Running electrical wires through the deck?

[gbanker]

In mounting solar panels I will need to run wires through my deck to connect to the batteries. What solutions have you used? Thanks

[Pblais]

A Blue Seas Cable Clam works quite well. You drill an over sized hole then seal the edges of the clam. The seal is quite water tight plus you can open it and remove the wire. If you locate a connector inside the boat you could then disconnect the wire.

[AnchorageGuy]

Here is what I use. They come in different sizes.

Cable Clam

[Sandero]

You might consider a water proof plug and a deck mounted socket. The downside to the clam is that it captures the cable and you can't remove it without resealing and do forth. For more permanent mountings this wouldn't matter. My panels live on the deck and I can easilty take them off in a big blow, and stow them below, or when I feel they might be stolen, so connectors make more sense.

Aside from the clams there are inverted J tubes which are also used

[Rodz]

I second the defjef advise. If you consider deck connectors inadequate you may use another heavy-duty connectors manufactured by ITT Canon . Generally, I would use cable clam where the cable is for permanent installation such as navigation lights or navigation equipment including antenas.

[Pblais]

I use a cable clam on the wires that run up my back stay. I have to remove the backstay when I haul since i can't fit in the lift if I don't remove the backstay. The connectors are inside the boat on the other side of the cable clam. You can remove and reattach a cable clam. You just can't remove it and expect it to be water tight. I figure every other year is not a big deal.

[Ziggy]

Cable clam works very well. Just be careful as you tighten down the screws that hold it to the deck--it's easy to crack the shell as I found out from personal experience.