# Full Rewire for $400 - material list with best sources - 1620 Action Craft SE



## Jason La Forest (Jul 2, 2019)

In hopes of helping the next low budget DIY guy stay safe:
You don't want uncertainty and safety hazards on the water. Wiring is paramount, not as expensive as you think, and anyone can do it with a little guidance. I am an engineer and used to do some residential/commercial electrical, but neither helped in this application more than a google search on basic circuits would. I have a lot more pics and happy to provide guidance. I'd also appreciate the firing squad of real pros to help others learn from my mistakes. 

Total Cost - I spent just over $400 including tools but used well under 80% of it. And another 200 on extra accessories.
Total Labor - est 30-40 hours total, a few hours here and there after work. Second time would be 10-15 hours.
Scope - full gut and replace every wire and connection, every wire down to 6 inches off accessories that didn't get replaced (like guages and bilge)

Here is the material list at this link, +/- a few last minute changes that didn't get updated: 
*Materials, Costs, & Sources*
I did a lot of research and can talk for hours on the best value materials that don't sacrifice quality/reliability.

A Few Tips:

*Save A LOT* (I saved at least $200 here) by avoiding expensive heat shrink connectors, *while improving quality* - I don't like crimping on (through) the heat shrink. Use cheap (pennies on the dollar) non-insulated connectors and cover with heat shrink after crimping. I also epoxy under the heat shrink to fully waterproof a good inch up the wire because overkill-is-underrated. The quality heat shrink crimpers cost 5 times more than a good $15 5pc set too (and the IWISS 5pc set crimped my battery cable lugs too). I prefer clear heat shrink to see if/when it starts corroding (open end spades are inevitable in salty air).


I highly recommend starting with drawing a diagram of the layout - I didn't follow mine exactly, but it was a good visual to start a plan, tally materials, and a critical reference to look back at when I took a few days off. a pic of my CC plan is in the last link.


Always leave an old extra wire to pull into the CC (when you get to the last, pull an extra old one with the new for future/unexpected pulls)


I started at the accessories --> to the switches --> keep going up the line to the batteries. Or do it vise-versa, just start somewhere and strategically tackle areas.


Always leave service loops - i.e. extra length of good wire near terminals/accessories for when the accessory needs to be replaced. you don't want the wire job so tight that you don't have slack to replace a component or redo a connection without pulling a whole new wire. You can see figure 8s in a couple of the pics that still look clean IMO.


Don't overtighten zip ties/cable ties - thermal expansion and vibration can cause ties to damage the insulation or wire strands underneath.


Gauge up on home runs (bigger wire than you currently need to the battery) to scale up with extra accessories later


Pre-wire future potential accessories and buy parts (fuse blocks, bus bars) with a few extra terminals to easily tap in new accessories later.


Add Fuse Block in CC even if you currently have/want circuit breakers - easier to tap into with new accessories that don't need a switch (GPS) and more importantly is that circuit breakers are more likely to fail closed than fuses that melt. breakers are convenient for when you don't have a spare fuse, but are more likely to catch fire. I ran the breakers off the fuse block as a redundancy.


Labels - I do both ends - again overkill is underrated
A couple before and "afters" (afters were before reconnecting battery and still needed a final scrub):


















Just a few of the other photos thru the process at this link - PICS


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## SFL_Mirage (May 25, 2019)

Nice work! Thanks for posting.


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## Kevin Booker (May 25, 2016)

Oh my that looks impressive. Well done sir. Thanks for sharing this


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## LtShinysides (Dec 27, 2018)

Man that looks amazing! I almost did a rewire on my 1720ac but ended up selling. Not sure if the website is around still, but they used to sell the complete wiring kit for action crafts. You just plugged it into the harness and ran the wires. Never would of turned out like this though. Thanks for sharing!


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## schuy249 (Aug 19, 2020)

Great work! Looking at a nest of wires, fittings, fuses, and connections can be really intimidating for a lot of folks, including me. I like how you broke it down into manageable steps. I think the key for anyone trying to take on a project like this is to have a plan and give enough time to get it all done. Stepping away from a project like that for even a couple days can really throw you off.


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## finbully (Jan 26, 2013)

Nice job!


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## silverfox (Aug 8, 2018)

Wow! Very nice.


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## Gatorgrizz27 (Apr 4, 2015)

You’ve really taken the adventure out of a fishing trip by not being able to swear at a rats nest of corroded wires while stuff arcs next to the gas tank vent as you jiggle connections trying to get your bilge pump or trim switch to work.


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

Well done and well documented; thank you for sharing! One of the best things I did to my old Hewes was a similar rewire. The labels are amazingly helpful. I can't see where you got yours from since it's blocked at work, but I just printed labels out on regular paper and put them under clear adhesive-lined heat shrink.


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## iMacattack (Dec 11, 2006)

Awesome share! Great documentation and links!


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

I'm jealous, I'm in the process of rewiring my boat. Got the GPS, depth finder and NAV lights done. The rest just seems like it doesn't make sense the way it's wired. Everything works but it's all copper wire that I want to replace with tinned


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## ActionFly80 (6 mo ago)

This is great! I would love more pictures and to talk t about your process and what you may have done differently. I have the same boat and I want to completely gut the wiring system and start from scratch.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

No copper wire - anywhere on a boat (another of those "ask me how I know" deals...). Tinned copper only if at all possible (some accessories will have factory wired cheap junk copper and you live with it knowing it will fail sooner or later...).


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## ActionFly80 (6 mo ago)

Jason La Forest said:


> In hopes of helping the next low budget DIY guy stay safe:
> You don't want uncertainty and safety hazards on the water. Wiring is paramount, not as expensive as you think, and anyone can do it with a little guidance. I am an engineer and used to do some residential/commercial electrical, but neither helped in this application more than a google search on basic circuits would. I have a lot more pics and happy to provide guidance. I'd also appreciate the firing squad of real pros to help others learn from my mistakes.
> 
> Total Cost - I spent just over $400 including tools but used well under 80% of it. And another 200 on extra accessories.
> ...


This is great! I would love more pictures and to talk t about your process and what you may have done differently. I have the same boat and I want to completely gut the wiring system and start from scratch.


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## BackwaterBeal (1 mo ago)

This is great. GIves me motivation to get my 1600 done within the next few weeks. How did you handle the factory fuse terminals near the battery? I havent tracked where these go but im assuming livewells, bilges are somehow connected to this? Did you add new or bypass fuse/breaker for these?


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