running solar feed wires through topsides?

[danstanford]

The previous owner of my 290 put on a solar panel on the arch and has simply fed the feed wires down the outside of the boat and through a hatch which has to be left open. I want to bring the lines down the arch and drill a hole through the deck/topsides near the penetration for the shore power hole. I figure I can then feed the wires through the boat parallel to the shore power wire chases.
I have two questions. Having had a previous boat with water penetration into the plywood core and the resultant issues after freezing, I want to go through a place with solid glass and no core. Does this area likely have core? Secondly, what kinds of through hull fittings are best for this to create a tidy waterproof job.

In fact on the port side the GPS wires have been fed through the engine compartment vent pipe to get outside and I would like to clean this up in a similar fashion.

Thanks, Dan

 

[Bob 04 H260]

I ran our solar wires through the inside of the arch. There were already wires running in there for speakers, lights. They came out in the cockpit locker. I did need to drill a hole in the arch and sealed it up with caulking. It is out of sight under the panel for the speakers.

There are lots of ways to run wires so you don't get a leak and it looks good,

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/blue-...proof-through-deck-fittings--P003_094_003_008

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/seafit--stainless-steel-clamshell-vents--P012_363_001_507

If you need to drill through cored deck, drill the hole oversized, seal the inside with tape, fill the hole with epoxy. Re drill to the smaller size after the epoxy sets. Search for tips from Don Casey on how to do this, lots of information available on different techniques on line.

Bob

 

[danstanford]

I ran our solar wires through the inside of the arch. There were already wires running in there for speakers, lights. They came out in the cockpit locker. I did need to drill a hole in the arch and sealed it up with caulking. It is out of sight under the panel for the speakers.

Bob, thanks for the leads on the clam fittings, they may prove to be the right thing. In my case the wires actually exit the arch and then go through a fitting into the starboard locker. I really would like to put another hole and fitting like this in and run up to the panel. Thanks again,

Dan

 

[northptsailor]

My panels are on the bimini and will come off in the winter, so I needed to be able to easily remove the wires. I found a compact DC plug and socket to install next to the shore power socket. It's manufactured by Marinco and I purchased it from Mcmaster Carr. It was made to connect a trolling motor to batteries.