Catalina 30 Rat's Nest

[iyamwhatiyam]

OS2Dude, If I would look at things, I might see them. The tie you are referring to would be the short black cable between the two busses under the "wind generator" label, correct?

[iyamwhatiyam]

OK. You've all convinced me that this is something I can and should attack myself, (and it isn't so gosh darn difficult and my panel is easily salvageable and I am sure going to buy the wireless instrument that beeps and unplug the shore power while I'm working). BTW it all started when the refrigerator switch no longer lit up red and my beer got warm.

SO, does anyone have some well arranged panels to serve as inspiration? The fabled TO-BE as compared to my AS-IS? In IT I've seen network panels running the gamut from rat's nest to work of art...

Yup, the more you look at it, the more sense it makes.

What is the cool way to label individual wires? Sharpie on white plastic has got to go. Hope to pay this forward one day, thanks all.

[rgleason]

I think this is an absolutely great tool. I've seen it in use with 120vac. I believe these can be used with 12vdc and phone and ethernet cables too, also tracing metal plumbing pipes.

https://www.amazon.com/Extech-TG20-W...ustomerReviews

https://www.top5reviewed.com/tone-an...-tracing-kits/

Southwire makes pretty good equipment, haven't used their tone generator. If I were undertaking this Catalina 30 wire nest, I would get this device, trace each wire, label each end, then run the appropriate new wire along a predetermined route (to the extent possible) with temporary cable ties or twistees, and cable run fastenings to the boat as needed, building up a nice neat system that is completely labeled and secured. Time and patience. Try to get a good system for labeling that will last a long time and not degrade.


Size all your wires properly for the run and amps needed using good marine wire and connectors.

Originally Posted by jharding

I now have a tool that I wish I had when I rewired my boat. It is a tone generator, you hook one part on the end of a wire and then can use the wireless box to find the wire with the tone in it anyplace on the boat. it saves a lot of time wiggling and pulling on wires. I had two lawn and leaf garbage bags full of old unused wires, yours looks much better than mine did.

[P3sailor]

Have only been on one boat where the wiring looked half-way respectable, all the others were a nightmare, old wires dyked and left hanging, "new" wires struck with no order whatsoever, no wires in bundles just hanging in the breeze, the list could go on. I worked on one boats panel for over a week, removed a boatload of unused wiring not to mention the time it took to tie-wrap and clamp the existing wiring into neat bundles. Keep in mind not to cinch tie-wraps too tight, the FAA has noted that today's electronics are very sensitive to impedance which can easily happen when wire bundles are clamped and tie-wrapped too tightly.

[Folie]

For labeling I suggest getting a label maker. FAR superior to tape and marker. I LOVE mine! Costco sells them. A picture of mine is included.

[Cheechako]

It's an OCD thing. As long as the wires go to the right places and the ends are good it only matters in your head. Yeah I like a nice OCD layout just like the next guy, with right angle bends etc. But really... No one told the electrons it matters!
I spent a ton of time once making one nice, what I found was it was all to tight to use the hinged door well, and put more stress on the wires and fittings!

[iyamwhatiyam]

Yup, looks like the Admiral's label maker. Done!

Shrewd insight on the dark side of OCD.

[a64pilot]

Just me, but I hate zip ties, especially when the harness is zip tried all neat and tidy, and then the cabinetry etc is installed. Just try removing one of those wires, you can’t it’s not possible. Sure looks neat though.

Old boats are like old aircraft, that is when new electronics are installed, new wire often goes in too, the old wire? It’s left, cause it’s a *** to get out, so you end up with wires that go nowhere.

The factory 10 GA wires going to and from my factory battery charger are still there, cause they chose to mount the charger in the Lazarette, 20’ away from the bank, and I believe zip tied the wire every three ft to keep it neat and tidy.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I spent a ton of time once making one nice, what I found was it was all to tight to use the hinged door well, and put more stress on the wires and fittings!

