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Equinox Project | Monday, February 23, 2009 Before beginning the wiring, I thought I'd reinstall the compass and the depthsounder head on the bulkhead, so they'd be in place and available for wiring connection as needed. Before I could install them, though, I needed to clean and buff the bulkhead (I hadn't done any of the cockpit areas yet), so I began with that process. Afterwards, I installed the two devices. |
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After a break for a couple hours worth of cleanup from the latest heavy snowstorm, I spent the remainder of the day running the new wiring for most of the lighting and fixtures aboard, at least until I ran out of wire (300' each of red and yellow consumed so far). The longer-than-anticipated runs for many of the cabin fixtures on the port side, which required running wires through two wire chases behind the cabin liner and through the forward part of the engine room to the other side, used up all the wire I'd ordered, though at the end of the day there were only a few circuits remaining to be run, all on the shorter side. I ran wire pairs for each of four cabin lights, two fans, running lights, masthead tricolor and anchor lights, steaming and foredeck lights, and several other circuits. I also ran slightly larger wires for the battery charger feeds, after consulting the product documentation for guidance. For now, I left all the wires loose and with abundant extra wire at each end; I applied a temporary label to each wire end marking its circuit for later identification and permanent marking during the final connection phase. There was plenty of work ahead to make the final connections and tie up the wiring properly, but most of that would wait till the bulk wiring was complete, to ensure that I had all the wires in before cleaning up the runs. Plus, since the after bulkhead sections were not yet in place, those wires (including all the wires that would connect to the mast wiring later) had to remain loose for the moment. There were several circuits still ahead, including bilge pump wiring, wire for a 12V outlet, stereo wiring, and GPS. I'd take care of these wires as soon as I received additional product. In the meantime, there'd be plenty of other things I could take care of. The wiring project had only just begun. |
 
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I was able to complete the final connections on the compass light, which was the first set of wires that I ran, and also the shortest. I made up the connections, labeled each wire with numbered stickers protected with clear heat shrink tubing, and then enclosed the wires in some split loom to dress up their final appearance before securing them to the bulkhead beneath the compass. I could also tie up the wires leading forward to the bow pulpit, leaving plenty of extra at the forward end, since only this single pair of wires needed to run through this particular section. I installed a wire tie at each location where I'd previously installed wire tie holders, about every 16". Later, once I'd installed the bow pulpit (for which I needed the stem casting back), I'd make up the final connections and tie up the loose ends of this particular circuit. |
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