Wiring Question

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Jul 7, 2009
218
Catalina 30 Mark I Stockton, Mo
Hello all:

I will soon start re-wiring my 30, and I know that Catalina used tinned wire for about everything. I'm wondering if regular old copper wire would be OK in a fresh water environment. I don't intend to ever take the boat to the ocean, but I still wonder if all of the moisture at the lake would cause corrosion problems. When I was a kid we used car wire for everything on our boats, but we generally trailered them home every weekend.

Any thoughts?
 
Jul 25, 2009
270
Catalina 1989 C30 Mk II Herrington Harbour South, MD
Water of any variety will cause corrosion. Get marine grade wire.
 
Jan 22, 2008
880
Fed up w/ personal attacks I'm done with SBO
Catalina didn't use tinned wire on my 77 anywhere. I rewired 5 years ago so I guess the original wiring essentially survived 28 years in a salt water environment. Nothing in the mast worked when I bought the boat though.

As far as whether or not you should use tinned wire in your project, it's really up to you as long as you're prepared to chase down the inevitable problems later. If you opt for untinned building wire, tinning the stripped ends yourself is better than leaving them bare.

I think equally important are your wiring techniques. An example is running your circuits with unspliced wires, continuous from the DC panel all the way to the connected device. The more splices and connections in a wire, the greater potential for problems, tinned wire or not.

The combination of the best wire available and sound techniques will render the best result. Anything less is, well, less.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Boats vibrate. House don't ('cept here in California with earthquakes). That's why tinned wire is used for boats.

Your boat, your choice.

If it was my boat, I'd use the right materials.
 
Jan 22, 2008
880
Fed up w/ personal attacks I'm done with SBO
Boats vibrate. House don't ('cept here in California with earthquakes). That's why tinned wire is used for boats.
Stu,
Always eager for an opportunity to learn so please help me out on this one. How does tinned wire mitigate vibration issues?

My understanding was tinned wire prevented corrosion of the copper strands due to the marine environment and its accompanying high resistance. I further thought the exclusive use of stranded wire (as opposed to solid core) in boats was for vibration problems.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
How does tinned wire mitigate vibration issues?

My understanding was tinned wire prevented corrosion of the copper strands due to the marine environment and its accompanying high resistance. I further thought the exclusive use of stranded wire (as opposed to solid core) in boats was for vibration problems.
That's just it: the wire, with it's tiny groups of twisted wiring to make it up, can withstand vibration better than solid wiring. The entire length of the wiring inside the insulation is not tinned, if I'm remembering correctly. You still need to tin the ends with solder if you so choose. That's all there is to it. Seems I was wrong, again, in my last post.:naughty:
 
Jan 22, 2008
880
Fed up w/ personal attacks I'm done with SBO
Thanks Stu. I thought I missed something along the way.
FWIW, the factory tinned marine wire I've worked with had the individual strands tinned before bundling and insulation and that tinning was throughout its entire length, thereby maintaining the flexibility of the stranding. For the boatowner who chooses not to use the factory stuff, tinning the stripped ends is (IMHO) superior to doing nothing.
 
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