First “A” model Apaches the avionics were all in racks on either side of the pilot and the radios etc were dzeuss fasted in for easy, fast removal.
However the wiring harness was perfectly made, not even an inch of excess, so you could easily pop the radio, but couldn’t pull it up enough to disconnect the Cannon plugs, made some a real bear to get out.
Wiring harnesses were made, literally by a bunch of little old ladies in tennis shoes in Mesa Arizona.
I guess they had the patience for it, and made them perfectly. looked like a bunch of Grandmothers at a quilting bee.

There is such a thing as too perfect, or another way is to say that perfection is the Enemy of good enough

[hpeer]

A64 is SPOT ON. Leave yourself some slack. Not sloppy, but not excessively tight.

I see those “perfect panel” photos and cringe.

PS I’ve seen some of those cable harness looms. Just a piece of ply with nails driven in so you loop the wire this way and that. Especially for low volume fabrication no better way.

[P3sailor]

Hope A64 wasn't talking about the Piper Apache (Widow Maker) with Franklin motors...Ha! Most likely it was the AH-64. Anyhow the key when putting wires into nice neat bundles is to keep them reasonable small, and yes, these bundles will put up some resistance when routed to a movable panel but sure beats opening something up and seeing wires hanging "willynilly!" I guess my point is, to cut/dyke a wire and leave it hanging is just wrong. Either remove it, figure out if it's a ground wire or power, mark it as such and terminate it on a terminal block, just good maintenance practice!

[thinwater]

Unless pretty matters, I would fix what is there.

• Look for deterioration problems first. Corrosion. Wires with broken strands. Evidence of overheating.
• Add a bus to reduce wire stacking. This will also reduce overheating of studs on the switch.
• Branch splices. They can damage the wire.
• Add labels, but ONLY when you are positive. Wrong labels are worse than no labels. I only label what I have worked on and know to be true.

As others have said, neat is nice, but never at the expense of wires that are so tight you can't work on anything. Messy isn't always dangerous, and neat isn't always safe.

[Matsubob]

It looks WAY better than mine did when I got it. Wiring always looks confusing if you "look at the forest, rather than the tree" (to use a metaphor in reverse), but once you start focusing in on each circuit, it is really straightforward. But the main problem I had is old wiring and their lack of conductivity. The wire to the bi-color running light had corroded internally so badly that it would no longer conduct the current needed. So I had to replace that, and fishing it through settees and bulkheads was the hard part. Meters aren't expensive. Without a meter it is all guesswork, so find a meter and have some FUN!

[Cabo Jim]

Hello,
Congratulations on your 89 Catalina 30. It's a great boat you should have lots of fun. I have a sister ship same year. I just bought her in August and have been doing my due diligence and learning a lot about the boat. Are you a member of the Catalina 30 facebook group? An excellent source for answers to your questions. Your electrical (as is mine) looks a tad untidy, but there are bigger issues you need to attend to, i.e. what have you got for an engine harness on the mighty Universal M25. Here is a link to the issues with the engine harness 0n the Catalina website.
Despite the electrical issues its still a great boat (over 6000 built since 1970's)
Cheers.

[Checkswrecks]

AH64 - I was a noob engineer and part of developing the Apache around the late 70s/early 80s era before Hughes even moved to Mesa. By nearly 40 years of memory, each wire was supposed to have something like enough slack for mx to create at least 3-5 new terminations. More than that created chafe issues with the bundles and you of all people would know ALL about vibration. But more and more electronics were added till it became a blivet, putting 10 lbs of dung in a 5 lb bag. As you wrote, working with any one item at that point could get tough.

iyamwhatiyam - A couple of resources:

FAA AC43.13-2B at https://www.faa.gov/regulations_poli...cumentID/74417

White ties for your labels to stick to work better when scuffed for a few seconds in some folded sand paper:
https://www.amazon.com/Amgate-Write-...ronics&sr=1-10

Colored: https://www.amazon.com/Huouo-Colors-...JRXT46B4T27MY9

Generally try to run bundles to areas and run high amperage cables singly. I try to label each end for what is on the other end or where to find the other end.