San Juan 21 Class Association

yeah, this is where my handy work went laze. I ended up just buying some white electrical tape and taping it down. Not the most elegant solution, but lasted a couple of years before I had to replace it. I would like some conduit as well, maybe connected to some glassed on brackets. If I ever restore the inside, I will figure this out. You can get a generic panel from any place. Defender is good, as is ebay.

something like this would be cool:

http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?pa ... 6&id=51142

Couldn't put it together yourself for that price.

I used adhesive backed cable tie mounts, which I removed the adhesive and epoxied into place--a bit of a hassle but they stayed put. I ran wires in wire loom and zip tied them to the mounts (black zip ties don't break down with UV exposure). I did have the Clark fuse panel in the starboard cabinet, but there are lots of other options out there if you don't have the original (Blue Sea makes good stuff but a bit pricey). I installed a negative bus bar. I changed all lighting, including nav, to low draw LED. I also had a fused circuit for a depth finder. I used a portable battery pack that was convenient and served all my needs, stored in the starboard compartment. That system worked very well for me.

Why even bother running wiring? Portable bow and stern lights are very bright these days.

Also, we're a wee bit off topic, lol. You're also in a bit of downtime so people aren't as active sailing and reading the forums I think, I just had a child a little over 2.5 years ago, so my time sailing, and reading sailing forums has been quite limited.

Later
C

Portable LED bow and stern lighting is something I've seriously considered. But what about the desire for log, depth sounder, etc. It quickly becomes more convenient to install a conventional electrical system. I would probably use lithium iron phosphate batteries to keep weight at a minimum, and install them to be easily removable for charging at the house. But now we're back to running wires in conduit.

(Boy, talk about thread drift!!)

Roamer

given the low frequency of posting, I don't think thread drift is such a big issue. though for search, it might be good to continue under the post i made on electrical systems. anywho, I agree that permanent lights seem logical if you want other systems. the initial outlay of time up front gets paid back later. I used the original hardware and just replaced the bulbs with LEDs made for car taillights. It was music and internal lights that pushed me over the edge for permanent installation. Even as a cruiser, I can count on one hand the times i actually needed the nav lights for night time navigation.