New Boat Project

As promised, this will be the thread I will use to take you along with me as I rig out this new boat. Last year was the first winter I had in quite a while were I didn't have a boat to rig. All of my friends and family like to drop theirs off in the winter so I can rig them up. This year, I have another one to do. Along the way, if you have any tips or ideas, please feel free to post them.

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This boat is an alumacraft 175 competitor sport. It is 17'9" long and has a 7'11" beam. It is 45 inches deep!

So, you have to start someplace. Some projects will blend together so you need to multi task.
The first order of business is to install a 3 bank battery charger. Two banks will be for the 24v trolling system while the third is for the cranking battery. It is important to note that one bank is usually pre determined for the cranking battery (sticker usually on the cable).

Originally, I wanted to mount the charger up by the two TM batteries so that I only had to make one run back to the cranking battery. Unfortunately, there isn't enough room in my rod locker or in my battery bank bay (located under the rod locker). My particular unit requires about 8 inches of clearance around it. It will be installed next to the cranking battery and two extensions will be run to the battery bank.

The picture below shows my fish tape located in my battery bank. In order to get to a pull through locations I had to remove the batter tray (4 screws) and then drill out the pop rivets for the battery box. Once this was removed there was a chase hole in the cross supports that allowed me to run under my fuel tank and back to the rear of the boat.

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Tonight I will clip the wires on the charger, install my extensions and pull it to the box. Note that the manufacturor always tells you not to clip the wires. They do this for two reason. One: they want to sell you an extension cable for 40 bucks. Two: they want to make sure you don't bypass the inline 25amp fuses. I have done enough of these to know that you CAN clip the leads just make sure you clip them behind the fuse. You will splice in your wire extention and then splice on the fuse and battery terminator. The fuses should always be within 12 inches of the power source.

When dealing with wire, it is important to always get the correct size.
While doing my battery charger install, I also want to start planning for power to my helm fish finder, bow fish finder, structure scan unit, and marine radio.
Although I could utilize the acessory swith located at the helm, this has proved in the past to be a bad idea. One reason is the wiring utilized isn't big enough to support the draw of the above mentioned items. The second is the cross talk interference you might get (big deal with a fish finder). I personally do not like to have to flip an accessory switch to ensure my electronics are on. I am also not a person that leaves this stuff on to draw down my cranking battery.

You do have some options however. Most boats usually come with a bus panel located under the helm. This panel gives you a few screws to be able to jump power and ground your unit. Sometimes however, the panel is behind the accessory switch thus you must throw the switch to power the devices. Another option is to run wires from each device back to your main battery (in my case it would be 4 runs). You do NOT want to wire to your trolling motor batteries. Although it is convienant, the amount of interference will far outweigh the short power runs you make. Do it right the first time.

Another option is to install a secondary fuse panel. These can be purchased from many outlets and are available in many configurations. The most common being six and 12 circuit boards. Cabelas seem to be one of the main shopping choices for alot of people and they offer one from blue sea. Understand that they do not provide documentation on these things. Basically, they are 100amp units and you cannot utilize any more than 30 amps per circuit. They use a blade style fuse which will allow you to clip the inline fuse that comes on most fish finders and other appliances.

A couple notes: 1. since you will be running more equipment from the cranking battery, it is always advised to upgrade to a bigger battery (this will be my case). The other option would be to run two 12v batteries in series to ensure you have enough volts and amps. Always remember to use the same size batteries when running parrallel or in series.

2. Always make sure you have the correct size wire for your application. In the above scenario with the blade style fuse panel you will do the following: Measure the amount of wire you will need from the battery to the mounting location and then double it (DC power allows current to flow from the battery to the appliance and then back to the battery). Once you have the number of feet, you can use the chart provided to figure out what gauge of wire you will need. Typically, major appliances (like a bilge pump) would require 3% voltage drop while a fish finder would require around a 10% loss.
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In my application, I would be placing the fuse panel 10 feet from the battery. If I double that, my number is 20 feet. If you look at 3% voltage drop, then I would need 2AWG wire gauge to properly power the panel. This would more than likely be what I would use (If I go this route). Being as I would be running non criticle elements from the panel, I could use the 10% calculation and get by with 4AWG.

