Ok Guys I need your help. I just completed the ports on my h34 (Beckson Ports)and I am half way in finishing the cabinets in place of the cubbies. (Those of you with 1983 - 1986 h34 know how little storage space there is unless you contstruct some cabinets) Once I finish with the galley I will post all the pictures of before and after so here's the problem on my next chore. I have to replace the electrical panel and I can not find a suitable substitute. I will need something that handles the current 12v system with a 120v load center that will handle port, starboard, water heater, air conditioning and an extra breaker for an aditional line for incidentals. I have looked at Defender, West Marine and not real sure what I'm looking at as I am not an eletrical wizard. So I need something with great instructions and maybe a life insurance policy in case I zap myself in the process. Thanks in advance, I will post all my pics in the next couple of weeks. Mikey S/V Jojamela
Electrical Control Panel
- Thread starter MikeyB
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Electricity is fun and easy
Electricity is easy. Just unplug the shore power and 12-Volt batteries BEFORE you start working on things. If you have figured out which wires supply power and grounds to everything you are half way there. The old pannel has all the info that you would need to choose a new pannel. The important items are the amps that the fueses or breakers are rated for. You MAY be able to get by with a lower (fewer amps) rating but NEVER go with a higher rating. Also avoid combining two circuts and adding the current ratings. This also is dangerous. If you are looking for a snazzy look try recycing your old pannel equipment and put the whole thing on a new wood pannel. 1/4" plywood works great if you run some stringthing pieces at key points on the back side. You can lable all the circuts by using a computer printer and transperancys (don't forget the amp rating on any fuses). Apply a thined out coat of polyurathane and stick the lables (no corners on the lables round off all corners) on using tweezers and toothpicks to position them. Let this dry COMPLETLY (ie 3-4 days). Then build up the depth with 8-10 layers of poly. I did this on my old catalina 30 and it made the differance when we resold her. Had the boat name and other stuff which really inpressed the buyers. Bill Roosa
Electricity is easy. Just unplug the shore power and 12-Volt batteries BEFORE you start working on things. If you have figured out which wires supply power and grounds to everything you are half way there. The old pannel has all the info that you would need to choose a new pannel. The important items are the amps that the fueses or breakers are rated for. You MAY be able to get by with a lower (fewer amps) rating but NEVER go with a higher rating. Also avoid combining two circuts and adding the current ratings. This also is dangerous. If you are looking for a snazzy look try recycing your old pannel equipment and put the whole thing on a new wood pannel. 1/4" plywood works great if you run some stringthing pieces at key points on the back side. You can lable all the circuts by using a computer printer and transperancys (don't forget the amp rating on any fuses). Apply a thined out coat of polyurathane and stick the lables (no corners on the lables round off all corners) on using tweezers and toothpicks to position them. Let this dry COMPLETLY (ie 3-4 days). Then build up the depth with 8-10 layers of poly. I did this on my old catalina 30 and it made the differance when we resold her. Had the boat name and other stuff which really inpressed the buyers. Bill Roosa
Cool Change in New Orleans
Mickey, if you're from Slidell, Louisiana, I wanted to introduce myself. I'm in New Orleans and have had my 34 for 21 years. My (seldom checked) e-mail is wayneconnelly@juno.com or call me if I can be of help. I'm in the book. Good luck on your project. Wayne
Mickey, if you're from Slidell, Louisiana, I wanted to introduce myself. I'm in New Orleans and have had my 34 for 21 years. My (seldom checked) e-mail is wayneconnelly@juno.com or call me if I can be of help. I'm in the book. Good luck on your project. Wayne
Fun Fun Fun
Well R, we are currnetly in a slip at HNS. My wife is a live aborad while being "deployed" to the Pentagon fighting the golbal war on terror. We only recently moved there with the new Hunter 37.5. The electrical pannel I redid was on our catalina 30 which operated out of Middle River. Bill Roosa
Well R, we are currnetly in a slip at HNS. My wife is a live aborad while being "deployed" to the Pentagon fighting the golbal war on terror. We only recently moved there with the new Hunter 37.5. The electrical pannel I redid was on our catalina 30 which operated out of Middle River. Bill Roosa
New Electrical Panel
Having checked out the catalog guys, go to Blue Seas or Paneltronics websites to see their panels and get detailed info. I put a Blue Seas AC panel with voltmeter, main breaker and 3 circuits on my current boat. Quality is very good. They have several combinations that may suit. For DC I built my own, as someone else suggested, using three standard fuse/switch panels yielding 15 circuits, a battery test meter, and an outlet plug. I put a battery selector swithch on the panel face as well to select which house battery to draw from.
Having checked out the catalog guys, go to Blue Seas or Paneltronics websites to see their panels and get detailed info. I put a Blue Seas AC panel with voltmeter, main breaker and 3 circuits on my current boat. Quality is very good. They have several combinations that may suit. For DC I built my own, as someone else suggested, using three standard fuse/switch panels yielding 15 circuits, a battery test meter, and an outlet plug. I put a battery selector swithch on the panel face as well to select which house battery to draw from.
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