Wireing a Frisco Flyer

[falcon]

I am finally at the re-wiring stage in my Cheoy Lee Frisco Flyer restoration and am a bit bewildered / intimidated by the plethora of wiring systems and gadgets. I want to keep the electrical system as simple as possible to include: navigation lighting, compass light, cabin lighting, depth sounder, automatic bilge pump, VHF radio, GPS, DC accessory outlet, and possibly radar.

I have never done much marine wiring but I thought to support these systems would need: 8 position DC panel, navigation light panel (NL1126), starter battery, house battery, volt meter, and battery switch. I have reviewed Tim Lackey’s beautiful work on the Contessa 26 “Equinox” , a “folk boat” variant very similar to my Frisco Flyer but I still have some questions which I am afraid are very basic.

Would I also need something like a Guest 10 amp battery charger and a Blue Sea BLS-7610 automatic charging relay to maintain the batteries?

I assume that all lights, gauges, etc. requiring power, would be wired with separate negative and positive lines but I am confused on best grounding method. Should I run everything back to the engine or everything back to a negative battery post (insulated negative return)?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide this electrically challenged tinkerer.

Regards,

Pete

[triton318]

Beautiful boat!

[mitiempo]

The best solution for the main ground is to use a heavy wire from the engine block to a bus. The battery negatives also go to this bus, and the panel negative also feeds from here. Whichever DC panel you choose - I like Blue Seas but there are other good ones - keep the negatives off it and use a bus behind the panel. This keeps a panel neater.

A Blue Seas ACR or an Echo Charge are both good ways to automate charging from alternator, shore charger, as well as any solar/wind in the future. All charging goes to the house battery (bank) and the ACR or Echo supplies the start battery.

This way the main switch controls usage but charging from any source is automatic.

Remember to fuse both battery banks with ANL fuses as close as possible or MRBF fuses on the posts. Fuse the charger outputs close to the batteries as well.

A single output charger is all you will need.

Crimp properly and heatshrink all connections.

Beautiful boat - in Wyoming?

[falcon]

Mitiempo,
Thanks for the excellent explanation. This is just what I needed. We have a place back in Maine and my wife bought this project boat for my 50th birthday. I am now in Boise, Idaho and trying to decide in which ocean to launch her. Attached is a photo of her back in Maine when we bought her. Thanks again for your advise.
Falcon

[mitiempo]

I guess when you are close to the middle you have 2 oceans to choose from. <G>

Any other questions just ask.

[hriehl1]

I recently finished totally re-wiring my Hinterhoeller HR28, a boat very similar to the Triton. The advice provided by others is fine. I'll add things to simply consider rather than hard advice.

1. For your panel(s), you will want more circuits the moment you max-out what you have. I designed 11 circuits, installed panels to support 15 and within a year have used 14 of them.

2. I subscribe to the simple... consider glass fuse panels instead of breaker panels. They're cheaper and just simpler. If circuits are properly designed and installed, there should never be an overload anyway.

3. Crimp and heatshrink... yes. Plus, buy your connectors from the same supplier. I bought male and female heat-shrink quick-disconnect fittings from two different suppliers and they (male / female) were not compatible with each other. Their sleeves interfered with each other.

4. I found Don Casey's "Electrics Simplified" to be a fine primer.

5. Consider combining some low-draw items with similar functions or usage patterns... like compass and nav lights, maybe VHF and GPS (each have their own on-off so you can run either without the other).

Hank

[mitiempo]

Hank has some good advice.

My opinion is a bit different.

I hate disconnect fittings - they will loosen over time. I do see them sometimes for macerators and pumps as they allow easy swapping for replacement down the road. I prefer to allow some slack wire neatly bundled and a good crimp with heatshrink.

If you are thinking fuses I prefer ATO/ATC fuses. They do not have the issue of appearing good when they are not as glass fuses sometimes do, don't break on removal, and it is very easy to see the rating - they are also color coded for size. My first choice is breakers though.

If wired properly overload should never be a problem - they do protect from chafed wire, seized pumps, etc as well. A fuse panel is actually more complicated as it needs a switch as well. A breaker is both switch and overload/short circuit protection.

I always combine compass light with the nav lights.

Vhf is often wired direct with a fuse near the battery - when all else fails as long as there is battery power the vhf will work.

Crimp and heatshrink with the proper tools. here's a great link on wire termination the correct way.http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/wire_termination

I agree you will want more circuits in the future so a few extra is a good idea.

It is a good idea to buy from the same supplier - I guess there aren't many good marine electrical outlets in Wyoming. <G>
For wire and connectors here is a good place. http://genuinedealz.com/

For panels, ANL fuses for battery banks, buses, and switches I prefer Blue Seas but there are others. http://bluesea.com/

The best book I have seen is Charlie Wing's Boatowner's Illustrated Electrical Handbook http://www.amazon.com/Boatowners-Illust ... 016&sr=1-3

[inprin]

Simple question. In my rewire job I copied what had been done previously using the logic that it worked well before I ripped it out. They had the main ground going from the engine block to the neg terminal on the starter battery and then to the Neg Bus. Should I reverse that and have the main ground go to the neg bus and have the battery neg go to the neg bus?? It should all equal out in the end but one may be preferred over the other.

[mitiempo]

I would go battery negative to neg bus to block. All other negatives feed off the bus. Use large cabling - I use 1/0 or more often 2/0 for all battery wiring on any but a small boat. Less loss equals faster starting.