Save me from early 80's electrical!

Jun 14, 2011
277
Hunter 22 Fin Keel Lake Martin
Rant on

Holy crow what a disaster this 81 hunter's electrical system is!

I've got a glass screw in single fuse box glued to the bulkhead, 120v wiring made out of those cheap brown extension cords you see under couches, and stereo wiring twisted together with duct tape.

Haven't pulled the main panel yet *tomorrow's job* but I'll probably have nightmares tonight worrying about it.

Please tell me this is previous owner hack job and not an example of Hunter wiring!


Rant off

I know the majority of this is owner hacks but is the use of a 15amp glass fuse standard on these older boats?
 
Dec 14, 2003
1,393
Hunter 34 Lake of Two Mountains, QC, Can
In almost 60 years of boating, power and sail, I've NEVER EVER seen such a thing ! Crazy Dave is right. Yank it out and do it properly...and safely.
 
Dec 29, 2010
67
Hunter 25.5 Point Venture, TX
Three years ago I bought a Hunter 25.5 built in the mid-80's. Over the years various owners had installed a variety of very scary electrical accouterments ... all of which I ripped out. But once I got the solid copper romex, the speaker wire to the outboard starter, the single pole breaker on the shore power, etc. ... all assembled with wire nuts ... once I got all this removed I found the original DC system very serviceable. I was able to reuse the original DC panel, the original light fixtures and much of the original wiring. I replaced all of the light bulbs (inside and out) with LED "bulbs" ... added a secondary DC panel for the depth sounder, radio and bilge pump ... added a proper AC panel with voltmeter, reverse polarity indicator and double pole breaker on the input side. And all of this I wired with stranded, tinned, marine grade copper wire. My point ... Hunter did a good job on the original build of the boat. All of scary stuff had been added by inept DIY's over the years.
 
Jun 14, 2011
277
Hunter 22 Fin Keel Lake Martin
I'm hoping the DC system is in better condition. Although seeing all the taps spliced into the bilge pump wiring I'm not too cheerful about it.

I will say this. When the boat is launched everything will be as right as possible. My last boat I made the mistake of putting things off... and as we know that just means they don't get done at all.

Here is a picture of what I've spent the last week on. Last bit left on this run.
 
Jun 16, 2010
495
In search of my next boat Palm Harbor, FL
yeah, thats pretty much how my electrical system was when i got my H22. fortunately the H22 has a VERY simple cabling harness. I stripped my entire harness and redid it over a long weekend, but i have some practice at it. There is no reason you can't do it over a couple weekends. Follow best marine practices, and it will all go simple.

I have an Hunter provided wiring diagram, and a wiring diagram that I put together, let me know if you need either.
 

kito

.
Sep 13, 2012
2,011
1979 Hunter Cherubini 30 Clemmons
I feel your pain. 35 years of PO's rigging their own wiring can be a nightmare. I should have taken a picture of my 79 H30 wiring. It had a main panell and 3 other sub panels. Wires were anything from lamp cord to bell wire. Heck, the main ac wires were just twisted together and taped. I am kind of glad all the instruments needed replaced so I can just rip out and start fresh.