BadBlown572
10-15-2007, 02:17 PM
Here are some common tips that I use when rigging a boat. Some would say that there are a ton of ways to skin a cat, but I have been using these ways for a while and they work for me. Someone else may have a different opinion, but this is how I do it. If someone has a question on how to do something, I will be more than happy to help answer. :)
Quick Facts:
Standard wiring colors:
Red - Constant hot. Direct to battery
Black - Constant ground. Direct to battery
Purple - Ignition hot. Wired to key switch
Yellow w/ Red Tracer - Exciter wire. From Key to starter
Gray - Tach Sending Wire
Brown - Water Temperature
Blue - Oil Pressure
Brown w/ white tracer - Trim Gauge
Green - Lights
Tan w/ Blue Tracer - Emergency Warning buzzer
Yellow - Blower
Orange - Bilge Pump
Pink - Fuel gauge (varies depending on manuf. Not constant)
Those are the colors that are USUALLY standardized in the looms. Some variations pop up, but not really. The rest of the boat is kind of up to the rigger to figure out what color wire he wants to use. For example a hatch ram could be a white wire for up and a light blue wire for down. It all depends on how it works. Normally you can tell what color they used by looking behind the dash at the switch. Hopefully they will not use another color wire that is being used.
If you get into a re-wire situation, use the good stuff. If you are buying your wire at Home Depot, you really need to re-think that. First off, the wires from the battery to the fuse panel on the dash should be at minimum of a 10ga wire. If you are using a GM style plug, it has a 10ga wire coming from the plug for both the positive and ground. For Battery cables, I always use 00ga wire. Most wiring in the boat, you are just fine using a 16ga wire.
With wiring, ALWAYS use stranded wire. Do not use a solid core wire. That is for home wiring, NOT MARINE!!! Another tip, is to use tinned wire. That is all that I use. The "tinning" of the wire helps prevent corrosion.
TIPS:
1) Buy good tools. Always use a CARBIDE holesaw. A non carbide holesaw will burn up almost immediately when cutting through wood/glass. The Home Depot holesaws are usually good for about 1-2 holes then they are done.
2) Do not use butterfly drill bits (As pictured below). Butterfly bits are for wood, not for wood/fiberglass. They burn up very fast, wobble, and bite on the backside of the hole. Invest in a good holesaw for anything being drilled over 1/2". Anything up to & including 1/2" is fine with a regular drill bit.
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImage/6a174f92-b884-4dfd-9678-3d1635082756_400.jpg
3) Pilot drill any/all holesaw holes with a 1/4" drill bit prior to touching with a holesaw. If you don't pilot drill, the holesaw can walk, break the pilot bit, plunge down and blow out the glass, etc...
4) Replace the short 1/4" drill bit in your arbor with a regular 1/4" bit. The stock bits that come with the arbors are usually about 1/2" longer than the holesaw. If you are going to drill anything on an angle, the holesaw will hit before the pilot bit is ever in the hole. If you replace it with a standard 1/4" drill bit, you will extend out about 1 1/2" past the holesaw and will have extra room to work with.
5) NEVER drag anything abrasive across the gel. The worst thing is a vaccuum hose. Any shopvac or equivalent hose will scratch the boat instantly. Cover any surfaces where hoses, extention cords, air lines, etc. will be coming across.
6) ONLY USE STAINLESS STEEL HARDWARE. Moisture alone will rust out regular nuts & bolts. I have seen it a hundred times when someone will cheap out and get steel or zinc hardware instead of stainless. It becomes a problem down the road when you have to remove it for some reason.
7) Use Anti-Sieze on anything where stainless is mating with stainless. Anti-Sieze gets all over everything, but it is worth it. If you don't use it, you run the chance of galling up the bolt/nut. If that happens, you have to either break the bolt or cut it to get it out. It will not thread out. Anti-size prevents it.
8) Any time you are using a jigsaw, circular saw, sawzall, etc... make sure that you cover the feet of the saw with tape. I have found blue painters tape to work the best. Normal masking tape tears easily & duct tape is too soft and sticks to the gel when sliding. If you don't cover it, you run the risk of digging the feet into the gel. At that point in time, it is going to be a gel repair.
9) Double check what is behind whatever you are cutting BEFORE you do anything. I have seen it a hundred times when someone cuts for a speaker, gauge, accessory, etc and cuts right through their wire loom.