Do it right the first time to avoid tearing things apart again. I like a clean appearance so I hide my wires like the factory.

Stay tuned for more to come. I'll get into fish finder mounting, transducer mounting options and ideas, trolling motor mounting (with removable mounts), RAM mounts...... I'll try to cover it all as I go along.

Before I get started I just want to give a recommendation. Whenever you are putting hardware into a boat, make sure to use stainless steel hardware. You may pay a little extra for them but your money will be well spent. You won't have to worry about rusted bolts in five years when you go to change out something. I buy them in bulk and save all the extra stuff that comes with new products I order.
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Tonight started with the battery compartment. The main battery was too small. In this picture you will see the original configuration.
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Take note of the wire tunnel in the right corner of the photo.

Because I was putting in a size 30 battery, I needed to reconfigure the layout. I removed the old battery box and then removed the wire tunnel cover. This boat has alot of rivets and I drilled them out. Because the layout changed, I had to rethink the mounting of my charger. I mounted it on the bulkhead, scribbed the wire tunnel cover, cut it with a dremmel, and installed with stainless screws. I then put the new batter tray and battery in.
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When making my wire connections for my charger extension, I always utilize shrink tubing. I then overkill it buy taping the ends.
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After both sets of extensions were done, I attached to my fish tape and pulled them through to the trolling motor battery compartment. I terminated the ends with the required inline fuses, wrapped the wires in a protective casing, and installed in the battery boxes.

I wanted to install a new inline cicuit breaker but the configuration of the trolling motor battery compartment left little in the way of bulkhead mounting.
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To combat this issue, I nothed out both boxes with a dremmel. This would also be when my trusty dremmel of more than 10 years decided it was time to go to dremmel heaven. I finished with tin snips. You can now see the circuit breaker mounted to the bulkhead.
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Finished (minues another battery). When running 24v systems in parallel (or 12v in series) make sure you use the same size batteries. I have another one on order.
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Finished (minues another battery). When running 24v systems in parallel (or 12v in series) make sure you use the same size batteries. I have another one on order.

Hey rich , you might want to switch that around , 24v in series and 12v in parallel. Nice job so far!!

Thanks Kevin. I was a little irritated this morning while writing that as it was about the 20th attempt to update my post! Originally, I got two batteries for my trolling motor. Once I realized that bigger is better, I upgraded my cranking battery with one of my TM's. I have the other on order. All I have to do is drop it in and hook the wires up. Cabelas has them for about 100 bucks off. Plus free shipping to my door!

The nice part about the winter is that I am not in a hurry to get it done and get on the water. I can take my time.

What batteries are you using? I need new for my boat. I've been putting it off.

What batteries are you using? I need new for my boat. I've been putting it off.

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:
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After:
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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.

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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.
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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

Very nice work, enjoy the boat come spring. I have a smaller version of your boat, a Classic 165 cs and have enjoyed it so far. I'm wondering what type of material is under the vinyl covering in the cranking battery compartment as I'm considering changing things around for an on board charger as well. Is it wood or metal under the vinyl ?

I've also read you should not mount a charger directly to metal but isolate it with plastic cutting board or similar material to prevent corrosion and such. I noticed you did not, and just wondering if you have had any issues.

Fiveeyes:

On my other Alumacraft, I had the LSS transducer mounted 14 inches from the motor, I then had the regular transducer mounted within 12 inches of that. I did not see a major issue with that setup but it was closer to the centerline of the boat. I would see a small white line with the motor in the water on side scan but not enough to cause any distortion. I decided to change this around and put the regular transducer closer to the motor and the LSS one further away on this boat. Nice part about the polymar is I can remove it and change it around if I want without having holes in my transom. I'm not concerned with it being in the center of the boat. When I measure left or right, I always think of it as measuring from the transducer and not from the center.

