Todd in NY

I hope I never live to see the next ice age! This is the most freezing rain/sleet/wintry mix I've ever seen in April. Everything is coated with white ice, including the roads.

Thanks Pap! I had no other choice but to rewire the whole boat (other than the factory gauges). Nothing else worked, not the VHF, or the 2 fish Finders I installed. The bilge pump was new last year, so that still worked. Piece of mind is a beautiful thing out on the water, and being able to trust your equipment.

Oh, ok. Thanks for the info. I didn't know what the difference was between the two switches.

I'll look into it, thanks!

Thanks. Feels good to have the wiring done and everything working.

Thanks for the link! My Perko battery switch is supposed to do the same thing. Battery 1, 2 or All. I really like my Blue Seas fuse blocks.

The old 4ga battery wires were very corroded at the battery terminals. Note the red and black on negative. This is a 12v system with 2 batteries in parallel

Ok, I finished the stern wiring yesterday. So here are some BEFORE pics: Starboard gunwale wiring, and old gunwale light that was broken. Note the old rod holders, but only the forward set. The rear set of rod holders is missing, so these rod holders are useless. Guess which red wire is on the negative battery terminal... Both batteries were 8 or 10 years old What's behind door number 1? About 20ft of coax cable The old stern fuse block The bilge area before I cleaned it out and finished the wiring repairs. Note the vintage AFS2000 float switch (white/yellow, not hooked up) Now the AFTER pics: No more AFS 2000 New 4ga wire new fuse block and all new wiring one of 2 new LED cockpit lights. The other one is behind the step ladder New LED cabin light Light on, cover on Thanks for looking!

Congrats to both of you!

I prefer a 2 stroke as well.

Thanks!

Yeah, that's pretty important. Mine will be under the seat cushions in the cuddy, so they will be sat on or laid on, so less of a concern for me.

Thanks!

Looking great! Where did you get the hatches? My Sabre needs better storage under the seats in the cuddy. Looking for ideas and options.

I'll post pics of the transom area wiring later today, with the new fuse block and 4ga battery wiring. All that factory wiring for the instruments and gauges is a tangled mess, and the only way to "clean" that up would be to cut each wire, re-route them and then re-connect them. That's way beyond my goals for this boat. Thanks for the kind words!

The emoji creators might screw up and turn it into a "groin" emoji instead of "groan"

I see your angle, and it's not far fetched at all, because now I have electrical current everywhere it's supposed to be

Thanks! If you lived a little closer I would help you with your boat.

Is that 225 Mercury a 4 stroke or 2 stroke?

First of all, I'm not an electrician or a mechanic. My "new to me" boat needed some major electrical work and other new equipment, so this is my journey. EDITED to add: This is not a boat restoration. But the boat and trailer needed some new parts (mostly electrical) and a nearly complete rewiring job. I cleaned up, re-routed, repaired, replaced and removed wiring throughout the boat to make everything work. I added 2 new fuse blocks, a new 6 circuit switch panel, a new LED light in the cuddy, a new LED "dome" light under the hardtop, and two new LED lights in the gunwale. I also added 2 new Exide size 24 marine batteries (not pictured) and an inline 60 amp fuse at the battery switch. This is my first attempt at re-wiring a boat, and this boat had major electrical problems. I'm happy to say that everything works as it should. Thanks to all who shared their knowledge, experience, and feedback! BEFORE; wires hanging down, many of them not connected to anything. This 6 circuit switch didn't work. The radio mount was wider than the radio, so the radio was only attached on the right side. The radio didn't work either. Back side of the lower panel and 6 circuit switch Note the VHF antenna wire coiled up on the floor, and other loose, hanging wires Check out this wire splice job on the radio. No, it didn't work... This only shows a portion of the mess at the helm. This fuse block was too corroded to work. Most of those blue connectors are ground wires spliced together. AFTER; new helm fuse block and 6 circuit switch panel I left these wires long enough to be able to remove this board and rest it on a bucket, to have easier access to the wires and fuses. I zip tied what I could, but I wanted to leave enough extra wire for future repairs. Most of the wires on the right are for the various factory installed instruments, gauges, and rocker switches on the helm, so I zip tied them and their slack where I could Not going to win any awards for this wiring job, but everything WORKS, to include the old VHF radio, so that's my reward The finished assembled helm, and with the correct VHF radio mounting bracket.

That situation would scare anyone who had to live it. Glad everyone survived the incident! We all learn to trust our equipment, so as long as things are running "normally" or as they should, we assume that everything is good. There are mechanical/electrical failures that give warning signs before they fail, and there are surprise failures that give no warning at all.