10) Make sure if you put a screw into something that it has wood on top of it. Sometimes people will drill down onto their hull and think that they are drilling into wood. Sometimes you get lucky & sometimes you don't. Core Mat can often be confusing to someone who doesn't know what they are looking at. If you drill into core mat, you are drilling directly into the glass of the boat and will pop through. Chances are, if the manufacturer didn't drill down into it, you shouldn't either. If they have, then go for it, but make sure that you are not using too long of a screw when doing it.
11) When drilling a hole with a hole saw, it is always a good idea to put the pilot bit into the pilot hole and spin the saw backwards on high setting. Do this with minimal pressure. What it does is two fold. First: it cuts the gel in a non agressive manner. If you are not careful, and spin the saw going forward to start with, you run the risk of the tip of the holesaw grabbing the gel and "chunking it." If you spin it in reverse, you will cut the gel coat and not have to worry about the chunking (as much). Once you get through the gel, you will obviously see a change of color. At that point in time you can spin your holesaw forward. The second benefit to the spinning it backwards is that the holesaw will heat up the glass prior to cutting it. Now I am not a physics major or a chemist so I have no idea why it helps, but it does.
12) Whenever installing something small with screws (ie, lights, shifter, emblums, bow eyes, etc...) always pre drill the hole. If not, you run the risk of snapping the screw off, chunking the gel, etc... Once you pre drill the hole, a good idea is to come back over the top of that hole with a counter sink. Just take the edge off of it. DO NOT get agressive with the counter sink. With taking the 90 degree edge off of the hole, it helps prevent spider cracking. Most people do not do it, but it is definitely a thing that I recommend. Chances are, you won't have a problem, if you don't do it, but you run a much less chance of having a problem if you do.
13) If you are ever drilling into something with a wooden backing, pre drill your holle, & counter sink the backside. When you take your screw, put medium pressure on the screw and spin it backwards. What you want to do is to semi "blow through" the glass. You really don't want too much of a bite in the glass, but definitely into the wood. So, if you spin your screw backwards, you will feel it pop through the glass. It is pretty evident. (Most glass is between 1/8"-1/4" thick. If you go about 1/2" in, you have gone too far.) Then spin your drill in forward and put the screw in. If you don't, the screw will bite on the glass and pust into the wood before it actually bites into it. It CAN separate the wood from the glass.
Quick Facts:
Standard wiring colors:
Red - Constant hot. Direct to battery
Black - Constant ground. Direct to battery
Purple - Ignition hot. Wired to key switch
Yellow w/ Red Tracer - Exciter wire. From Key to starter
Gray - Tach Sending Wire
Brown - Water Temperature
Blue - Oil Pressure
Brown w/ white tracer - Trim Gauge
Green - Lights
Tan w/ Blue Tracer - Emergency Warning buzzer
Yellow - Blower
Orange - Bilge Pump
Pink - Fuel gauge (varies depending on manuf. Not constant)
Those are the colors that are USUALLY standardized in the looms. Some variations pop up, but not really. The rest of the boat is kind of up to the rigger to figure out what color wire he wants to use. For example a hatch ram could be a white wire for up and a light blue wire for down. It all depends on how it works. Normally you can tell what color they used by looking behind the dash at the switch. Hopefully they will not use another color wire that is being used.
If you get into a re-wire situation, use the good stuff. If you are buying your wire at Home Depot, you really need to re-think that. First off, the wires from the battery to the fuse panel on the dash should be at minimum of a 10ga wire. If you are using a GM style plug, it has a 10ga wire coming from the plug for both the positive and ground. For Battery cables, I always use 00ga wire. Most wiring in the boat, you are just fine using a 16ga wire.
With wiring, ALWAYS use stranded wire. Do not use a solid core wire. That is for home wiring, NOT MARINE!!! Another tip, is to use tinned wire. That is all that I use. The "tinning" of the wire helps prevent corrosion.
TIPS:
1) Buy good tools. Always use a CARBIDE holesaw. A non carbide holesaw will burn up almost immediately when cutting through wood/glass. The Home Depot holesaws are usually good for about 1-2 holes then they are done.
2) Do not use butterfly drill bits (As pictured below). Butterfly bits are for wood, not for wood/fiberglass. They burn up very fast, wobble, and bite on the backside of the hole. Invest in a good holesaw for anything being drilled over 1/2". Anything up to & including 1/2" is fine with a regular drill bit.
