Boating New Zealand - July 2018

82 Boating New Zealand

L

ike many senior gentlemen with prostate problems, an

older boat eventually begins to sufer from electrical

woes, and it gets progressively worse. here comes

a time when the best remedial treatment probably

involves surgery. You can’t it a new prostate, but you

can give your boat a new wiring system.

Problems with the older boat’s electrical system have

many causes, but a common issue is that it’s probably enjoyed

numerous modiications and ‘upgrades’ over the years, not

all to the same standard and some (probably) even downright

dangerous.

When something stops working it can be hard to trace

the coniguration of the original wiring. It’s not unknown for

repairs to involve simply cutting the original wire and running

a new cable, leaving ‘orphan’ connections which may cause any

number of problems down the line.

Adding new accessories into circuits can also overload

the rating of the original cable. At best this may cause the

accessory to not work properly, but at worst can cause a cable to

overheat. his could result in damage or even a ire, potentially

a catastrophic event on a boat built of lammable material and

carrying combustible fuel.

Added to this is the corrosion problem of older cables,

especially low-spec, untinned copper wires. DIYers with an

electrical lair will be familiar with stripping a wire from an

older accessory to ind the copper core is completely black. It

is very hard to get a good connection with this, and soldering

black wire is impossible.

For many of these ‘mature’ boats, the sensible thing is to

bif it all and start again. Pull out all the original wiring and run

new, marine-grade cabling, properly rated for the total load it

will carry. Design the most eicient wiring runs, perhaps re-

position the switchboard – and isolate components properly.

THIS IS NOT A DIY JOB

First – decide who will do the job. A complete re-wiring of

a boat is probably beyond the scope of most DIYers. Apart

from the specialist knowledge required of circuits, materials

Re-wiring your boat is not a trivial task, but if you’re experiencing battery

problems, finding it hard to crank your engine or have devices that are not

functioning correctly, it’s definitely worth considering.

When wires grow old and tired

with NORMAN HOLTZHAUSEN

DIYBOATING