Association Forum - More Wiring and Battery Questions

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

More Wiring and Battery Questions

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

rivituso
Deckhand

Member Avatar

USA
4 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/17/2007 : 17:33:28

Starting a project on my boat has turned into a real Pandora's. I decided to re-wire my mast and add a deck light. So far no problem using CD's mast wirng harness (4 wires RGWB). Of course the deck conenction ony has three wires Red, White, Green. <b> Which is the ground?</b> Inside I see the wires running behind the port settee and it looks like I could use an eletrician's fish tape to pull the new wires through the deck. <b>Is this possible?</b>I looked at the switch panel and it has switches for Running, Anchor, Bow and Deck so I presume the Bow means Steaming light and Deck would accomodate the new mast combo.

Finally---Is there any problem with me running the cables from my outboard directly tpo my battery (I have only one). That way I would not have to worry about switching on on the battery switch before starting the motor. I sail on and off my mooring so I rarely use the motor anyhow. People I talked to say it should not be a problem. Any advice?

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2007 : 18:16:47

I'd rewire the entire thing and not only parts. You will want to get a 4 prong deck connector - CD or any regular marine store will have one. Running wire behind the Settee is very easy to do too.

Your logic with the panel labels sounds right.

As for running directly outboard to batter- with only one battery it shouldn't be a problem.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

3072 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2007 : 18:27:42

Do you own a VOM? (aka 'voltmeter') If you don't have one, I'd invest in one if you're going to do any boat wiring projects. You'll want to verify both the voltages present on those wires and perhaps the resistance of the wires before hooking things up. (You can buy a cheap VOM at Harbor Freight for $3 these days.)

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90899

Original C25 mast wiring is often in deterioriated condition and you may need to pull new wires before investing work on the connections. Where's your electrical panel? Having a look at the backside of it will be enlightening as far as wire colors go.

On older C25's the wires to the mast were glassed into the cabin top structure and new wires can't be pulled through the deck. Usually retrofitting is done by running new wiring inside the cabin and installing a waterproof 'bulkhead' connector to get through the deck.

>"Is there any problem with me running the cables from my outboard directly"

Should be no worries, but make sure you have an appropriately sized inline fuse on the +wire close to the battery. I ran mine to the + and - battery connections on the electrical panel. (closer to the outboard and out of harm's way).

BTW... What year is your C25? (It's useful to have the year and keel type in your signature as answers to questions often vary with the age of the boat).

Edited by - on

atgep
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1009 Posts

Response Posted - 06/17/2007 : 19:49:11

The factory wiring is a weak spot on these boats. I had a master switch that was a regular switch used to turn the boat on and off. It would get hot when all the lights were on! I rewired the panel and have had 100% reliability for the past 2 years. A couple of quick fixes that will get you headed in the right direction.

I use a big red switch to turn the boat on and off. I have a fuse on the battery. A 70 amp I believe. I installed a ground bus bar to properly connect all the grounds instead of the electrical tape the factory or PO used. By taking the master switch off the panel, I gained an extra spot. I then put a 12v led in the center to show when the boat is on. That opened up another spot for a circuit.

I recommend connecting the engine to the batt. If you turn off the battery while the eng is running, it has the potential to fry the engine's charging system which is also the part that makes the spark! I have never done this to an outboard but have fried a few alternators doing that. Here is a pic of my modified factory panel.

Edited by - on

Jefffriday
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
198 Posts

Response Posted - 06/18/2007 : 16:36:06

You really want to get a VTOM and check the existing wiring, then replace it all anyway (this has been my approach... not the most efficient, but even wires that bugged out good one day didn't the next) Also watch Polarity if you have any polarity sensitive items (stereo, radios etc) I dove into changing a radio, only to find the red wire was ground and the black positive....

Edited by - on

mountainsailor
Deckhand

Members Avatar

USA
3 Posts

Response Posted - 08/22/2007 : 08:32:43

OK, I think ya'll have answered the questions I've been wanting to ask! We have an 84 Tall rig, with 3 wires at the base of the mast and a 3 prong deck plug. Sounds like we need teh CD mast wiring harness and an anchor light (I don't think there's one there and I've been up the mast a couple of times) When we've anchored out, we've run a head light up the mast but it's time for a permanent solution!

Any other things to consider before we tackle this project?

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3466 Posts

Response Posted - 08/22/2007 : 13:02:06

I replaced my mast wire last year and finished the replacement of the cabin wiring with a new switch panel and a new deck connector, this past winter. I have an '89 and found that it is possible to pull new wire thru the fibergall with deck connector removed. But it can be a bear and besides, I only discovered it was possible to pull the wiring out when I removed the old wiring AFTER I had already completed the whole wiring job.
What i had done was with the deck connector removed, cut the existing wire close to where it cam thru the fiberglass cabin liner. This is because I thought the existing wiring was glassed inside the liner and could not be fully removed and a new wire snaked in place of it. I then bought a long shaft drill bit and drilled another hole from on top of the deck close to where the existing wire comes thru the liner (this is in the deck connector hole). I aimed the drill bit at an angle so that the hull would hopefully come out in the area of the porta potti. Then I layed a new 4 wire (mast wire) from the new switch panel behind the seats and into the porta potti area and up thru the liner. I used a new 4 prong deck connector and used the diaelectric tube paste on the connectors after I attached the 4 wires.

A photo of my new switch panel is on my website. I still have the old switch panel for one or two things that I did not move over to the new switch panel yet...and may not.

The 4 wire mast wire I believe I bought from Best Wires on the web. There are two popular website wire sites but I have their URL addresses on my home PC...not at work. Others are also aware of these sites since this Forum is where I got the website addresses. the mast wire was a lot less expensive than buying it from West Marine.

After finishing the job, I was looking at the exisiting old wire that is accessed by removing the bilge board in the center of the main cabin. I was contemplating reusing it for other purposes like an accessory 12 volt plug. But decided not to and then tried tugging on it. After a real hard tug, it came right out from the deck connector/liner and i was able to remove the entire wire from there to the switch panel. This was on an '89 and may not apply to the older Catalinas.

Larry

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.