Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

[tugger]

I have a 14ft Sea Nymph jonboat. Boat was purchased used with a wooden platform installed on front and back sections with pedestal seats on front and back. Existing wiring is mostly beneath platform with some runs exposed along sidewalls. Existing components on boat include fishfinder (mounted on floor near rear pedestal seat), bow mount electric motor (older Minn-Kota 50lb thrust), all around light mounted on rear deck. I am looking at getting a new bow mount trolling motor due to current motor seems to be losing its push (possible corroded or aging coils inside??).
I will be disassembling wooden platforms and would like to re-wire boat and add red/green navigation lights to bow. Also would like to add switches to control all around light on stern and new navigation lights on bow. Current battery (12v) sits in plastic battery box with + & - terminals on outside of box and all wiring connects to the battery box terminals Would like to replace with better electrical wiring arrangement.

Any help/advise is appreciated.

Thanks much.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Your existing motor is not losing power due to aging coils. They either work or they don't. As for wiring, there are many options but consider the following:
1) A bow mount motor should be mounted using a quick release plate so you can remove the motor in seconds for security or travel.
2) The motor needs a receptacle at the bow to enable removal of the motor.
3) The motor wiring needs a suitably sized circuit breaker at the battery for the motor circuit.
4) I take it the boat does not have a console. If not, the switches need to be mounted on a panel of some sort and in a location where you can reach them easily without running to one end of the boat or the other.
5) I suggest you buy a pre-wired switch panel that has a +12 volt and ground buss built in.
6) You then run a red/black pair of #10 wires from the battery to the +12 volt and ground bus respectively on the new panel.
7) The red wire at the battery should have a 20A circuit breaker installed within six inches of the battery.
8) All accessories then get wired to the switch panel.

Here is a diagram of a typical boat harness using a separate fuse panel. Use as many of the circuits as you need and ignore the others. The "Master" switch is optional but would be handy. Turning it off kills everything connected to the panel thus preventing a dead battery should you leave something on.

The Nav/Anchor switch is a special (ON-OFF-ON) switch and is wired as shown. A cheap diode available at Radio Shack is necessary. If you use a standard ON-OFF switch you will need two of them (one for the bow and one for the stern). Be aware that at anchor ONLY the stern light can be on. If you are moving, both the bow and stern light are needed.

Here is typical troller motor wiring.

This is a simplified version of the first diagram. Doesn't matter if you use a separate fuse panel or a pre-wired switch panel with the +12 and ground busses. Wiring is the same.

 

[tugger]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Thanks for the detailed response and diagrams. Looking at the bottom diagram, there is a circuit breaker (20 or 60 amp?) off the battery prior to the tie-in with the switch panel. Can the trolling motor receptacle be wired (using #10 or #12 wire) directly from the switch panel or does the motor need to be wired directly from the battery with a 20 or 60 amp circuit breaker in between plug and battery? Thanks again.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

DO NOT wire the troller to the switch panel. It and the wires feeding it are not heavy enough gauge to handle the current, nor is the +12 and ground buss. The troller MUST be wired separately. The size wire and circuit breaker required depends on the size of the troller. 40# troller needs a 40A breaker. 50# troller needs a 50, 55# needs a 60A. 30-35# should probably still have a 35-40A breaker. Both breakers (the one for the troller and the one feeding the switch panel must be within six inches of the POS post on the battery. They protect the wires from there to the troller and to the panel. The fuses in the fuse panel protect the individual circuits and are also sized according to the load they must carry. Wiring for accessories can typically be 16 ga. Most circuits will be fine with a 5 - 7.5 amp fuse. Locator probably less.

 

[tugger]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Great. Thanks again for the advice. I appreciate the help.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Hey, where did my post go from earlier today.. Oh well..

Good post(s) there ST!

5) I suggest you buy a pre-wired switch panel that has a +12 volt and ground buss built in.[/IMG]

Don't cheap out on buying a switch/fuse panel. I bought one from Bass Pro for $20 and it lasted 2 years before the switches started going out, guess that's what you get for $20... I replaced it with a similar panel, but the switches and fuse holders were MUCH better quality, cost 2-3 times as much too...

