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mechanic is just about finished with the re-power on the ol' Whaler and the boat was stripped of all the old copper wire that was not tinned.
So, the questions I got are:
1) should I use a Blue Sea 6 circuit or the 12 circuit?
2) Is a fuse block better with a common negative bus, or all independent fuse circuits? What are the advantages of independent circuits?
3) Should I come off the batteries (in the stern) and go through the tunnel and up to the block under the console with 10 Ga. or 12 Ga. tinned wire? Ancor?
4) The panels that were original are gone. Nothin' but wood around the steering wheel at the helm. Should I simply put the original style (Cole Heely?) pull Knob for the nav light through the wood face? What did the original console face look like?
5) Sure appreciate a any help!
(changed abbreviated year to full 4 digit year per guideline #1 at the top of this page)
I just rewired my 1966 with tinned wire and a 6 circuit fuse block (Garmin GPS/sounder, bilge pump, lights, 3 extra for future). I ran "homerun" to console and switched power back to bilge and lights with a new 2 switch, waterproof switch. All from West Marine. Old pull switches seem poor quality now if using new. I had to run a new bow light wire with a new rub rail.
Bilge pump is "automatic" type but it is nice to turn it off when on the trailer.
Thanks Guys! Will head to the marine store and pick up:
Auto bilge pump
Blue Seas 6 fuse block with common ground #5025
10 Gauge duplex tinned wire from the batteries and switch aft, through the tunnel to the 6 fuse bus/block under the console
Then from the hot side of two designated fuse links I will need 2 short lengths of 14 gauge tinned red (+) to each switch (one for Nav lights and one wire for the auto bilge)
I will take a twin 14 Ga. 30 foot long, through the tunnel to the stern and through the rub rail to the Nav light in the bow.
The bilge wire measures out to about +/- ten feet of twin 14 gauge? or 12 gauge? Will ask the marine store guys?
How do the Cole Hersee hold up in the rain? Might just buy the waterproof ones for the Great Northwest Winter Salmon Fishin'
Thanks for the links I would like to keep it as original as possible! Where can I buy the original Nav and anchor lights online
For the main house power wiring, from the battery up to the console, you should use Ancor 10/2 Boat Cable, which gives good protection to the actual wires in an abrasive tunnel location like Whalers have. The positive leads from the Nav switch back to the stern should be Ancor boat cable, 16/2 (one for bow light and one for stern light) There is no need for a negative ground return to the console, and this can go directly off the stern terminal block into the battery.
The main positive lead coming off the battery should immediately go into an in-line 30 amp fuse holder, inside the battery box,
I have some photos that may help you out. Here is a Blue Seas 6 circuit fuse block, installed where accessible on the port side of the console.
To connect the auto bilge pump to the on-off switch, you need boat cable 14/2. You can see my installation here (the wire wraps around the pump and is connected to shortened leads of the pump. This makes pump replacement easy. Because this is a constantly wet environment, I use simple wire nuts, filled with Life Caulk, for a flexible, TOTALLY waterproof connection. I know it's not "marine kosher", but this connection REALLY works in a wet sump situation!
The three wire cable coming in to the box is the bow and stern positive (green and white) and the black is the neg return into the battery. The pigtail coming out of the box on the left is the stern light pigtail. The 16 ga wire going up to the bow light exits the hull behind the box and is connected directly to the terminal block.
Finnegan wrote:
For the main house power wiring, from the battery up to the console, you should use Ancor 10/2 Boat Cable, which gives good protection to the actual wires in an abrasive tunnel location like Whalers have. The positive leads from the Nav switch back to the stern should be Ancor boat cable, 16/2 (one for bow light and one for stern light) There is no need for a negative ground return to the console, and this can go directly off the stern terminal block into the battery.
The main positive lead coming off the battery should immediately go into an in-line 30 amp fuse holder, inside the battery box,
I have some photos that may help you out. Here is a Blue Seas 6 circuit fuse block, installed where accessible on the port side of the console.
To connect the auto bilge pump to the on-off switch, you need boat cable 14/2. You can see my installation here (the wire wraps around the pump and is connected to shortened leads of the pump. This makes pump replacement easy. Because this is a constantly wet environment, I use simple wire nuts, filled with Life Caulk, for a flexible, TOTALLY waterproof connection. I know it's not "marine kosher", but this connection REALLY works in a wet sump situation!
The three wire cable coming in to the box is the bow and stern positive (green and white) and the black is the neg return into the battery. The pigtail coming out of the box on the left is the stern light pigtail. The 16 ga wire going up to the bow light exits the hull behind the box and is connected directly to the terminal block.
Do you have a picture of where the stern light stanchion goes?
At the terminal block, the red wire for the stern light pigtail is red, no?
I ran ancor 16/2 inside the rub rail from the bow light location to the stern and now am ready to place a terminal block over this wire that is on the inside of the hull. Now, I need to purchase some three color ancor 16 Ga. to go through the tunnel to the cole hersee two pronged switch with the green and white and take the black(-) to the (-) bus on the Blue Sea 6 fuse block @ the left side of the console under the dash, no?
On one prong of the CH switch, I will connect a hot wire (jumper) to the Blue Sea block. The remaining prong will hold the green and white wires that are to energize the terminal block in the stern?
You can find a photo somewhere on this site showing the stern light location on the 16 & 17' boats.
In my photo, yes, the red wire is the stern light pigtail positive, and it is fed on the right side by the white wire. The bow light is fed by the green wire.
The black negative return does not have to go all the way up to the console (although it can if you want to). You only need a short length of the 3 wire cable, and the black connects directly to the battery neg. Then you only need a 2 wire cable for the switched power for the bow and stern lights. The two wire cable is spliced to the white and green of the three wire inside the battery box.
