First boat wiring questions

[hunter87]

Alright, I have a few questions in regards to my 12' aluminum boat that I hope you all can answer.

The boat is an outboard and I need no battery for the main motor.

I'm going to put a battery in mostly for the trolling motor but I also want to run a few lights and a cigarette lighter style plug for air pumps and such, maybe even a radio one day. My question is, do I just ground all of these to the negative post on the battery? And do I need to ground the battery, if so where to?

And also, should I put in a fuse box? I'm trying to keep it simple and anything I don't need I'll avoid. Thanks guys.

 

[fmalott]

Re: First boat wiring questions

Alright, I have a few questions in regards to my 12' aluminum boat that I hope you all can answer.

The boat is an outboard and I need no battery for the main motor.

I'm going to put a battery in mostly for the trolling motor but I also want to run a few lights and a cigarette lighter style plug for air pumps and such, maybe even a radio one day. My question is, do I just ground all of these to the negative post on the battery? And do I need to ground the battery, if so where to?

And also, should I put in a fuse box? I'm trying to keep it simple and anything I don't need I'll avoid. Thanks guys.

on my outboard boat i also don't have a charging system on my motor but i do have a battery with a fish finder, my navigation lights my bilige pump and my radio just hook everything up to neg and positive of your battery, but remeber there is nothing charging the battery so you will have to charge the battery from time to time. if you want you can put fusable links on your positive wires for peace of mind but i never did i have had the boat like this for 20 years

 

[hunter87]

Re: First boat wiring questions

Thanks fmalott, that's kinda what I was thinking. I know I'll need to charge it, probably just charge it after every trip, and I figured with that simple of a wiring setup I wouldn't need a fuse box.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: First boat wiring questions

An aluminum hull is NOT the place to ground anything. The only ground on the boat is the negative terminal of the battery. Every circuit in an electrical system should be protected by a fuse. The fuse does not protect the device that circuit feeds -- it protects the wires that feed it. If the device is drawing so much current it trips the breaker or fuse the device is toast anyway. Failure to install a fuse or breaker in the positive lead means you risk burning up whatever stuff you have in the boat. If the boat is stored in a garage then the garage and anything in it may go up in smoke as well. If the garage is attached to the house then its contents including the occupants are at risk. A fuse and its holder or a circuit breaker are a couple of bucks. hardly worth the risk. Batteries need to be KEPT fully charged. Charging them "periodically" means they sit in a partially discharged state for any length of time. That also means you are killing the battery through neglect. Charge the battery immediately after use. Not a week later when you are about to go out again.