TopShot25
Well-known member
Another Horndog project, electrical panel/storage unit and speaker box, and new starboard storage cabinet.
Well guys here it is, what I’ve come up with for the starboard side of the pilothouse.
Again, this project started the same as the last, I first decided what I wanted to do.
1. I needed a path for my wire run to my battery compartment in the floor of the pilothouse.
2. Wanted to have a place that was easier to get to for my battery switches and breakers.
3. Needed a 120-volt electrical panel and outlets.
4. Needed storage on the side to hold my Zantrex Freedom 1500 inverter/charger and other things.
5. A place to mount my stereo speaker.
6. A place to mount my Link 2000 battery monitor.
7. And last I’ve always wanted to have a place for a fire extinguisher.
This has been a long time coming. But it’s finely all wired and except for a few doors on the cabinets, it’s done. I now have shore power, three 120-volt outlets, my 1500-watt inverter with a 75-amp charger, and I finished my water tank install in the sleeper cabinet on the port side.
Back to number one. I needed to cover the path where my wires go into the floor.
There were a few things I did not like about the battery compartment in the floor.
I did not like the fact that I had to open the floor every time I wanted to turn the batteries on and off. Also the battery compartment was a little tight with the battery switches and breakers down there so I wanted to move the up to where I could see them clearly. Also everything seems to get dirty down in that space for some reason. I think if I put everything up and out of there I can keep it cleaner and dryer. So I came up with my idea of how to best separate as many of my electrical elements as possible. I put my 12-volt ground in the bottom compartment.
That bus on the right is the ground shunt for my Link 2000 battery monitor. Then I put my 12-volt positive all together with a switch for my house bank on top and one for my inverter on the bottom. I still need to come up with labels for each. I spaced it so I could add other things later if needed.
Next I setup my 120-volt panel. I forgot to snap a pic of the inside, I will try to get one and add it later. Anyway I have my incoming shore power going to the main double poll breaker. From the main breaker down to the inverter (AC input) and then back up from the (AC output) to the branch circuit breakers, neutral and ground bus bars. The inverter has an automatic switch so when it senses AC input it just switches over and stops inverting. Anyway I have two 15-amp breakers, one for each side of the boat.
I put on outlet in the front side of my sleeper cabinet so I could have an outlet on each side of the boat. Didn’t ever want cords running from one side to the other if I could help it. The upper portion of the cabinet is just for storing little stuff. I also attached a speaker box to the side of the cabinet.
This worked out well and also holds my Link 2000 battery monitor. I have one more speaker to mount. The one opposite this one in the pilothouse, I haven’t got that one figured out yet. The storage cabinet along the wall holds my autopilot pump up front, along with my BBQ and stove in the middle and of course my inverter to the rear. I would have liked to make the middle opening larger but I needed to have room around the inverter for ventilation purposes.
I also finished my water tank install. The tank was in but I had to run all the water lines.
A friend of mine told me how his pop-up trailer was set up with a water fill that just hooked up to the hose. I did not really want to cut a hole in the deck for the water fill. It just seemed stupid to cut a big hole for that stainless deck fill to fill a 15 gallon tank. After hearing about the hose inlet everything fell into place because I knew where everything else was going, so I started drilling holes. It did take a little work and luck to get everything done. The hose bib was tough. I needed it to line up and come tight on the pilothouse wall. This meant that the nipple had to be the exact length that the hose bib was lined up along with the elbow on the inside pointing down while coming tight on the wall and threads as not to leak. Of course a one inch nipple was loose and a one and a half inch was to long. Talked with a buddy and he went through a box of one inch nipples and found one with steep shoulders that essentially made it longer and it did the job.
Because of the tight fit everything fit close enough to the wall that it did not interfere with my cushions. Although the top cushion completely covers it, I even have enough room to put a piece of carpet over the hoses and you will never even know they’re there.
Now that it's done, I almost can't believe it. I have learned a ton about my boat and how everything works. You really can't believe how much that Link 2000 can teach you, but that's another post, coming soon to our favorite web site.
