you a left over length.
On my boat I used a piece of 8 conductor flat cable. The wires come all numbered and color coded.
Mark

[kojac]

Unchained,
What size is the wire? 10,12,14,16. Am planning on rewiring my jet.
thanks kojac.

[Unchained]

You can get it in any gauge up to battery cable size but the two most common sizes we use are,
8 conductor 16 ga or
4 conductor 12 ga

[Thunderbutt]

UNchained, Now that looks neet. Is it strand or solid wire? Who is the manufactor? I'll see if I can get some here. Thanks

[79Hawaiian]

http://pix.crutchfield.com/products/2002/211/x211PS4R-f.jpeg

[Unchained]

Thunderbutt:
UNchained, Now that looks neet. Is it strand or solid wire? Who is the manufactor? I'll see if I can get some here. Thanks Look in the phone book in your area and find someone who's in the overhead crane business and ask them for a length of festoon cable. The brand I handle is Duct-O-Wire but there are several different manufacturers. The wire is fine stranded and very flexible.
Mark

[Thunderbutt]

79Hawaiian, Is that a wire loom? Who makes it? I can't read the name on the connector.

[Maxey]

I have been wiring boats/rods for years. I have a Sanger Cruiser w/ blown 502. Put your fuse block under the dash. Painless wiring (simple 8 circuit, etc. is fine) I would not use a "one size" fits all loom. You need 10 ga. wire for the "battery feed" to the front of the boat. This will feed the fuse block and the ignition/acc. switch. I would also run a 10 gauge wire from the battery negative or engine block to the front that you will use for a common ground.
I would reccomnend the use of a relay for an electric fuel pump, if you will run one. Also a Hot Start Relay is good for the cranking circuit. There are more considerations, but this should give you some "food for thought". In closing, you want to enjoy your boat on the water, and not have to work on it when you are at the lake. Hope I have been of some help.
Maxey

[Bow Tie Omega]

Thunderbutt, 79,s pic looks like the positive wire and block that was used for my stereo and amp in my 4 runner. I purchased a trunk mount 21 fuse system (Painless Wiring) at the Pomona Swapmeet. The wires are 20 ft long for my 21 ft boat. I figured it was better to start off with too much rather than too little. Each wire is labeled with where it goes along the entire length. You can also just order the fuse block which you need and connect your flat wire to it. Obviously, I would run lower guage wire for alt/starter/ign. THe fuse blocks come in different sizes and are on Summit, reasonably priced. I am mounting mine up front under the deck. Good Luck...Joe
[ March 12, 2003, 11:10 AM: Message edited by: Bow Tie Omega ]

[79Hawaiian]

Thunderbutt:
79Hawaiian, Is that a wire loom? Who makes it? I can't read the name on the connector. They are called Street Wires. www.streetwires.com (http://www.streetwires.com) I have not used them but they look pretty. They sell them at crutchfield.com
http://www.streetwires.com/images/productLarge41052.jpg
[ March 12, 2003, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: 79Hawaiian ]

[Unchained]

79Hawaiian:
http://pix.crutchfield.com/products/2002/211/x211PS4R-f.jpeg It looks pretty but using that large of a wire to run the stereo is what we call in Michigan "Overgeeking" :D
My son used a similar setup for the stereo and amp in his PT cruiser. It looked so good that someone promptly stole it.

[77charger]

Thunderbutt:
I'm going to rewiring my boat so I need some ideas on location of the fuse block. It is now on the transom with a maze of wires that look like I threw a pot of spaghetti at it. This is a 20 foot cruiser. My old boat had the fuse block attached to the rear of the engine block.I rerouted a couple of times thinking it looked better only to move it back to where it was originally(fuse block never moved though only the wiring to it)Makes it hard to look very clean and low pro but what else can you do in an open engine boat.

[THE BOSTON SIDEWINDER]

HERE AT THE MARINA THE ONLY THING WE USE IS ANCOR MARINE GRADE WIRE, AND I USE NOTHING BUT MYSELF! AFTER BEING IN THE CAR/BOAT STEREO BUSINESS FOR 23 YRS. I REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT MARINE GRADE WIRE IS(ALL FINE STRANDS ARE 100% SOLDER TINNED). TINNED MARINE WIRE WON'T LET THE "GREEN CANCER" BE DRAWN UP THE WIRE OVER TIME(THE MORE GREEN ROT THE MORE RESISTANCE, SO LESS CURRANT CAPACITY). I AGREE WITH A COUPLE OF THE OTHER GUYS ON THIS THREAD, AT LEAST 10 AWG(ESPECIALLY FOR LONG RUNS).
REMEMBER THE LOWER THE NUMBER(AVERAGE WIRE GUAGE), THE FATTER THE WIRE.
I MOUNTED MY FUSE DISTRUBUTION BOX UNDER MY HELM, BUT JUST LIKE YOUR CAR MAYBE IT'S EARIER TO HAVE A FEW VARIOUS FUSES OUT IN THE FIELD(IN THE BILGE OR WHAT EVER) IF IT MAKES IT EASIER.
IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DO IT ONCE AND HAVE IT LAST A LONG TIME I USE EPOXY LINED BUTT CONNECTORS AND I GO ONE STEP FURTHER BY USING A PIECE OF EPOXY FILLED SHRINK TUBING(ABOUT TWICE LONGER THAN THE BUTT) TO MAKE A CONNECTION THAT VIRTUALLY DEFIES CORROSION!!
DARK GREEN/ BONDING WIRE FOR ZINCS, RIGHT TO (-) BATT POST
BLACK/GROUND
RED (+)
YELLOW W/RED TRACE/STARTING CIRCUIT
YELLOW/ GENERATOR, ALTERNATOR
DARK GRAY/ NAV LIGHTS, TACH
BROWN/ GERERATOR ARMITURE, ATLERNATOR CHARGE LIGHT(GUAGE)
ORANGE/ ACCESSORY FEED
PURPLE/ IGNITION
DARK BLUE/ CABIN AND INSTRUMENT LIGHTS
LIGHT BLUE/ OIL PRESSURE
TAN/ WATER TEMP
PINK/ FUEL GUAGE
LOT'S OF INFO, SORRY, I JUST LOVE DOING THINGS THAT LOOK THE BALLS AND NEVER HAVE TO BE TOUCHED AGAIN.
ANY PROBLEM FINDING ANCOR(ANY MARINA SHOULD BE ABLE TO HELP) LET ME KNOW.

[79Hawaiian]

Good info Boston.
I was wondering what "Marine" grade cable was. The street wires stuff does not say it is marine grade but does state "with silver-coated, tinned copper wire" (http://www.streetwires.com/products/powerCables/index.cfm). I don't know if this is apples-to-apples comparison. The street wires stuff is kind of pricy too, may not be worth it. I first got the idea from a picture posted about Froggystyles work on a boat. He wired the battery with wire that has transparent insulation. Looks slick. I guess if you are paying big bucks for all the polished and anodized engine parts you don't want some Pep Boys looking battery cables.
http://free.***boat.net/ubb/Avatars/Gearhead_Garage/Other_Equipment/DSC00546-1.JPG

[MikeF]

SD013......This one :cool: .