Split bow cover- I put an alumin

This article goes through a number of home brewed solutions to common problems with installing equipment on a boat. There can be quite a disassembly project to get at simple things. The emphasis here is to share some of the ways I made my boat more accessible for service, preventing the need for service, building in safety, and other customizations.

The Bow

When I decided to run some additional wiring to the bow, it became a major undertaking. It required removing the trolling motor, then the bow cover. I thought if I had to do this on the water or out in the field with minimal tools, it would be a nightmare especially when fending off mosquitoes.

Over the years the bow cover area had a lot of flex to it. It was poorly braced against the floor which had no underside bracing in the bow area. There was motor noise and clunking when engaging the motor because of the movement. I had trouble with the trolling motor bolts getting loose because the bolt heads would sink into the wood.

I added an aluminum bracing structure to firm up the area in the bow. This helped to reduce the flex from the trolling motor. There is also an aluminum plate underneath the trolling motor cover. The addition of the aluminum plate below the wood bow cover reduces bolt creep into the old wood cover eliminating the needs to maintain bolt tightness . This also helped to reduce motor noise into the boat because the mount stays tight.

I split the bow cover into two pieces. The removal of the right bow panel allows me access to the wiring side without without having to remove the trolling motor from the left bow cover. (The trolling motor was removed for service in this picture)

While in here I might as well label all the wiring for sanity and for future troubleshooting.

Trolling Motor Transducer Saver

If the Transducer Shield was around $40.00, I would have saved myself some time and bought it. But instead, I dug through my box of aluminum scrap and came up with this alternative. It is not glamorous but after testing the mount it is very solid. No worries here.

Mounting The Humminbird Sidescan Locator

This locator would not fit behind the wrap around windshield and needed an extension to move the locator towards the driver. Using some recycled decking material and cut aluminum, I now have a solid structure to support the weight of the 998. In my previous installation, I adhered a plastic plate with mounted t-nuts to the underside of the thin dash which helped strengthen the area. The bolt pattern was for my old Johnny Ray mount and spacer plate. Having no idea how I managed to get my hands up the dash area before. Rather than potentially break the fragile dash plastic, I came up with a way to use the existing bolt pattern to secure the top plates to the dash plate underneath. I manufactured a cover for the spacer plate to allow the cables to route and cover the hole. Uncovered would be a direct path for rain to drip onto the fuse box underneath the dash. There is 3M exterior foam adhesive tape between the panels to aid in vibration noise damping and to assist in keeping the panels secure.

VHB mounting tape is suitable for exterior use and is very sticky, very suitable for the boat. It also helps dampen potential rattles. I used the tape to adhere the large heavy choke on interlink cable to a flat surface.

Under the dash with the interlink module mounted upside down. The interlink cable choke is aldo secured to the top lip of the dash housing to the left using the VHB tape.

Fuse panel with labeled wires for the system.

A picture of the cover over the dash hole using the old Johnny Ray wire spacer and custom cap. Also, the connectors from the short y-cable have been wrapped with shrink tubing to help protect against moisture.

Left view of locator on custom mount.

The extension also helps to cover the dash switches from rain.

Rear antenna mount over the transducer area: Unfortunately I had to mount it to the storage panel lid. I didn't want the GPS wire exposed on the surface, and tearing up the rear deck was a nightmare. Having it on the lid is not a problem and provides easy service access. The storage area holds a spare prop, no not a high usage location.

Antenna mount source: http://marineengineparts.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/page305.html

Front antenna mount over the front transducer: Cramped for space, this location provides adequate rotation of the locator.

Shot of the bow fully populated with equipment.

Remember old 3 speed bicycles? The brake cable that was routed to the rear was clamped down with brake cable straps. These come in handy for clamping the trolling motor transducer cable.

Trolling motor transducer wire mounted with brake cable brackets to rear of shaft preventing injury in case of impact with an object.

Shot of home made transducer bracket mounted on trolling motor. Solid as a rock.