I wired up my jon boat a couple years ago, no provision for an outboard, just trolling motor and accessories.
- batteries placed in the center of the boat, mid-ship (need for boat balance)
- 50 amp breakers on each battery + terminal
- batteries wires to battery switch (recent addition, not needed for a single battery)
- 6ga wire going from battery(s) to trolling motor power panel (I made a panel with SS bolts 8" apart for the TM to clip onto, instead of a plug)
- breaker and 12ga wire from the trolling motor's panel to the switch/fuse panel
- accessories connect to the switch/fuse panel, navigation lights, bilge pump, fish finder, interior lights.

One flaw with the way I wired it, if the battery breaker trips because of the trolling motor shorting or the TM panel SS bolts getting shorted out, you loose all power. I haven't done it yet, but it's possible.

Your question of what size of wire to use for the TM, 8ga or 6ga, depends on the length of wire run and the size of TM you are using. Minn Kota has something on their website to help you select the correct size of wire for a TM.

 

[tugger]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Thanks. If i am using a single battery then i can wire from the battery terminals to the TM panel with breaker and 6ga wire. Then from the TM panel i can wire 12ga from the terminals on the TM panel to a switch/fuse panel. Should the breaker on the 12ga wire also be a 50amp or maybe a 20amp? Also, did you buy a premade TM panel with ss bolts or make one and if made, what did you make it from (wood with SS bolts thru the wood or other materials)? Also, should i use 12ga wire from the switch/fuse panel to the accessories (fishfinder, nav lights, etc.). I want to install an ON-OFF-ON switch for the bow and stern lights so i can have either all lights on or just the stern light on at a given time. I assume this switch should work with the setup you describe.
Thanks again for the advise.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Please read my previous posts carefully. 1) Accessories do NOT need to be wired with 12 gauge wire. 12 gauge wire can carry up to 20 amps and is way overkill. Your locator only draws about 2. Lights less than 5. Radio less than 7.5 at full volume. Thats about 14 amps max which is why I suggested you use #10 wire from the head end of the circuit to FEED the panel. That wire carries the full load of ALL accessories EXCEPT for the trolling motor. 16 gauge is very ample from the switch panel to each accessory. If you wire the switch panel to the trolling motor connector you place that circuit very close to a source of motor noise that may cause interference on the locator and a radio if you add one. That is why I suggest you feed the switch panel directly from the battery. Circuit breakers are ALWAYS installed at the head end of a new circuit. So the troller circuit starts at the battery and the breaker must be within six inches of the positive post. If you decide to connect the feed for the panel to the troller circuit, that circuit breaker (20 A) must be within six inches of the troller connection. I suggest you take the time to draw a wiring diagram before you begin this project or you will end up with a hodge-podge system.

There are a gazillion switch panels and combination fuse/switch panels available. Just check the iBoats store (click the MARINE STORE button) in the band of blue buttons at the top of this page. If you make a panel, you use sheet aluminum or plastic and form a panel that can be mounted at a convenient place in the boat.

Yes, the Nav/Anchor switch diagram works or I wouldn't have included it. There is another switch configuration that doesn't use the diode but it requires a six pole switch that is more expensive and there is less likelyhood that you will find one that matches the other switches you will use.

Here is just one type of panel. It does not contain separate fuses or breakers so you would need a separate fuse panel fed by #10 wire. The POSITIVE wire on the switch panel connects to the +12 bus on the fuse panel. The outgoing wire on each switch connects to a separate fuse position on the panel. The output side of each fuse then goes to the positive feed for that accessory. Just follow the instructions that come with the panel. Panels that include built in circuit breakers are also available and with those, you would not need the separate fuse panel.

http://www.iboats.com/Seadog-Vertic...74853576--**********.949182917--view_id.39733

 

[tugger]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Sounds like I should wire the switch panel directly off the battery to eliminate any noise issue with the trolling motor panel (if I choose to use a TM panel, probably just wire to TM receptacle as you show above in previous post). Thanks again. As you can see i am not well versed on electrical fundamentals and this forum is a big help.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Not being electrically savy is exactly why I suggest you use a pre-wired switch panel. Most elecctrical things are not bothered by the troller but radios and locators "can" be. Moving the source of power directly to the battery rather than connecting near the troller may not eliminate noise but it gets it farther away from the noise and at least lessens the chance of that happening. Afterall, power is still coming from the battery which is powering the troller as well as other electrics. If it is an issue, noise supressors are availble from Radio Shack.

 

[2 Eagles]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Hope these help.

 

[rezray]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

pls delete this

 

[NYBo]

Re: Help Re-wiring 14ft jonboat

Rezray: You have resurrected a very old thread. Please respect the forum rules and start your own.