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This winter will be a project to refresh the electrical on the boat. My first step in this process is to draw out a detailed diagram for my transom wiring. There will be a separate effort to address everything forward of there. There will be a separate effort in terms of actual build...

Thanks! That's a good thought. I'll try refreshing all my lugs. Low hanging fruit at least and I'm sure the 21 y.o. oem ones are pretty thrashed as it is.

Good suggestion -- I did see that voltage drop is the preferred method of determining if there are issues along your wiring runs. I put a load on the boat -- plugged in my fridge and every light I could and charging devices. Disconnected from shore power. Got a drop on the negative run from...

UPDATE -- TLDR; is 8 Ohms a dangerous resistance as measured from the negative bus at the helm to the negative bus in the transom? I decided to do some checking on the wiring going from my solar controller to the house batteries as I was concerned with the gauge wire used for the run. I keep...

Good point. I did not here. I do have redundant attach points. I plan to regularly inspect these things especially after some hard rides. Again, the attachment here is achieved with aluminum rivet nuts. Assuming the pull-through of the nut is the critical load case, here's my approach to...

I don't trailer my boat so I don't need to think too much about it. But the fwd overhang is only like 11 inches. I don't think I'd be worried about the overhang aspect of this arrangement. Might want to think about the pull-through strength of the rivet nuts I have attached the panel frame with...

It looks longer than it is due to the fish-eye effect of the camera. It's only 21 inches of "unsupported" span. Unsupported is in quotes because the panel has it's own aluminum frame that provides a lot of support. Here's my analytical approach to evaluating the effects here: The weight of the...

Finished installing a new solar array on my 2005 25 Cruiser. The old panels sat directly on top of the house and the wiring went through the side of the house on the starboard side. I didn't like this arrangement -- didn't work with a dinghy mounted on the house and the wiring going in through...

I didn't come across the Imtra line when I was looking for a viable hatch. After reviewing the 4000-series product info they look like they are quite a bit smaller than the ones I ended up with. Something of a priority as building up that much material back onto the sole would be challenging for...

I'll report back if they have issues. "Jim Black" is a label under the same manufacturer of the "Innovative Product Solutions" hatches referenced in Cody's thread according to the Great Lakes Skipper website. They seem sturdy enough. Definitely an improvement on what was there before.

Yeah, I read this thread. Unfortunately I was unable to source the P/N that Cody used in the off white to match my gelcoat. I was unwilling to have the that pure "arctic white" hatch and/or paint them as Cody did.

As part of the refresh for my entire bilge area that climaxed with removal and replacement of my fuel tank, I am also replacing these hatches that almost everyone seems to find problematic. I’ve begun prepping the existing penetrations to build up the profile with fiber reinforced epoxy and...

Boat fueled! I did only put in 50% or 50 gal. so I could evaluate everything without a full tank. We did discover a small leak upon filling at the starboard fill where the hose connected to the tank fill. Able to eliminate it with a torque of the band clamps. After I took a closer look at my...

Yes sir! Should be fueling her up next week and getting out on the Sound for some prime winter cruising. Still some tangential projects -- replacing the aft cockpit sole hatches, finishing installing the aft tank hold-downs, caulking everything water-tight. But we are fuel-ready!

Fill and vents attached. Definitely need to cut the fills not too long or too short - quite stiff.

The assumption of zero is conservative. Assume it does not contract which would close the clearance faster. That way you don't have to consider which way the fiberglass is Nice. That was a good thread there for a similar project. I'm a lot better off with the location/configuration of my fills...

Good thought, thanks! I do think it'll be okay after considering the numbers. I don't have any more margin to give anyway without completely rebuilding the steps that cover this area. It might not look like it, but I have ~ 0.150 clearance on each fill to the sole. If you assume the...

Here is how close I’ve trimmed the sole to provide clearance for the fills. Super close. Also had to chamfer the edge of the steps that go over the hole.

UPDATE -- The tank fabricator built me a tank which is slightly different than the one being replaced. - They added hold-down tabs. Four ells welded to the upper surface of the tank near the four corners. Just surfaces for bolting the tank to structure. - They shifted the center line of the...

HDPE rails in. Since HDPE is difficult to bond to, I’m relying on the mechanical strength of the adhesives. I shaped a 0.25 wide keystoned groove in the faying surface. This groove took fiber-reinforced 5:1. Around the periphery, the vertical walls got another 0.125 groove all the way around...