advice

[sonny1]

me again, im looking to rearrange the layout on my boat. ive thought a lot about it since sunday and decided i would like to (when i get my bench seat,which is on order) put the fuel tank and battery under the seat. the fuel tank is not a problem because the fuel line is long enough but the two cables from the battery are not. one cable goes to the transducer the other must be to the ignition cos it disappears into the tiller. can these be lengthened must they be completely replaced.? who could i get to do it ? any electrical wizards about? i dont mind paying. lastly any reason why my idea wont work?

[sonny1]

Hmm... Honesly I would leave the battery at the back as all those cables would have to be replaced. You could lengthen them but I’m not sure that would be a great idea.

[PeterM]

You can fairly simply make up new cables or buy them made to order ( generally at an extortionate price !) ..

You can buy hydraulic crimper & ends off ebay & the cable …for the battery ones ( I've done it several times on boats I've had for various reasons. Joining cables is a bit of problem in the making - corrision will get in the join , the join fails & isn't flexible / watertight , corrodes , heats up as a result when starting etc … all best avoided .

You 'may' find the fishfinder/ sounder transducer wire is already long - and coiled up somewhere - as generally they don't get cut to fit - they have a length and it just sits somewhere …. have a nosy and see - post some pics and we can see. or do you mean the power to run the transducer ? - This is much the same as the main battery cables to replace ...;)

[PeterM]

Here is a join from a rib I did a few months ago. Fell apart when fiddled with... stopped the engine turning over properly and was getting very hot as a result.

[sparerib]

It’s not a problem generally speaking to join or lengthen a cable even a battery cable as long as the correct terminations are used the joint protected from movement and waterproofed.

It’s also not that expensive to replace the cable, buy some correctly rated cable from an auto parts supplier on flea bay, along with the correct size crimps and speak to a friendly spark who will have the right tool to crimp it on. Hydraulic tools aren’t needed for 12v wiring.....unless you are wiring up a long ship don’t worry about voltage drop either !!

[sonny1]

I still think that any gains you would get from moving the battery forward would be too small to justify the arse-ache of lengthening / replacing the cables.

[gratemaker]

Hi Andy, the Hobit as a mater of interest i have been watching some of your vids and was wondering what size of engine you are using on your t38 .

[Salty Pete]

Batteries and fuel tanks are kept apart not only for balance, but because fuel fumes and electrical sparks are a dangerous combination.

The cable that goes to your transducer should come from the sounder unit on your console. The echo sounder sends a signal down the cable into your transducer bounces off the sea bed, back to the transducer through the cable and back to the echo sounder.

The echo sounder measures the time it takes for the signal to return and calculates the depth.

The cable is tuned to the echo sounder and any alteration will give you a false reading. That is why you are generally provided with a long cable and you coil up what you don't need. (As previously been advised).

The only cable going to your battery, come from the unit on your dashboard. However, changes do occur and there may very well be, powered transducers that I don't know about, but I'm pretty sure fuel fumes still explode.

[sonny1]

a reply to chris,s post is; i want to move them for convenience,the two main reasons being (a) i couldnt get to open the drain plug, even on the trailer i had to unstrap the fuel tank and move it to open the plug. on the way back from sandown there was quite a bit of water sloshing about so ithink access to said plug is important.
(b) leg room , i have now moved both items and the difference is pleasing,not to mention the small advantage of moving about35kgs (full tank and battery) forward must help a little bit. but i do thank everyone for their comments,they have been very helful

[sparerib]

There will never be any sparks from properly installed connections on a battery.

Loose connections will produce heat and eventually a source of ignition, really loose connections may (I’m talking hanging off) produce a spark but you would notice other problems, ie other electrical equipment randomly loosing power restarting etc

When did you last check the battery terminals on your car for tightness ? I’ll guess never...... the same applies to you boat.

Moving the battery, a dead weight is a great way of transferring weight forward to the bow to help balance the boat.

Mine sits on a shelf in the console directly above the fuel tank, all the switch gear and fuses above that, there is more of a risk of a spark from a fuse blowing ie a direct short than from the battery and I havni blown up ..... yet