O'day 23 electrical system

[rs8684]

Hey guys, I've been spending the last 2 days tearing out my 79's electrical system. Just for informations sake, here is the wiring colors and what it runs on my boat:

Pink (faded red?): cabin lights
Light blue: running lights
Dark blue/purple: mast light
White: negative returns for all.

I've never been able to find any info on this anywhere, so i'd thought I would share with all.

Rick

 

[Indysailor]

Doesn't match what I have. I wonder if they just used whatever they had available?
Did you locate the harness where all the negatives come together? I just pulled the panel on mine last week to do a couple things and I couldn't get to much from there. Climbed underneath and it seemed like everything was sitting up on top of the liner, in that little space between it and the deck, just forward of the lazarette cover.

 

[Tom J]

I saw an old book once labeled DC Boat Wiring that described different color wires for different systems, similar to what you have.

 

[rs8684]

No, I didn't see what you described. I pulled out all the ridiculously hacked up wiring from the previous owners, and just crimped on some extensions to home run them back to the breaker box. I really wouldn't reccomend ripping out the wires that run forward between the deck and the inner cabin. Hey, if there's insulation or glue, I'm sure the wires are fine, at least mine are.

I also think people would be better off going to the local car parts store for the bulbs, wiring and other parts. Seems to me all the electrical parts on my boat are all auto parts.

 

[TLW]

American Boat & Yacht Council Has "Recommended Marine Wiring Color Code for DC Under 50 Volts." Red/Positive Mains, White/Return or Black/negative mains, Green/Bonding, Yellow/Bilge Blower, Drk Blue/Cabin Lights, Brown/Pumps, Drk Gray/Nav Lights, Pink/Fuel Gauge, Purple/ignition

 

[Brian S]

Regarding auto parts stores, I would only get wire from them if it were tinned wire. I would only ever use tinned wire on a boat - if you use bare copper wire, tarnished copper oxide is less conductive than copper. But tinned wire maintains conductivity. For the ultimate in conduction, silver is used, because silver oxide is more conductive. Of course, you'd never use silver tinned wire on a boat - if you could find it, it would be prohibitively expensive. But my friend's dad is a mechanical and electrical engineer who designs circuit breakers. On the really big breakers, they use silver tinning....

Brian

I also think people would be better off going to the local car parts store for the bulbs, wiring and other parts. Seems to me all the electrical parts on my boat are all auto parts.

 

[rs8684]

Brian, I have to respectfully disagree with you about the tinned wire on a my seasonal, recreational sailboat. The original wiring on my boat is NOT tinned. It is multistrand copper with plastic cover, very standard. Its been on my boat since 1979, and other then some corrosion near the terminal ends, its in fine shape. Cut it 2 inches from the corrosion, crimp andheat shrink, and I think this wire will last another 35 years. Actually, it is STILL lasting, it was the splices that messed things up.

I am a cynic by nature, so I would really like to know what the actuall advantage of tinned copper wire is for inshore, seasonal, recreational sailboats? If my 35 yr old wire is still fine, how much more of an advantage would you need?

 

[Brian S]

Rs8684, I'll give you that!

When I rebuilt the mast step on my Harpoon, I replaced wet, rotted plywood with new plywood, well bedded in epoxy. There were folks like Jim Lee, maker of the Left Coast Dart, who suggested I make up my own fiberglass laminate to lay in the hole, rather than plywood. He said they don't use wood anywhere in the Dart, so that there's nothing to ever rot... I thought about it, and decided that the original ply lasted for almost 30 years, and I had BS1088 okoume ply on hand, so I figured if my repair lasted another 30 years... well... good enough for me! (I hope someone is still sailing the Harpoon in 30 years!)

Sometimes there's the idea that, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. And then there's good enough. And you're right, especially for a fresh water boat (Lake Nockamixon), non-tinned wire is certainly good enough.

I know I'm not planning to re-wire the 192 just to use tinned wire, provided I get all the nav lights replaced with LED and working ok! But, hey, I read too much, and pay too much attention to pros like Maine Sail...

Then again, when it comes to wiring, my friend had a 16' aluminum runabout. I can tell you horror stories about its electrical system. The two of us are lucky we made it out of our 20s, haha! He eventually tore out the entire interior, and re-wired everything, and rebuilt the interior seating, etc. (I always have to remind myself not to tell people those stories while we're out on my boat now... they might get scared!)

Brian