Hi Doug,
Our boats are similar in age, mine is hull #407 and mine came with a factory
electrical system. I have a background as an Elec. Tech. and wanted to throw in by 2
cents worth.
I personally would secure the cables to the lights & antenna by attaching a strain
relief near each device. The weight of the wire/cables in the mast I believe would
cause a vulnerability over time. What I am calling a strain relief is a plastic loop
that looks like the letter "P" when viewed from the side. The wire runs through the
opening and a screw through the leg. The idea is to put the strain relief around the
wire and cause a "pinch" friction fit by securing the strain relief with the screw to
the mast or similiar
I would also secure/seal the ends where you make the connections, especially with the
coax, so as to minimize moisture seeping up the braided shield (causes corrision). To
seal up the ends of cable/coax I think good quality electrical tape will do the trick,
be sure and stretch it tight. Also, if you put a bit of a goose-neck bend in the
cable/coax between the strain relief and lamp/antenna it gives you some working room
and sheds water away from the connections.
On the inside of our boat the wires run along the inside cabin and are encased in what
I call spy-wrap (a plastic wire dressing material that winds around wires. We also
used strain relief's to attache the cable/spy-wrap bundle along the inside of the
cabin ceiling, using the spare threads of existing deck hardware bolts.
The only part of our factory electrical system that is less than satisfactory is the
4-prong deck connector. It is rubber and has cracked and deterioted over time (15
years). It has a several inch pig-tail so that only the wires penetrate the top of the
cabin. Several inches of wire then lead to the 4-wire electrical connector. I believe
this is the way to go and not to try and do a through-deck connector for the wires to
the lights. Our coax mounts as you describe using a through-deck coax connector and
works fine.
Our battery mounts under the V-berth and is a group 24 enclosed in a plastic battery
box. We also have a switch/fuse panel located about shin height of your right leg as
you sit on the porta-potty <grin>
Hope this helps, sounds like a great winter project.
Randy Graves
M-15 #407
-----Original Message-----
From: Doug Kelch [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Sun 1/19/2003 8:40 AM
To: Montgomery
Cc:
Subject: M_Boats: Mast and thru deck wiring?
I am about to install a electrical system in my M15.
This includes a masthead tricolor and a masthead
antenna.
I have two questions about the external wiring and two
about internal wiring.
External:
1 - with a combined coax and 3 wire cable and 2 wire
cable is there a need for strain relief at the top of
the mast or is the distribution over the three
fixtures (masthead, steaming light and antenna)
enough? If needed, how do you do it?
2a - Thru deck wiring - I bought a thru deck fitting
for the coax and after the connectors are on both ends
there is 15/16" left for the deck thickness. Is this
sufficient for an M15. If not what do you recommend?
2b - What do you recommend or use for the mast wiring
thru deck. All of the fittings in the catalogs look
ok for 35 footers. I am mentally down to using a
trailer wiring harness thru a compression fitting from
West Marine. Any Ideas?
Internal wiring:
1 - what do you use to route and attach the wiring to
the ceiling and walls?
2 - the battery specs say a gel cell battery can be
"operated" in any position. Does this mean you can
install it laying on it's side safely?
Thanks
Doug Kelch
M15 #310 "Seas the Day"
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