Well guys here it is, what I’ve come up with for the starboard side of the pilothouse.
Again, this project started the same as the last, I first decided what I wanted to do.
1. I needed a path for my wire run to my battery compartment in the floor of the pilothouse.
2. Wanted to have a place that was easier to get to for my battery switches and breakers.
3. Needed a 120-volt electrical panel and outlets.
4. Needed storage on the side to hold my Zantrex Freedom 1500 inverter/charger and other things.
5. A place to mount my stereo speaker.
6. A place to mount my Link 2000 battery monitor.
7. And last I’ve always wanted to have a place for a fire extinguisher.
This has been a long time coming. But it’s finely all wired and except for a few doors on the cabinets, it’s done. I now have shore power, three 120-volt outlets, my 1500-watt inverter with a 75-amp charger, and I finished my water tank install in the sleeper cabinet on the port side.
Back to number one. I needed to cover the path where my wires go into the floor.
There were a few things I did not like about the battery compartment in the floor.
I did not like the fact that I had to open the floor every time I wanted to turn the batteries on and off. Also the battery compartment was a little tight with the battery switches and breakers down there so I wanted to move the up to where I could see them clearly. Also everything seems to get dirty down in that space for some reason. I think if I put everything up and out of there I can keep it cleaner and dryer. So I came up with my idea of how to best separate as many of my electrical elements as possible. I put my 12-volt ground in the bottom compartment.
That bus on the right is the ground shunt for my Link 2000 battery monitor. Then I put my 12-volt positive all together with a switch for my house bank on top and one for my inverter on the bottom. I still need to come up with labels for each. I spaced it so I could add other things later if needed.
Next I setup my 120-volt panel. I forgot to snap a pic of the inside, I will try to get one and add it later. Anyway I have my incoming shore power going to the main double poll breaker. From the main breaker down to the inverter (AC input) and then back up from the (AC output) to the branch circuit breakers, neutral and ground bus bars. The inverter has an automatic switch so when it senses AC input it just switches over and stops inverting. Anyway I have two 15-amp breakers, one for each side of the boat.
I put on outlet in the front side of my sleeper cabinet so I could have an outlet on each side of the boat. Didn’t ever want cords running from one side to the other if I could help it. The upper portion of the cabinet is just for storing little stuff. I also attached a speaker box to the side of the cabinet.
This worked out well and also holds my Link 2000 battery monitor. I have one more speaker to mount. The one opposite this one in the pilothouse, I haven’t got that one figured out yet. The storage cabinet along the wall holds my autopilot pump up front, along with my BBQ and stove in the middle and of course my inverter to the rear. I would have liked to make the middle opening larger but I needed to have room around the inverter for ventilation purposes.
I also finished my water tank install. The tank was in but I had to run all the water lines.
A friend of mine told me how his pop-up trailer was set up with a water fill that just hooked up to the hose. I did not really want to cut a hole in the deck for the water fill. It just seemed stupid to cut a big hole for that stainless deck fill to fill a 15 gallon tank. After hearing about the hose inlet everything fell into place because I knew where everything else was going, so I started drilling holes. It did take a little work and luck to get everything done. The hose bib was tough. I needed it to line up and come tight on the pilothouse wall. This meant that the nipple had to be the exact length that the hose bib was lined up along with the elbow on the inside pointing down while coming tight on the wall and threads as not to leak. Of course a one inch nipple was loose and a one and a half inch was to long. Talked with a buddy and he went through a box of one inch nipples and found one with steep shoulders that essentially made it longer and it did the job.
Because of the tight fit everything fit close enough to the wall that it did not interfere with my cushions. Although the top cushion completely covers it, I even have enough room to put a piece of carpet over the hoses and you will never even know they’re there.
Now that it's done, I almost can't believe it. I have learned a ton about my boat and how everything works. You really can't believe how much that Link 2000 can teach you, but that's another post, coming soon to our favorite web site.
