Dear Friends, As the time draws near to when I'll be completing the interior rewiring of Como No, our Columbia 36, there are a couple of questions I have. First, a little background: Over the last 36 years there have been a number of electrical improvements made aboard with new equipment being added and old taken off. The most significant of which was the partial rewiring last summer of the 12-volt DC system. I took out the two smaller DC fuse panels mounted behind the oven (and where they were located from the factory) and replaced the entire area with a larger wooden panel into which had been cut a "door" with a piano hinge and into which door was mounted a Blue Sea System 10 circuit breaker 12-volt DC panel. I tied all of the existing wires into the panel and while it works flawlessly and looks 100% better than the original work and that which had been added over 35 years, there was no room left in the same area for the Blue Sea 110-volt AC panel I purchased. I let it go, knowing I could work more at it this year. (By the way, anyone wanting to see photos of the before and after of this area please feel free to contact me and I'll email them to you.) Over the last few months as I've been gleaning knowledge from this group and Charlie Wing's helpful book that Steve Balk thoughtfully sent to me I've decided to relocate the entire series of electrical switchgear to a different location and use a single (large) Blue Sea System combination AC/DC 12-volt/110-volt circuit breaker panel with 3 meters and 24 breakers which will thereafter accommodate every possible device we yet might install aboard. As it happens, we have a wooden panel on the inside of the cabin, starboard side above the thwart berth that covers the fiberglass wall into the cockpit This panel was custom made a few years ago by a cabinetmaker to cover the wiring and protrusions of the instruments mounted in the cockpit on that cabin wall, and which include three sailing instruments, a compass and a large fixed-place GPS unit. (Again, anyone needing photos for clarity or if you would like to see it in anticipation of doing something similar, please contact me.) This wooden panel is nicely finished and has "sides" which allow it to stand out from the cabin wall about 4 inches which provide for a large space behind it for all manner of wires and the backs of the instruments as they protrude into the cabin from the cockpit. My first thought is to take that panel and have it remade a little deeper, say about 6-inches so that I might then mount into it the following items which I intend to install: the combination Blue Sea AC/DC panel, #8084; the Blue Sea battery selector switch and main DC breaker, #8062; a repeater for the Standard Horizon sailing instruments in the cockpit, #RP150; a 110-volt electrical outlet; a CD player; and a new ICOM M602 VHF radio. This will neatly and concisely place all manner of navigational and electrical equipment in one convenient, easy to get to location. When the wooden panel is rebuilt, I will have a piano hinge placed on the outboard side so that it easily opens for access and work on the many wires behind it. Some of you careful readers will have perhaps already spotted what I think is a problem. Did I mention that there was a compass mounted directly on the cockpit wall which would be then only a few inches from the equipment described above? Accordingly and if I understand all of the correctly -- that may well prevent the compass from an accurate reading. When the boat is "at sea" as it were, the 110-volt system would not be an issue, but would the 12-volt system provide poor compass readings? Also, when the VHF signal is transmitting, would that also cause incorrect readings? One possible solution is to simply do exactly as described above but on the port side of the cabin where in the cockpit, there is nothing mounted. The down side of that idea is it will require running every single wire that much further, including through the engine compartment on the way to that area above the port thwart berth. The cabinetmaker can just reverse the cut to make the wooden panel and so that would be of little issue and then I'd have a matching set of panels, one on each side which ought to look a lot better than the white fiberglass, but it is a lot more trouble if it's not necessary. Let me please have your thoughts (both expert and otherwise) as I've got another couple of months before this project gets underway. I have already purchased all of the equipment described above and from making cutouts and mocking up the layout know that everything will fit into that area (on either side) above the berths, but don't want to have the starboard panel remade if it won't work and if it will, then I would not need a "deep" panel for the port side and save about 500 feet of wire. Speaking of wire, and thanks to substantial advice and many suggestions from this group, I've speced the wire size and product and will use 2 or 3 conductor (depending on AC or DC applications) stranded fully-tinned copper. The new stuff I learn comes with a blue casing and yellow and red conductors which allow anyone (save those that are color blind) from making a mistake and confusing the DC and AC wiring throughout the boat. Another consideration is that with the added length to many of the circuits if I move the entire system to the port side is that I may need to increase the wiring size for the added run length. Looking forward to some more good advice and thanks again everyone for your many continuing courtesies. Best wishes, Kurt Messerschmidt Como No Columbia 36, No. 272 Rochester, New York Charleston, West Virginia