The reason I mounted it this way is a picture I found in one of my books. It should LSS on the right and regular on the left. My other boat it is reversed. Like I said, best part is that I can change it if I notice an issue.

Jimp,
My other boat is a CS 160 Alumacraft Fisherman. If I remember corectly, it is an alluminum plate under the battery. It may also have a small 1/4 inch piece of wood over it. Some do and some don't.

As for the the charger, I would suspect the issue might be mounting it to certain types of metal. I will say that this unit (which I didn't show) is that my charger has rubber matting on the back side of it. Obviously, this would be the same as mounting to polymar or plastic. I've also read that you should put a rubber matterial behind it. On my other alumacraft, I used rubber feet inbetween the unit and the mounting location. Good catch, something that needed to be covered and I didn't think about it.

Hey rich, I'm not sure about this but, won't the 2d ducer interfere with the lss2 just like if the lower unit would give the line on the screen if it's in the line of sight. I think this was discussed on a fishing show if I'm not mistaking

Found the video, Lowrance HDS 10 with Structure Scan installation - YouTube

And now I remember the reason why I did it the other way on my other boat. Thanks for the reminder Kevin!

By trying to negate one issue, I created another one. Oh well, easy fix.

Well I was told you should mount the Transducers on the starboard side of the boat to avoid propwash and bubbles from the propeller if it is on the port side. I guess because the rotation of the prop going forward would throw wash and bubbles upward on the port side.
May be splitting hairs here, methinks.

Your boat installation is correct according to above, but the video shows them installing on port side. I was more worried about the foot of the motor interfering than the 2D transducer. Just put mine on and have not tried it yet.

Well, I switched them over last night. I did have to drill two new holes in the plate but no big deal. SeaRay brings up a very interesting point though. I have always mounted everything on the right side (about 8 boats now) and cannot say that I have every truely seen a problem, but then again, maybe there was one the whole time and I was used to it. I would suspect the reason we always choose the right side us due to being right handed. The reason I do it however is that I run a kicker motor on most boats and my kicker is mounted on the port side. This would be the reason why I don't mount it over there.

I guess I'm in the market for a new kicker as my last one was obsconded by my dad for his boat. Besides, it would be a little small to push this one. Plus, that one is a two stroke and I hate carrying an extra gas tank. My new boat has a fuel port in the back to plug directly in to the main tank. At the moment, it isn't a "have to have" item. Might be by the end of the winter though. Need to build my saving account back up for a couple weeks or so to think about that one.

That was my take on the transducer location Rich, don't think it makes a big difference unless you run a kicker motor. Here's a question, if you intend on running a tiller handle kicker , where would you mount it port or starboard side? I'm in the same situation about adding a kicker to my boat and was wondering about if there was a advantage to mounting of a tiller handle kicker

All mine have a tiller handle but I usually have a quick connect rod that goes to the main motor for steering. I hate standing at the back unless I'm back trolling. You can also buy an extension remote to control trim and speed at the helm.

I switched the transducers around. Made sense to go with what I know works. Glad you pointed it out.

I go with port but Ive seen both. I think it has to do with how they are linked, users preference, but I know most companies intend port as that is usually the side of your auxillary fuel port location. I am not sure if they make left or right turn props for kickers so that might also make a difference.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by skillett007

That was my take on the transducer location Rich, don't think it makes a big difference unless you run a kicker motor. Here's a question, if you intend on running a tiller handle kicker , where would you mount it port or starboard side? I'm in the same situation about adding a kicker to my boat and was wondering about if there was a advantage to mounting of a tiller handle kicker

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My kicker is tiller. Was told and read that if you fish alone most of the time, as I do, mount the kicker on the port to balance the weight. Driver on starboard, kicker on port. That being said, if you steer with the tiller handle, it is easier to do with the motor on the starboard. My 'ducers are on s-board, kicker on the port. I too steer with big motor. 5