So many cables, so little room. You can see in the next picture how all the wires exit. I used a my old Johnny Ray spacer accessory and a custom cover to allow the wires to exit the bow area with the cover providing some protection from rain as there is a large hole to pass all those cables. I used mountable wire ties in a number of areas around the boat and they worked here as well. The bolts that hold the custom cable cover extended into the bow area. The mountable cable tie eyelets were a bit too small in diameter. Running a tap through the tie eyelet allowed me to thread the tie onto the bolt end. The excess cable is coiled and hanging from the bow cover allowing me to still have some bow storage and minimize the chance of inadvertently disconnecting something.

On the topside the transducer cable is mounted to the side of the trolling motor with enough of a loop to give slack for raising and lowering the motor. The cable comes forward and is secured to the bow surface so that it does not become a trip hazard when stepping on the bow while launching. There is a small section where I can still place my foot between the GPS antenna and the trolling motor. The front transducer cable then goes through the cable cover into the bow. The excess is coiled and comes back out to the locator.

The antenna side cable holes on GPS antenna are filled with silicone to keep spray and rain out when trailering. Otherwise the only way for accumulated moisture to drain is down the antenna mount and into the bow area below. A small detail but every little bit helps keep the bow storage area dry.

Cut some rubber washers for GPS antenna cap as another moisture barrier.

Exterior Lighting

My northern Wisconsin outings always present challenges. Backing a boat into a rustic landing at night in the woods is difficult at night. Years ago I installed backup lights triggered off the center pin of the 7 pin connector on the boat. However, after four different lighting products, even after careful disassembly and treatment of silicone caulk, the lights would make it for only a few seasons. This year I discovered VisionX and their Solstice LED light. 900 lumens and 0.75 amp draw, IP68 rated and submersible to 3 meters. I ordered two for the trailer and was so impressed I bought a third for a docking light.

I thought the GPS would be helpful in getting me back to the shore of our lakeside campground, which it did get me in the area but I could not find the foot trail. My hand held spotlight died and found myself struggling to see through the shoreline brush. Here the Solstice is mounted using a VisionX handlebar mount on the GPS antenna mount.

Moving to the back I am trying to figure out how to protect my new backup lights. The goal was to mount the lights behind the wheel and not at the end of the trailer where they are more prone to damage. I hadn't run into problems with this mounting location before. Because of the VisionX lifetime warranty I want to take extra precaution so no outside factors would interfere with any potential warranty claim.

I decided to manufacture some rock/splash guards for my trailer. If they were angled backward they would provide a better shield for the VisionX lights without being so long. I opted to laminate some plumbers gasket on the front and back to help silence moving gravel and to protect the soft aluminum plate. Plus the gasket sealed off all the holes drilled into by scrap aluminum sheet.

A plate was fabricated to fit under the fender housing and attach to the fender mounting bolts. I replaced the fender mounting bolts with longer ones. The VisionX was easy to mount and very solid. Tedious treatment of the connectors (dielectric grease, silicone caulk over connector ends, etc.) was in order.

Creature Comforts

All my tackle is stored in Plano 3620 style boxes. I built a carpeted tray on the bottom of the storage area to hold 10 Plano boxes on their side. Each box is labeled with the contents for easy access.

From last years work the addition of LED interior lights were mounted under the gunnel. Key locations are over storage compartment bins. LED's were chosen because of low power consumption, long life, and low temperature so not to melt nearby plastic or carpeting. Insects seem less interested in the LED lighting.

Also added are cam locks to the front storage lids where tackle is stored. Using aluminum angle across the storage area provides a lip for the cam lock to fit under. The angle is shown in the picture above at the bottom of the picture.

The rear deck was a little short, only 12" wide. I found myself on occasion to forget about the drop off when pivoting on the rear seat. I decided to extend the rear deck and make for some storage space. I wanted to keep the two floor vents/drains open so I sized the openings to fit the Plano 3600 series boxes that I have been using for years. The center compartment will be lockable storage for my boat guests. Because of the shallow height of this deck extension, I was having a hard time finding a suitable locking hatch cover for the center area. I will be making an overlap door to cover the face.

