Spring Project(s) 74 20SF

[BigLew]

i like it ....the binary is a nice touch imo....but it's what you like...plus the boat speaks for itself

Only suggestion I'd consider making is to make the "++" superscript like a mathematical exponent to possibly avoid the tt interpetation/influence.

It looks great and very creative!

[saltyfish7]

Hey SeaPlusPlus,
Amazing project – your posts are awesome. I did my own wiring when I had my 23 and was overall happy. I’m not an electrician and I only follow the law of common sense but your drawing looks good. My comments are purely based off of personal opinion.

• Pole Switch instead of Rocker - I used rocker switches on my project however in hindsight I may have considered pole switches. I think they are more weather resistant since they have an encapsulating rubber boot on them. I like the look/feel of rockers but I had one get a little moody and I’m thinking the poles would be even more robust. You can get the push button circuit breakers with sealed rubber boots also.

• On board Battery charger – I didn’t see one on your drawing. I really liked having one. I prolongs the life of the battery and is easy to just plug in when the boats not in use.

• No direct battery connections - I’m sure a lot of people will disagree but on a trailer boat I don’t like to hard wire anything to the battery except the switch and charger (i.e. no bilge pump). If I leave it in the water I just leave the switch on. I don’t like chancing I’ll get a stray drawl. I’m probably just paranoid though.

• Crimp tool - I used all heat shrink and even bought Ancor’s crimp tool. It’s basically a crimp tool that the crimp is a little wider so it doesn’t cut into the heat shrink and negate the point. http://www.marinco.com/product/singl...p-ratchet-tool

• Exit Strategy - Last, think of how you would disconnect everything if you ever had to take the console off. Perhaps having your fuse and bus bar close to the rigging tube so you could simply unscrew and lift the console off. Most of the wires runs inside the console would simply stay zip tied inside.

Good luck!

Andy

PS: I’m a Software Engineer so I get the Sea ++ innuendo (at least I think I do). Not sure if you’ve explained it to the non-computer-programmers on the forum.

[SeaPlusPlus]

Blue197320 - came from Ebay $125 + $7.99 shipping I shopped around for a while and this was the best price I found. Bought it on a Tuesday and received it Thursday night ground from Fl to Va.

Tucker - I miss labeled that, only have 1 bilge pump, its float switch will be wired to a battery. I have my electronics wired to the switch so that when I leave my boat I can just turn the batteries off and not worry about a stray draw. Ran them like that before and never saw a problem with interference but thanks for the info!

makade - I think I might do that, Instead of getting a On-Off-Momentary switch for the pump I'll get an On-Off-On and then wire the float switch to the bottom with a direct connect to the battery from there. That way like you said when its sitting in my driveway I can just turn it to off and let the water drain through transom vs chancing the pump turning on. I always check it after a big rain anyways.

BigLew - thanks for the input/positive comments!

saltyfish7 - That's one of the cleanest wiring jobs I've seen! That's what I'm hoping to end up with, something as clean as that. I already have the rocker switch so it will have to do, hopefully it lasts, was damn expensive. Charger sounds like a good investment, will look into that.

Got my 21' of LED rope for under the gunwhale.

[makade]

Just had a thought regarding supplies like wire, ring connectors, etc...
You may want to check out Pacer Marine, they manufacture their own wire and its a fraction of the cost of Ancor products. I'm lucky that they have a warehouse locally, but even to ship they could save you a ton of money. You do have to open a account with them to pay with a credit card, but they just make it in your name.
Oh and I strongly agree with the suggestion of getting a quality crimper, I got a nice ratcheting one designed for insulated terminals at pacer for around fifty bucks.

[makade]

Here's the link http://www.pacergroup.net/ , they do have everything you would need.
Also here's a pic of my mess. I used the fasteners from the cushion on the front of my console to thrubolt a piece of starboard to mount everything. Its hard to fit everything in a little boat (mine's a 18). Also I have my shelf set up so its easy to remove and I can squeeze into my console for adding stuff etc.I actually sit in there indian style, and I'm not a little guy!
Also I have my batteries side by side directly under the picture, which allows room in the front under the seat for lifejackets and stuff.

[deepsushi]

FYI... I have been doing some rewiring myself. I found this ratcheting crimp designed for heat shrink terminals. Works great so far and hard to beat the price

http://www.sailorssolutions.com/inde...ils&Item=WP042

[MasterBaiter]

Invest in a GOOD crimper. Long handles equal less fatigue. A buddy that does industrial wiring told me to use connectors and heat shrink - not heat shrink connectors. The reason is you get better quality connectors and you can use the heat shrink with the adhesive adding to the strength of the connection. I also used coppercoat on the wires to keep a good connection in the crimp.

Good luck and have fun.

[MasterBaiter]

Well, after missing the Stripers I think I'm ready to get wet this weekend if the weather cooperates. New steering, control cables, and replaced the scuppers. Silly me, I thought these would be easy projects until I found the guy before me used some sort of fiberglass tube for the scuppers and really made a mess of the transmission linkage. I now have brass scupper tubes and redesigned the linkage and with any luck it will all work as it is supposed to.

[Blue197320]

any night shots of the LED at night???

[SeaPlusPlus]

Sorry for the lack of update. Took the misses on a cruise to The Bahamas two weeks ago and was hacking my lungs up from cruise ship SARS or something all last week.



The boat was 545'd right before I left and then sat for a week and a half. Have a couple pictures from 2 weeks ago (crappy pics from cell phone, keep forgetting camera).









The boat has now been sanding completely with 320 and is smooth as a babies bottom. Her interior is taped up and is ready to have her hull sides and bottom sprayed with Sea Foam tomorrow. I'll post some pics soon.