Hello all, I'm fixing up a few things on my boat and the wiring going from the battery in the front to the lights in the front and back and the electric motor is all torn up and kind of all over the place. The wire is just loose in the cabin. Whats a good way to run the wires without drilling holes in the hull? Anyone got some pics they can share? Thanks in advance!
I recently rewired my 1983 Compac and used Duplex marine wire by Ancor. This is a high quality marine wire, which has red and black wires covered by a flat white plastic cover. I ran it along the teak trim strip which is on the inside hull seam of the boat. To attach it I used white nylon P-clamps ( looks like the letter P, available at hardware stores). I fastened the clamps under the existing screw heads used to mount the teak. Also use any other screw heads available to run the wire. Because the wire is flat more runs of it can be bundled together with white nylon cable ties. If done carefully the job can by rather neat. The wire comes in different gauges, by the foot- and WEST Marine stores carry it.
Mike
I would only add this... probably not a real issue since your wiring is in the cabin... black tie wraps hold up to UV better then white or other colors. Go figure.
mel
Cool, thanks. I think Im gonna use those hooks.
I second the marine wire from Ancor. It is pricey but the tinning of the wire will
keep the corrosion out of the wire.
At the hardware store, I purchased white plastic wire ties on a plastic base that sticks (ferrociously) to anything...
The bases are by 3M but when I wired another boat, I could stick these to the inside of the fiberglass
hull to hide the wire .
BASE:
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MElectrical/Home/ProductsServices/ProductCatalog/?PC_7_RJH9U52300RQ50ISL93Q0T24Q5_nid=GS1S97H392gsG5D0T5FX3WglB6K9NDJMG8bl&soloMode=true
No drilling, no screws... still holding after 6 years
I wired both of my sailboat cabins. I used white Wiremold Surface Wire Channel. One side is flat and has a peel away adhesive. There is also a slit the entire length of the channel so it's fairly easy to stuff the wire in. It's about 1/2" wide and 3/8" high and it comes in 5' lengths.
There were a few places on my CP16 where the adhesive didn't stick but a small tube of super glue rectified the problem. You can buy it at virtually any hardware store and it makes for a very tidy job.
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1297766&CAWELAID=109328240
(http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pACE-981423reg.jpg)
Thanks for the replies. These all look like good ideas.