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImage/6a174f92-b884-4dfd-9678-3d1635082756_400.jpg
3) Pilot drill any/all holesaw holes with a 1/4" drill bit prior to touching with a holesaw. If you don't pilot drill, the holesaw can walk, break the pilot bit, plunge down and blow out the glass, etc...
4) Replace the short 1/4" drill bit in your arbor with a regular 1/4" bit. The stock bits that come with the arbors are usually about 1/2" longer than the holesaw. If you are going to drill anything on an angle, the holesaw will hit before the pilot bit is ever in the hole. If you replace it with a standard 1/4" drill bit, you will extend out about 1 1/2" past the holesaw and will have extra room to work with.
5) NEVER drag anything abrasive across the gel. The worst thing is a vaccuum hose. Any shopvac or equivalent hose will scratch the boat instantly. Cover any surfaces where hoses, extention cords, air lines, etc. will be coming across.
6) ONLY USE STAINLESS STEEL HARDWARE. Moisture alone will rust out regular nuts & bolts. I have seen it a hundred times when someone will cheap out and get steel or zinc hardware instead of stainless. It becomes a problem down the road when you have to remove it for some reason.
7) Use Anti-Sieze on anything where stainless is mating with stainless. Anti-Sieze gets all over everything, but it is worth it. If you don't use it, you run the chance of galling up the bolt/nut. If that happens, you have to either break the bolt or cut it to get it out. It will not thread out. Anti-size prevents it.
8) Any time you are using a jigsaw, circular saw, sawzall, etc... make sure that you cover the feet of the saw with tape. I have found blue painters tape to work the best. Normal masking tape tears easily & duct tape is too soft and sticks to the gel when sliding. If you don't cover it, you run the risk of digging the feet into the gel. At that point in time, it is going to be a gel repair.
9) Double check what is behind whatever you are cutting BEFORE you do anything. I have seen it a hundred times when someone cuts for a speaker, gauge, accessory, etc and cuts right through their wire loom.
10) Make sure if you put a screw into something that it has wood on top of it. Sometimes people will drill down onto their hull and think that they are drilling into wood. Sometimes you get lucky & sometimes you don't. Core Mat can often be confusing to someone who doesn't know what they are looking at. If you drill into core mat, you are drilling directly into the glass of the boat and will pop through. Chances are, if the manufacturer didn't drill down into it, you shouldn't either. If they have, then go for it, but make sure that you are not using too long of a screw when doing it.
11) When drilling a hole with a hole saw, it is always a good idea to put the pilot bit into the pilot hole and spin the saw backwards on high setting. Do this with minimal pressure. What it does is two fold. First: it cuts the gel in a non agressive manner. If you are not careful, and spin the saw going forward to start with, you run the risk of the tip of the holesaw grabbing the gel and "chunking it." If you spin it in reverse, you will cut the gel coat and not have to worry about the chunking (as much). Once you get through the gel, you will obviously see a change of color. At that point in time you can spin your holesaw forward. The second benefit to the spinning it backwards is that the holesaw will heat up the glass prior to cutting it. Now I am not a physics major or a chemist so I have no idea why it helps, but it does.
12) Whenever installing something small with screws (ie, lights, shifter, emblums, bow eyes, etc...) always pre drill the hole. If not, you run the risk of snapping the screw off, chunking the gel, etc... Once you pre drill the hole, a good idea is to come back over the top of that hole with a counter sink. Just take the edge off of it. DO NOT get agressive with the counter sink. With taking the 90 degree edge off of the hole, it helps prevent spider cracking. Most people do not do it, but it is definitely a thing that I recommend. Chances are, you won't have a problem, if you don't do it, but you run a much less chance of having a problem if you do.
13) If you are ever drilling into something with a wooden backing, pre drill your holle, & counter sink the backside. When you take your screw, put medium pressure on the screw and spin it backwards. What you want to do is to semi "blow through" the glass. You really don't want too much of a bite in the glass, but definitely into the wood. So, if you spin your screw backwards, you will feel it pop through the glass. It is pretty evident. (Most glass is between 1/8"-1/4" thick. If you go about 1/2" in, you have gone too far.) Then spin your drill in forward and put the screw in. If you don't, the screw will bite on the glass and pust into the wood before it actually bites into it. It CAN separate the wood from the glass.