Aluminum Boat Wiring from Scratch

clarkbre

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
176
Here's the scoop on what I'd like to do to my boat. I have a 16' Lund WC that is a no frills fishing boat. I am planning to have the battery up front under a deck that I built last year. I would like to run a main set of +/- wires to the rear of the boat to run a Minnkota Endura 30, Humminbird fish finder, Garmin GPS, and a bilge pump. In a year or two I might add navigation lights.

As of now, none of my electrical components are protected as they run straight off the battery. In my mind, I'd like all my components on a fused switch panel and have a seperate plugin for my TM.

I've looked at the wire schematics on here but I'm still unclear on a few things.
1. What guage wires will I need running the length of the boat?
2. Do I need to run seperate wires for the TM or can I tap into those wires for my other components?

I know I'll have more questions as I plan this project out but any suggestions or thoughts would be great.
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: Aluminum Boat Wiring from Scratch

i would use separate wires for trolling motor with a fuse at the battery, also the main run for the accessories, should have an inline fuse near the battery. then you can install a fused switch panel, to serve your accessories. main run for trolling motor, probably and 8 guage, the accessories, 14 gauge, with 15-20 amp inline fuse. then you can use 16-18 to accessories, from panel.

trolling motor breaker, http://www.iboats.com/Rig_Rite_12_V...31928211--**********.484738285--view_id.47142

http://www.iboats.com/Marine_Switch...9951643--**********.484738285--view_id.216620
 
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