Crimping Marine Terminals

[Maine Sail]

Hi All,

I wanted to pass on my latest photo based "how to" blog/article to the Cape Dory owners.

It came to my attention, after looking at nearly 50 boats before buying my current boat, that most DIYer's and or boat yards, do not know how to make a proper crimp. After seeing so many bad crimps and solder joints on the many boats we looked at, and ones that I've owned, I decided to write the following piece and loaded it with photos.. The article is not 100% complete and I'm sure I will continue
tweaking it but it's close to 90% done..

It focuses on making properly crimped terminals for use in the the
marine environment. Feel free to let me know what I may have missed or if you come across spelling errors.

You can read it here:
Marine Wire Termination
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/wire_termination

[Run Aground Again]

Thanks; your photos of the crimping are quite informative.

Nigel Calder has a good section on proper crimping in his "Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual, 3rd edition", pages 170 to 175, but your photos are much better and I was intrigued by the results of your testing the crimping using anchors as weights.

Thanks for sharing,
- jc

[Maine Sail]

The problem I have, and the reason I write these articles, is that books have limited resources in terms of size. While I really like Nigel's work he just never gets far enough into a subject to fully master it.

Most every book I own, and I literally own hundreds of sailing books, "skims" the subjects and gives you enough knowledge to be dangerous and that's it. I try to take these articles to the next level!

How many folks even knew that a good quality insulated terminal consisted of three components? How many knew from reading Calder's book that you need to crimp both the strain relief barrel and the crimp sleeve? How many knew the difference between a double crimper and a single crimper or a dimple crimper and a single crimper?

I write these because there is just not enough in-depth coverage of these things and many, many folks have been crimping incorrectly for years despite reading Calder or Casey..

Anatomy of an Insulated Crimp Terminal:
[img]http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/image/93450218.jpg[/img]

[Ron M.]

Insightful. and I sure agree most how to books don't really go into much depth and detail - use a broad brush at best. Unexceptable results have always spurred me to seek the process necessary to achieve excellence. The proper tools and technique are a good begining. One does not save time nor money with a half assed approach.
________
Silversurfer reviews

[Mathias]

Thanks so much for such an informative article. I printed it out and it will go in my repair and maintenance binder. Your commitment and level of detail reminds me of Rebecca Wittman's book on varnishing. It has become my bible for my brightwork.

[Len]

Great Photos. Crimp strenght tests never seen before. Super informative. A must read for anyone who thinks they know how to crimp wires!

[Dean Abramson]

Great of you to do this. Thanks.

Great photos. Very informative.

Dean