As I have done with other add-ons, marine grade plywood is used. It is finished with many coats of spar varnish inside and out before the carpeting is glued on. This is extra insurance in keeping the compartment dry in the event there are voids with the carpet adhesive that will be applied later.

Skipping a few photos of the process, the rear is secured by two foot sections of aluminum angle against the floor (not shown) and extensions of the vertical dividers to hook under the rear deck overhang. I intended to keep the two side compartments open for the floor vents/drain, but I struggled with trying to find a way to keep contents from making their way out.

It so happened that thanks to some knucklehead customer at Cabela's, they put product back on the wrong hook. Knucklehead me for not checking the package. The rod savers I bought to replace above my rod locker were not the length shown on the peg hook. Since the cost of shipping or driving back to the store to return them would exceed the cost of the rod savers, I was trying to find another use for the long straps. That is how they made their way on the deck side compartments. They actually work out well in keeping the tackle trays from sliding out and the anchor has stayed put as well.

I finished off the installation with a slight overlap of the seam between the old and the new deck with an aluminum ruler mounted to the floor. This helps tighten up the seam visually and helps keep the passenger honest with their catch.

Speaking of leftover parts, I bought a six inch LED light strip with the intention of mounting it on the rear deck. Later is dawned on me that I should have bought two and mount on each side. Now what to do with the light strip?? Well, as it turned out that I had one heck of a time trying to get access to the back side of the accessory toggle. Twisted and jammed under the dash trying to trace the wiring and holding a flashlight. The dash is curved and metal and the shorter my words got during this contorted struggle with the dash underside, I thought to mount this light under the dash. I had about an hour + underneath there and it dawned on me that I was at the focal point of a parabola. The light was mounted to take advantage of some reflection to cast a light onto the floor surface. I didn't feel like drilling more holes. With the luck I have had with the VHB tape, the light was adhered to the underside.

The final effect of all the LED lighting is very subtle and is easy on the eyes transitioning from dark to light. The console light really helps with the center area and is a nice mood light for the late night cocktail. Here is the end result shown with the added front headlight off and on.

Wiring

Considering the environment a fishing boat is typically subjected to, corrosion is the biggest enemy to the reliability of electronics and electrical systems. Safety may depend on them. I subscribe to the idea that once you start the process of "open heart surgery" to wire your boat, you might as well spend the extra effort to eliminate possible wiring issues. It will give you many worry free years of boating enjoyment and significantly reduces the stress of repairs away from home.

The first step is selecting quality connectors for the application. You will also need dielectric grease, various sizes of shrink tubing, silicone caulk (optional), a wire stripper/crimper tool, and a heat gun.

Next, you will want to size your shrink tubing with the smallest diameter that will fit over your wire and your connector ends. Once cut to size, slide the tubing down the wire and out of your way. Fill your connector full with dielectric grease on both ends. Crimp your connector. Wipe off excess grease especially on the end where the wire inserts into the connector. If you don't, the shrink tubing will slip around and off the connector end. For extra protection you can to use the silicone caulk on this end to fully seal out moisture. Once the caulk is dry, slide the heat shrink tubing over the connector end and heat to shrink.

When heating the tubing, make sure the connector is facing down. If you hold the connector up, the heat will thin the grease inside the connector and will slide down behind the shrink tubing. This is a problem as the shrink tubing will slip off when you attempt to unplug your connector.

Spade lug connectors. One filled with dielectric grease.

Inserting the connectors. Excess grease to leak out. Both male and female connectors filled with dielectric grease before inserting.

Filled connectors cleaned off of excess grease.

The dielectric grease process works. Over 11 years on some my connectors already and they look as good as the day they were done with no corrosion.

Good battery mounts just don't seem to be out there. A good plastic battery tray with some $10 ratchet straps routed underneath the tray provides for a super solid mount for your batteries.