Bombay Clipper 31 Schematics

[dirland]

Hello all!

I just want to start off by saying that I am brand new to the sailing community. I was gifted the Clipper as a project boat and I am trying to do what I can to get it respectable again. I have almost no experience with boats, but I have casually worked on old cars and I feel like there is a lot of overlap in the skill-sets.

I am really hoping that someone here has access to a copy of the schematics for the boat. I already have the one attached and it was gathered online. I was hoping for something more detailed with cabin dimensions, wiring diagrams, etc if possible. I'm having an especially hard time figuring out wiring.

Thank you all for whatever you can provide!

 

[dlochner]

Here's a link to some basic dimensions for the boat. The boat is about 50 years old, a lot has changed in boat electrical systems in that time. Depending on how much time and money you want to spend, it may be best to just replace all the wiring. I suspect much of the wiring has corrosion inside the insulation. Back in those days heat sealed connectors were not in common use and salt would get inside the wire and corrode it. To check take a section of wire and strip off a foot or so of insulation. Corroded wires cause all kinds of problems, from simple devices failing to work to fire.

Cars and boat have some overlapping skill sets, however, a boat is most definitely not a car, especially with wiring. All boat circuits must have individual DC- wires whereas cars typically just use the chassis for the DC-. Boat wiring also uses more flexible wire with finer individual strands and the wire is tinned to reduce problems with corrosion. The wires are also different sizes even with the same nominal gauge. AWG wires (typical boat wiring) has a larger diameter than SAE gauge wire (typical auto gauge wire). THN gauge wire is used in commercial and residential construction has the fattest individual strands and is the least flexible. That's for starters.

There are a couple of good marine wiring books out there. The 12 Volt Bible and Charlie Wing's Boatowners Illustrated Electrical Handbook. Both books cover the basics pretty well. For more up to date information www.MarineHowTo.com is about the best online resource out there.

BOMBAY CLIPPER 31 - sailboatdata

Some later boats were built by Chapparel Co. (USA) Alt. deep keel: 5.1′

sailboatdata.com