rgano
Guru
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2007
- Messages
- 5,000
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- FROLIC
- Vessel Make
- Mainship 30 Pilot II since 2015. GB-42 1986-2015. Former Unlimited Tonnage Master
I am not familiar with 34 Pilots, but I imagine there are useful similarities.
Compared to my wooden Grand Banks 42-foot trawler, this boat's much more confined interior with all of its molded fiberglass and wood paneling presents a far more daunting prospect when considering adding to its wiring scheme. The first task I tackled was to remove the built-in Micro Commander engine control for replacement by a conventional single handle push-pull Morse throttle/clutch control. Since the large cable from the helm to the unit's control box on the aft side of the port fuel tank was built into the boat with no access to the run outboard of the tank. all I could do to remove the system was to cut the cabling as far back into the boat as possible leaving the more inaccessible portions in place. Running the two Morse cables from the throttle handle to the engine was simplicity itself. I thrust them down from the helm and lying on my back with my chest through the tiny hatch under the companionway ladder and using one of those kitchen grabber tools reached over in the area forward of the stbd fuel tank to pull the cable ends over to where I could gain control of them by hand for the rest of the run down the stbd side of the engine and thence to their permanent connections.
Since then, I have run a number of engine alarm wires, fuel vacuum gauge hose, battery voltmeter gauge wires, and fuel sender wires up to the helm console from the engine compartment. All these invariably involved using my steel tape snake run down from the wire run hole on the far stbd side of the helm console to where I could see it from my position lying on my back with torso partially through the access hatch under the companionway stair and using the two-foot long grabber tool to pull the snake's end over to where could then tape the new wire to the end of the snake before pulling it back up through to wire run hole at the helm. I eventually ended up cutting a new 1.5 inch diameter hole beside the original larger wire run hole because it was so jammed with wire and hoses that nothing more could be slipped through there - I should have done this before I ever ran the first new wire to make it easier to get wires through.
The next challenge was to run new power cables for my added house bank (boat came with only a starter bank) from the forward part of the engine compartment up to the power panel on the aft bulkhead of the downeast cabin on the port side. This job involved removing all the power panel securing screws and allowing it to drop down and forward giving me access to the structure behind the panel where there is a gap at the top which allowed me to drop a weighted line down into the area of the engine compartment forward of the stbd fuel tank where I could use my faithful grabber tool to pull the line over to where I could attach the new wiring/cables to be pulled back up the the back of the panel.
My latest adventure in running wiring required a run of a Furuno AD-10 heading data cable from the fluxgate compass underneath the forward part of the settee down in the cabin around to the stbd side and under that portion of the settee and then through the back of the small coat closet, under the vanity in the head, and finally up between the inner bulkhead and the hull and cabin side to the console. This last part required removal of the vanity mirror and cutting a four-inch diameter access to allow me to run my snake down to the existing access below the vanity sink so I could tape the cable to it and pull it up the the mirror access. Then I ran the snake from the 1.5-inch wire run hole I had previously cut into the stbd side of the console access area to the 4-inch mirror access hole where I re-taped the cable end to the snake for the final pull to the console where I connected it to the Furuno plotter to complete the automatic radar plotting aid (ARPA) installation.
When it came to adding a remotely controlled spotlight to the anchor pulpit, I was truly stymied because there is simply no feasible way to run new wiring up there without what I considered to be unsightly exposed work. Then I happened upon the concept of WIRELESS controlled spots. I tapped off power to the light from the exiting navigation light power there after removing the crap combo side light and replacing it with individual LED sidelights on either side of the pulpit. Power to the controller at the helm was simple to provide from the nav lights switch.
Anyway, there you have it. As a very experienced DIYer, I have to say larger boats are far easier to rewire than these smaller production vessels, but it can be done.
Compared to my wooden Grand Banks 42-foot trawler, this boat's much more confined interior with all of its molded fiberglass and wood paneling presents a far more daunting prospect when considering adding to its wiring scheme. The first task I tackled was to remove the built-in Micro Commander engine control for replacement by a conventional single handle push-pull Morse throttle/clutch control. Since the large cable from the helm to the unit's control box on the aft side of the port fuel tank was built into the boat with no access to the run outboard of the tank. all I could do to remove the system was to cut the cabling as far back into the boat as possible leaving the more inaccessible portions in place. Running the two Morse cables from the throttle handle to the engine was simplicity itself. I thrust them down from the helm and lying on my back with my chest through the tiny hatch under the companionway ladder and using one of those kitchen grabber tools reached over in the area forward of the stbd fuel tank to pull the cable ends over to where I could gain control of them by hand for the rest of the run down the stbd side of the engine and thence to their permanent connections.
Since then, I have run a number of engine alarm wires, fuel vacuum gauge hose, battery voltmeter gauge wires, and fuel sender wires up to the helm console from the engine compartment. All these invariably involved using my steel tape snake run down from the wire run hole on the far stbd side of the helm console to where I could see it from my position lying on my back with torso partially through the access hatch under the companionway stair and using the two-foot long grabber tool to pull the snake's end over to where could then tape the new wire to the end of the snake before pulling it back up through to wire run hole at the helm. I eventually ended up cutting a new 1.5 inch diameter hole beside the original larger wire run hole because it was so jammed with wire and hoses that nothing more could be slipped through there - I should have done this before I ever ran the first new wire to make it easier to get wires through.
The next challenge was to run new power cables for my added house bank (boat came with only a starter bank) from the forward part of the engine compartment up to the power panel on the aft bulkhead of the downeast cabin on the port side. This job involved removing all the power panel securing screws and allowing it to drop down and forward giving me access to the structure behind the panel where there is a gap at the top which allowed me to drop a weighted line down into the area of the engine compartment forward of the stbd fuel tank where I could use my faithful grabber tool to pull the line over to where I could attach the new wiring/cables to be pulled back up the the back of the panel.
My latest adventure in running wiring required a run of a Furuno AD-10 heading data cable from the fluxgate compass underneath the forward part of the settee down in the cabin around to the stbd side and under that portion of the settee and then through the back of the small coat closet, under the vanity in the head, and finally up between the inner bulkhead and the hull and cabin side to the console. This last part required removal of the vanity mirror and cutting a four-inch diameter access to allow me to run my snake down to the existing access below the vanity sink so I could tape the cable to it and pull it up the the mirror access. Then I ran the snake from the 1.5-inch wire run hole I had previously cut into the stbd side of the console access area to the 4-inch mirror access hole where I re-taped the cable end to the snake for the final pull to the console where I connected it to the Furuno plotter to complete the automatic radar plotting aid (ARPA) installation.
When it came to adding a remotely controlled spotlight to the anchor pulpit, I was truly stymied because there is simply no feasible way to run new wiring up there without what I considered to be unsightly exposed work. Then I happened upon the concept of WIRELESS controlled spots. I tapped off power to the light from the exiting navigation light power there after removing the crap combo side light and replacing it with individual LED sidelights on either side of the pulpit. Power to the controller at the helm was simple to provide from the nav lights switch.
Anyway, there you have it. As a very experienced DIYer, I have to say larger boats are far easier to rewire than these smaller production vessels, but it can be done.