Wiring from scratch

[Da-Navyguy]

I bought a 14 foot northwoods fishing boat, it has a radio,depth finder,running lights,trolling motor on front and two switches on the starboard side. I did some wiring in the Navy but am looking for a starting point and type of wire I should use.
It also has two 12v batteries, one looks like it was designed for direct hook up for the trolling motor and the other battery for the rest. With a starting point I am sure I can do this. Any and all advice is very welcome. Thank You.

[marshmat]

Hi Da-Navyguy, welcome aboard

I did some wiring in the Navy but am looking for a starting point and type of wire I should use.

So you already know how electrical systems work, good.

If you're the type to just jump in and start hooking stuff up, I'll summarize as follows: Everything needs its own fuse/breaker, use properly sized positive and negative wires for all devices (no using the hull as negative, like in cars), a nicely organized electrical panel is good, lots of wires going directly to the battery terminals are bad, keep an eye out for proper grounding and bonding.

If you want to be a little more sophisticated about it and have forty bucks to spare, pick up a copy of Nigel Calder's "Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual", which contains more information than your boat could possibly use about how to design, install and repair marine electrical systems.

As for cable- the good stuff is tinned, stranded copper, the very best being marked as BC5W2 or UL1426 oil-resistant. Boats have a standard colour code for wiring, set out by the ABYC, so that it is possible to trace faults 10 years later (the key ones: red for DC positive, yellow or sometimes black for DC negative, but also such things as YR for starter, Gy for nav lights, Bl/x and Gr/x for engine trim, among many others).

[TerryKing]

There is quite a bit in the BoatDesign WIKI here:
http://boatdesign.net/wiki/Electrica...ipboard_Wiring

The WIKI Index is here:
http://www.boatdesign.net/wiki/Special:Allpages

This may be updated to another system, but it still has some valuable stuff, especially for people starting out....

[Da-Navyguy]

Thanks Terry for the advice, I will pick up that book if I can find it.

[Da-Navyguy]

Thanks Maeshmat, I will let you know how it goes.