Wiring a CD25 or just fishing

[Will W.]

Hi All
I was in the process of rewiring the mast and adding an anchor light and spreader lights. In the middle of this project I made one of those famous mid job decisions to go ahead and rewire the entire boat. After all, the mast is more than half the wire on the boat so the rest is sort of an add on, right? Also;partially inspired by an argument posed yesterday in regards to improving through upgrades and modernizing or staying original and living with it, I decided to replace the fuse panel. I was going to fix up the original panel and replace the guts. But even if I do this, I still have a system that would be inferior to a new breaker panel. So a new panel it is.
Don't worry; question coming up.
So I removed the old panel yesterday. I carefully marked each wire thank god before I did this. My thought was to disconnect the wires from the panel, then untape the bundle going forward, separate the Bow and Masthead light wires and then using the old wires To pull the new wires through the same space. Two problems. One is that I have pulled the bundle of wires from the panel going forward out as far as it will go. I even fished it though the dome ceiling light in hopes of finding the end of the tape wrapping; I never found it. So I cannot separate the wires like I wanted. This is when the idea to completely rewire happened. I figured if I tied some string to the end of every wire in the cabin, lights included, then I pull the trunk line back to clear all the wires and then using the strings fishing new wires bach to their original places. This is when problem two occured. I can only pull the bunched lines that go forward; back toward the panel so far before it stops hard and this is not far enough to even get all the tape off, as I said. So I pulled on the wires that come out by the mast and they don't budge. The same with the lights in the main cabin. The wires won't budge. It looks like the whole bundle that goes forward is hung up on the port side bulkhead above the headliner. Or maybe there is a bus bar up there that I can't get to. Either way, if you pull on one end you can't tell on the other and I tried to yank pretty hard too.
OK here come the questions.
Does anyone know why all the wires going forward won't move?
If I decide to just leave the old wires up there unused, is there enough space to fish a wire from the hole in the headliner under the mast to the fuse panel.
Anyway, has anyone out there ever completly rewired their boat or just ran an extra wire to the mast from the panel. If so how did you do it and what else should I watch out for as I try to move forward(wire sizes and current loads already properly figured). Thanks in advance

Will Wheatley
Suzi Q
CD25



willwheatley@starpower.net

[Jim Umbreit]

Will:

Wrestled with the same problem last summer. Never could get those wires out, they must be attached to either the liner or the cabin trunk somewhere. Cut out what I could and set about pulling new lines (4 – 12 gauge and 1 – coax for the VHF) but couldn’t get them through. Used a 4” hole saw to cut (gasp!) a hole in the head liner about 3 feet back from the mast on the port side. Pulled the new wiring and used a teak plate (identical to the plates used over the chain plate access holes) with a little silicone to cover the hole I drilled. Figured someday I would need to get in there again for upgrades and/or maintenance.

Jim Umbreit
Nikita
CD25



jumbreit@neuroscience.mcw.edu

[JimL]

I removed the inner opening trim board, then pried the headliner edge loose and wedged it open with many screwdrivers. From the opening below mast step, heavy welding wire can be worked through the loose mat and glue debris, to a point about halfway back. Keep working a little curve into the stiff wire, and the end will be reachable. I then worked another wire from the middle of the "pulled loose" area, back to the power panel area. These allow pulling new wires and VHF coax.

Hope this helps.



leinfam@earthlink.net

[Jim]

I replaced my VHF wiring last summer. I used a metal snake from home depot and went from the mast access aft to the panel. There is a dificult turn to go around the forward corner of the sliding hatch. A few tries and it worked beautifully.



jmyers@styluscentral.com