I took a slightly extended lunch break today to work on Shoal Waters. I had been working on a data migration for a client and had started making mistakes, a sure sign that I needed to take a break. I wasn’t working on live client data, just a local copy so nothing was harmed by the errors, but certainly time for a break.
The first task today was to run the cable for the cabin light. I had to widen the hole through one of the coachroof beams which would have been a problem if I had not bought a bendy extension for the drill some years ago. I crimped two suitable eye connectors to one end of the cable and wired that into the switch box, directly to the bus bars. The cable was run pretty much along the same path as the one I removed yesterday.
With the exception of this bit here. Firstly there are two connectors in the line so that I can run another cable into the front part of the cabin later on. Looks a bit messy right now, but I’ll tidy it up once the other cable is done. Secondly, the cable runs inboard along a different beam.
The light, on its base, screwed to the coachroof and the wires connected.
And let there be light !!
It works, and that is a great relief. It’s been a lot of work to get to this point, but it does mean that working in the cabin after work is now possible although I’ll need to use a mobile light for some things where this light doesn’t reach.
Such as the main fuse.
Today’s parts delivery included these items excluding the brass holder. Two are replacement bulb holders one of which is too big to fit in the hole in the holder and the other is too small. The too big one will be put into the parts bin, just in case I find a use for it somewhere else, the one that is too small will be made to fit by making some sort of collar. But that’s a task for another time.
Right now, I am talking about the main fuse and that is what that large chunk of plastic, labelled GLOSSO, is, a 10A circuit breaker. This will be placed in the battery box in the positive wire. If anything shorts out somewhere in the rest of the wiring, this will protect the boat from damage, such as catching fire due to a short causing excess heat.
Still, the battery box is small and cramped and the light from the new cabin light doesn’t reach inside, so a torch will be necessary to screw this fuse into the box.
That’s next.
And there we are, main circuit breaker wired in and fixed to the side of the battery box.
I think that completes the first stage of the rewiring. The second stage will be the light in the fore-cabin and the third stage will be the fixing of the solar panel once the coachroof has been sanded, epoxied and painted.
Time for a cup of tea.