A few electrical projects

[Carrluvr]

Hello everyone I have just purchased a 86 Wellcraft American 180 I/O. I am new to this forum, but so far I have found it really informative. I want to add a few electrical items to this boat. One is a marine audio system. The second is a 12 volt outlet for a spot light in case we return late from a daylong excursion. In the case of the first two items should I install a fuse array and power them from individual circuits or just run all leads directly back to the battery.
Lastly, my boat doesn't have a trim or tilt position gauge and i was wondering if there were aftermarket units.

 

[NYBo]

Re: A few electrical projects

Welcome to iboats!

Your best bet would be to tap into the existing fuse block and negative buss, if they have any spare circuits. If not, consider replacing them with ones with the circuit capacity you need. A rat's nest of wiring at the battery is not a good thing.

There are aftermarket trim gauges but many here will say you are better off going by seat-of-the-pants and your tach as to whether you are properly trimmed.

 

[Carrluvr]

Re: A few electrical projects

Thanks for the input. For trimming I am mainly concerned with low speed trim for shallow waters. I guess it will just take some time to figure out the characteristics of the boat.
I was thinking the same thing for wiring. Thanks again.