5 amsp for an 8 HP??
My old 8 HP Honda manual says it will put out 60W which at 12 volts would be about 5 amps. So you would need say a 10 amp fuse but this is a guess on my part and there may be some standard to reference? Regarding the wire size, if the motor is close the battery, you can go smaller diamter but if the battery is far from the motor, you need larger wires (smaller guage number). However, the only thing you lose by long too small wires is some of your charging power (power loss is the current squared time the resistance of the wire). I dont know what guage the zip chord which comes standard in the boat but while it probably will lose "a little too much" power, Id guess it also wont have any safety issues from using it with 5 amps (like melting). Bobgump, is the 30 amp fuse for an electric start? The elecrtric starting motor would have an inrush current which could blow a fairly large fuse but the charging alternator connected to the battery probably doesnt have this issue. Regarding the voltage regulator, this could be an issue if you run your motor a LOT. But for just occasional use and with smaller motors (like 8 HP), I would think you could get by without one. For example, if your battery is 100 amp hours, running your 8 HP motor for one hour will charge only 5 amp hours. This is only 1/20th of the total battery charge which under some circumstances could cause a problem. If you run the motor for many- many hours and you always keep a full charge on the battery, you would probably want the regulator. What I had planned to do was put in a switch between the motor alternator and the battery and just watch the battery voltage.. I could be wrong here however so be aware. Unfortantely my old 8 HP alternator doesnt work - but I suspect the rectifier diodes are blown.. Another project for later..
