Rigging nav lights fore/aft to small boat

[Chessieborn]

My son and I completely restored a 1986 Grumman 16' aluminum fishing boat this past fall. Labor of love. The hull was immaculate with no dings or scratches. We replaced and recarpeted the wooden floors, replaced the wooden lids to the port, midships livewell and starboard storage compartment, replaced the wood inserts for the full-width seats bow and stern, and replaced the wooden transom reinforcement. Looks like it just came out of the showroom some 20 years ago.<br />Now, about electronics. I found a great deal on a new Nissan 18HP 4-stroke electric start and bought it. Instead of using the D-cell powered, clamp-on nav lights for and aft, I'd like to mount permanent lights. I have a bracket to mount the removable stern light stick to the transom top and the bow light will mount on the heavy duty cast aluminum bow plate. So, outboard cables to pos/neg battery. I have a multi-electical line distributer that connects to the battery. Can I run wiring from the battery (with in-line fuses) to a waterproof two-switch panel I'll mount on the outside of the starboard storage box, then to the bow/stern lights?? <br />Keep in mind that my previous outboards were manual start.<br />Questions:<br />1. Am I correct in assuming that the alternator on the outboard will keep the 12V battery charged while the motor is running?<br />2. Both bow and stern lights will be used while under power; the stern light will be used while drift fishing outside sea lanes at night. Will this cause a significant drain on the battery?<br />3. If the battery should die, I can start the motor with the manual starter rope and flywheel, right?<br />4. What type and gauge of wire should I use?<br />I certainly appreciate your advice. You have a great forum here and I've learned a low already.<br /><br />Chessieborn

 

[JB]

Re: Rigging nav lights fore/aft to small boat

Moving to Boats

 

[roscoe]

Re: Rigging nav lights fore/aft to small boat

yes, <br />no,<br />yes,<br />16-18 guage.?

 

[Boatist]

Re: Rigging nav lights fore/aft to small boat

Chessieborn<br />I agree with roscoe.<br />1: Motor will keep battery charged while running.<br />2: Battery will run both required light while drift fishing.<br />3: Yes you can roap start it.<br />4: 18 ga wire to each bulb is ok but 16 is better.<br /><br />You can get lots of navigation / anchor light switches. Some panels have a fuse built in but either way make sure to put a fuse in near the battery.<br /><br />Both bow red/green and white stern or all around light required to be on while drift fishing. Anytime you are underway you must have navigation lights on. Underway is defined as not at anchor, aground, or tied to a dock. Even with the motors off and drift fishing you can still be the give way vessel and be required to stay clear of another moving vessel. Not the way I would write the rule but that is the rule. Normally boats moving will stay clear of you. Out here in my area half of the boats at anchor will still have Red/green navigation lights on and half drifting will have only the anchor light on. Here the enforcement poor to none unless there has just been a accident where someone has been killed and then they may enforce for a few weeks.

 

[ThomWV]

Re: Rigging nav lights fore/aft to small boat

Sounds like a great project you've got yourself into there.<br /><br />The permanently mounted lights are exactly the right thing to do. You are making no mistake there at all.<br /><br />If your engine is an electric start then it certainly has enough alternator output to not only recharge the batter from the drain of starting but also to provide the power you need to operate lights and other equipment as well. I do not know that the power output of that engine is but that informatin should be easy to obtain from the manufacturer's website, even if you have to E-Mail them to find out. Actually it should be listed in the Owner's Manual as well.<br /><br />Now to get to the basics and give you some straight forward rules. Here is rule number 1. do not use any wire of less than 16 guage anywhere in your boat. That alone will cover much of your concerns. The next thing is this, go to the websites of both West Marine and Boat US (which have now merged but still have separate catalogs, at least for 2004). Each of those catalogs lists the electrical consumption rate for most of the electrical devices they sell. Also, each of those catalogs includes a chart which shows what size wire to use with what amperage draw for what lengths of circuit. The charts are very easy to read and understand.<br /><br />Now the main point. Be a lot less concerned about the electrical power output of your engine, which you can't do anything about, than you are about the electrical storage capacity of your battery. In sort, get the largest capacity battery that you can reasonably carry in your boat. This is the rule for all boats. More battery is better battery. Never let anyone tell you that a smaller battery than you can carry will be just fine and never let ten or twenty bucks stop you from getting the largest you can fit in there. By the way, by largest I do not mean physically large, I mean capacity large (capacity as rated in either Amp Hours for Deep Cycle batterys or Reserve Capacity for combine or starting type battersy). Also, keep this in mind, there is no job on a boat that can not be accomplished just as well by a deep cycle battery as any other type - and that includes starting the engine. In your case if you have room for a typical Group 27 battery, which many folks would tell you is gross overkill, would allow you to use all the lights and electronics you could possibly put in the boat for as long as you wanted to and still be able to spin that engine like a top anytime you wanted to ... even after drift fishing with everything turned on for days. By that I mean that you could easily run your lights, a fish finder, a GPS, and a stereo all night long and still have the engine start in the morning. The cost in terms of space would be a battery box that was about 4" longer, 2" wider, and maybe and inch and a half taller than what most folks would recommend. The cost would be an extra ten bucks. So, tell me, does it make sense?<br /><br />Thom

 

[Bondo]

Re: Rigging nav lights fore/aft to small boat

I Agree with Most of the above.........<br />Except, Most outboards have Very Low Output Altenators..........<br />You Might find it Necessary to charge the battery between trips.......

 

[Chessieborn]

Re: Rigging nav lights fore/aft to small boat

Guys, thanks very much for the excellent replies. I now have the knowledge, and more importantly, the confidence, to complete the wiring on the boat. By the way, output on the Nissan alternator is 12V 130W 11A. Thanks again.<br /><br />Chessieborn