Printable View
Having done this a time or two myself, I will follow your thread. Never know,even this old man can learn something new. Nice boat BTW. When I did mine I put the charger in driver's console. Cannot tell if you have door on front of your console. I liked that location as it is out of the elements and gets good air flow to keep it cool. YMMV That Blue Sea stuff is good. C'mon spring! bill
Bill,
No door on the front of the console. This would have worked well as I would have been able to run directly over to the trolling motor batteries and only extend one cable back to the main battery. The problem is that there is no direct way to get from under the console, down through the floor, and through two bulkheads that I cannot drill out (no room). I do however have a few additions that will go down there. I did some preperation work last night for the installation of my Structure scan module and I am getting ready to install on of my Fish finders. Tons of drilling, bending, kneeling, laying down...... I could barely get my arm through a couple of wire chases but I finally got everything setup to make the job go smooth.
I love how you have to tear everything down in order to make it look good! My boat looks like a tool shop right now. On a side note, I thought I resurected the dremmel from heaven (beat on her and got her to run again). She was however very shorted lived and decided to call it quites again. I tried CPR but it didn't work. Time of death was 1917.
Don't know Dremel's..stuck brushes perhaps?
Not much work done this weekend. I did make a wider hole on the dash to accept the connections for the fish finder.
Before:
Attachment 181244
After:
Attachment 181245
I used the larger RAM Mounts for the HDS 10. I had to bore out two of the holes in the mounting plate as they didn't line up with the HDS 10 gimbal. I test mounted the unit to ensure it would not hit my windshield, or console. I also made sure my hands wouldn't hit it when I turned the steering wheel. Because the dash is just a touch over 1/4 inch of fiberglass and wood, I utilized (4) 1/4 inch stainelss bolts with washers and nylon lock nuts to ensure this unit will not move.
Sorry Alboy, didn't see the question earlier. I use the AGM size 30 batteries from Cabelas. Just make sure that you have enough room in your battery compartments for that size battery. I have a size 27 in my other boat and it would run my 12v trolling motor all day long without issue.
No backer needed then, on the mount,eh?
No, There was more than enough surface area from the ram mount to be able to sustain the load. It doesn't flex the dash or anything. My major concern with just using screws was the lack of overall material for the screws to bite into. Plus the weight of this unit and mount is substantial. I played around with other locations but I liked this one the best. It is the one thing I stare at most of the time so I figured I wanted it in an exact location. Most of the time at the helm is spent in split mode running my maps and sonar. I fish some areas that require you to be on a certain path or risk losing a prop or two!
I found something that didn't make much sense to me. This boat had a 12 volt power point at the bow. It was explained that you could plug in something like a spotlight. My thought was... "why would I be up front with a spotlight". It needed to move to the helm. I removed it, traced the wire back to the helm and positioned it there. I then used the old opening to route my bow mounted electronics. 1 inch wire gromet worked perfectly to make it look finished.
Attachment 181425Attachment 181426
I have spent the last couple of nights finishing electrical and running my transducers. One thing I forgot to cover that might be a good note for people. When you purchase Lowrance products (like an HDS unit and an LSS structure scan unit) the power plugs all have red, black, and yellow wires (LSS also has an unused blue wire). The instructions for the LSS say to splice the yellow wire one of two ways: 1. into the main ignition bus, or 2. putting an inline switch into the yellow wire. This would be to eliminate power to the unit at all times. The issue would be that you would have to have the key on in order to use structure scan.
The HDS instructions however are alot better as it tells you to tie all of your yellow wires together. This allows your units to "wake" other units. In other words, power is in standby or off mode until you turn on your fish finder (HDS unit) then power will be supplied to the LSS. I have this exact setup on two other boats. I tie all of my fishfinders and LSS together. This way I can power them from one unit without bleeding power when not in use.
I only have a VHF radio to install and my wiring is complete. I do have the transducers to mount and trolling motor and I will cover that as I go as there are a couple of products I always use on both setups that others might not use.
The reason you don't see a transducer plug at the bow is I Use my universal sonar from my trolling motor (not yet installed). With this setup (and the gray network cable) I can utilize the transducer from the front of the boat or back of the boat along with structure scan on both of my units. Sitting at the helm I can look at the front or the back. Same with the bow.
Normally, with the trolling motor, I install a quick release made by minn kota. There is one that I really like and have used in the past. Unfortunately, it would not work on this boat. There is a mounting plate that mounts to the trolling motor and then a puck that gets mounted to the deck. In the propper mount location, the puck extended too far into the gunnel of the boat and didn't allow for propper bolting. I simply hard mounted the trolling motor. Good thing I bought my cover specially built to leave the trolling motor attached.
For the rear of the boat, I always use a polymar mounting plate (sold at Cabelas). I prefer to use the 12"x18" model as compared to the smaller plates they sell. The reason for this is simple: No screw holes below the water line. If you use the smaller ones, it is mounted below the water line. IF you want to change over to this style, it is no problem to seal existing holes. When mounting the plate, I first choose a plane that is level with the back of the boat. In most cases, I use a framing square tight to the top trim on the transom. I then draw my vertical line knowing it is 90 degrees to the transom. This is my far left or right verticle line that I can measure from. I cut my angle on the bottom of the plate ensuring the plate is 1/2 inch above the bottom of the boat. Measuring over from my vertical line, I find the center point of any rivets, screws or other. On the back of the plate, I use a forsner bit to recess out the location of these obstructions. In the event you are going over a previous transducer mounting location, I leave the old screws in place, recess the plate and fill with silicone when mounting.
I drill three pilot holes at the top of the plate and countersink the holes. For added protection, I go down just above the water line and mount two additional screws (one on each side). After this is done, I locate the mounting position of my devices and ensure to only go through the plate. After everything is mocked up, I remove it. ANY screw that goes through the boat gets a liberal amount of high grade underwater marine silicone. I also fill the recess holes in the back of the plate to ensure a good seal. Next, I run several lines around the outside edge (about 2 inches from the edge). I then mount it with screws. Lastly, to complete, I run a bead around the finished outside edge. Below is a picture prior to silicone as the tempurate was't right to use it.
Attachment 182163
I agree w/ map watching! When I am up north, if I get out of the channel, not good. Been there, costly. Re..the LSS TD, is it not too far from boat centerline? And will the motor block some of the left side view? Have seen others have this issue. Looks good. 5