Rewiring a Bow Rider

I am re-wiring a boat I purchased and noticed that there are no fuses or buss on it. It is a older 17 ft bow rider with a outboard. The only auxiliaries on it are the front and back lights, bilge pump, and gauges. All of these are connected directly to the battery which doesn't seam right.

Can anyone let me know if I do need to get a buss and fuse panel, and if so what would you recommend for this set up. I may be hooking up a radio in the future but now just want to get it on the water.

I saw some wiring diagrams listed in the forums and if anyone has one that would be more specific to this set up i would appreciate it. Also I am running only one battery.

Thanks
Mdub

Re: Rewiring a Bow Rider

The generic boat wiring diagram in the sticky at the top of this forum is specific to your setup. Boats are basically wired the same. Here is a picture of a typical fuse panel that incorporates a ground buss. The reason fuse panels are used is it makes wiring much neater, you don't need to run the pos and neg wires from each device all the way to the back of the boat and it is far more convenient to have fuses in one place rather than using a bunch of inline fuses that end up dangling in various places. Gauges should not be wired directly to the battery. They get powered from the "A" terminal on the ignition switch.


Here is a typical wiring diagram for just one simple circuit. Repeat the circuit for all of the devices on your boat.

Re: Rewiring a Bow Rider

Thanks Silvertip. That diagram is exactly what I needed.

Re: Rewiring a Bow Rider

Any ideas on what size circuit breaker i should use?

Re: Rewiring a Bow Rider

Anyone????

Re: Rewiring a Bow Rider

The size circuit breaker is dependent on the gauge wiring your using. THe breaker should be rated slightly less than the total allowable current the wire will handle.

Also the circuit breake should be located AS CLOSE to the battery as possible
Bill