ELECTRICAL WIRING & NEW SPRAY HOOD

In February we continued running the wires throught the boat.

The forecabin wires are running in the hanging locker through PVC trunkings.

 Then the big mess began with wires all over the place.

Connecting all those was not complicate, but running them neatly from the forepeak to the chart table was another story.

The black and red electrical wiring “snake”.

 

Finally  hidden and neatly out of the way.

PVC trunking was the best way to protect and hide the wires under the starboard bunk.

We used a different type of PVC pipe to go under the chart table cupboard and keep the wires hidden and protected.

They had to come out under the chart table.

 And get to their final destination, the chart table.

The portside saloon light was put into place,

and also the galley light.

Meanwhile, above deck, we had to test one piece of the toe rail in order to see how well it will take the curve and the shape of the boat.

We decided to use the hole in the ceiling under the winch and install our Hella Red & White lamp, exactly above the navigation area.

 

The compass light was connected and the wires disappeared behind the boat’s inner moulding.

The new locker on the portside. With a bigger mattress this should be a king size bed !

The chart table area slowly taking shape.

GPS, Navtex and AIS receiver. At the moment this is all we need. On the coachroof we will install the depth sounder and the log, but we still have to run the cables from the transducers to the coachroof….which is a bit tricky !

One of the two fans we want to have on board. Extremely important piece of gear when you sail around the Med or other warmer climates.

The wires connexions are all done with crimp terminals and protected by shrink tubes. We discovered that there are two types of shrink tubes: simple ones and the better ones with glue inside !

This is the final installation of the engine control panel…a step further towards the heart of the boat…

The electrical panels are accessible at the chart table area, the engine control panel close by and a little cupboard for extra storage.

The month of February ended with a snow storm and very low temperatures for a few days. Unfortunately one of us was in bed for 10 days because of the flu.  Bad weather plus the sickness made us loose almost two weeks of work.

On the last day of February the weather had improved and our spirits started to rise again with the testing of our new spray hood & cockpit dodgers.

 

February was mainly dedicated to electrics. This part of the refit is probably the most demanding in terms of studying. We didn’t want to make it very complicate: no fridge, no electrical windlass and no 230 volt circuit. On the contrary, everything is kept as simple as possible. But still, electrics must be done with great care and caution. We did read a few articles and books on the subject and arrived at the conclusion that we should definitely invest in the best wires and equipment. For that purpose, we bought marine tinned multi strand wires. Most of the wiring is made with 1.5mm2 for the interior lamps and 2.5mm2 for nav lights and bigger consummers like the bilge pump or the autopilot. The connections were all crimped with marine type endings and always protected with shrink tubes. Hopefully, all those precautions should guarantee a safe and long lasting electric installation.