# First boat - electronics basics?



## Hardluk81 (Jan 3, 2016)

https://www.railblaza.com/products/illuminate-ips-portable-bi-colour-navigation-light/. If you rarely need lights something like this will work. It takes batteries so no wires/switches to run. I have the solid white one on my PP and it is holding up so far. There are other brands also just check around now that you know what your looking for.


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## NativeBone (Aug 16, 2017)

Here are others to check out! Great product as well.


http://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/navisafe/product-31911-363272.html


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## Mnigro (Apr 24, 2018)

Thanks for the links. I’ve been looking at these and was really leaning this direction.


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## tedzap (Aug 7, 2010)

Congrats!

Just some thoughts, I am going to run flexible conduit running from front to rear, halfway up the sidewall. I will have a "T" just behind the front deck which will allow a branch of the conduit to follow the front step, then duck under the cooler (ultimate destination is the switch box in the tiller grab handle). I will drill holes in the rear seat to get the wires through, but it will be high up in a spot not likely to see water.

Because (in general) you don't want to drill these boats and run wires, running conduit is the next best thing. I am making a conscious decision to have all the stuff mounted on the port side, leaving starboard clear for front to back travel.

I prefer standing while operating the tiller, and the tiller grab bar gave me a convenient spot to mount a control box.

I have a dual battery trolling motor, batteries, and a three bank charger up front. At the grab handle I will have fish finder and switches. Under the rear deck I will have the house battery for starting, bilge pump, etc... so I need wires going from front to middle to back. The only place the conduit will be in the way is where it sneaks over to the cooler, and even then it will be right in front of the step.

Once all the conduit is in place, I will install dri-dek over the exposed deck, which will minimize the trip potential of the conduit (and keep my feet dry).


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## tedzap (Aug 7, 2010)

You didn't mention if you were going to run a fish finder, but that introduces another issue: how to mount the transducer. What we ended up doing is having a several foot long aluminum bar that bolts through the transom sleeve and hangs down to the bottom of the hull.


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## Mnigro (Apr 24, 2018)

Thanks Ted. I ended up going with the Navisafe since it was the easiest option. I’ll probably put the fishfinder on the oar rest since I won’t be using both at the same time. Transducer run like you said.


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## tedzap (Aug 7, 2010)

Boneheaded said:


> Id pass on running regular home conduit,


I was planning to use flexible PVC like this with glued coupling joints. Any place the wires exit from the conduit I would use some goop sealant. Not sure what rot you are referring to, but this way they should be sealed in and protected.

Yep, tinned wire and heat shrink connectors.


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## Greg Allison (Mar 13, 2018)

Mnigro, I am a little late on the post, but I have the navisafe set up on my Hog Island, and really like it. But I am definitely following this post, I need redo what little wiring I already have in boat, and add some more for a depth/fish finder, and bilge pump.


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## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

Id pass on running regular home conduit, unless you want to rewire things again its crazy how fast those wires will rot. Find TINNED 14-16 ga wire for youre LEDs then 10-12 ga tinned from youre battery to switch pannel. Tinned wire and heat shrink ring lugs/butt connectors are on amazon very reasonable. Do it once, do it right.


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## lostnwilderness (Mar 11, 2019)

I am getting ready to install a side scan sonar unit on my HI Skiff so I am stealing/modifying yalls great ideas. Can those of you that have this skiff and have put electronics on it post some pic's of how you ran the wiring?


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## Matt Carroll (May 8, 2020)

lostnwilderness said:


> I am getting ready to install a side scan sonar unit on my HI Skiff so I am stealing/modifying yalls great ideas. Can those of you that have this skiff and have put electronics on it post some pic's of how you ran the wiring?


First off I’m new to microskiff but love the community and how everyone seems so eager to help. 

Did you ever get any pictures or help understanding best way to wire up your hog island? I just bought a sw16 and it needs some wiring love. I have never owned a boat so I don’t want to start drilling and adding wiring like I would in a house or commercial building because I know it’s very different. Any help would be great!


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