somewhat new to wiring/batteries

[RMull53]

okay fellas, i've done some fairly simple wiring and what not in cars that i have had in the past, i.e. installing new radio/speakers/LED interior lights.... with that being said, i dont know too much about starting from scratch and running what gauge wire, how to hook up to switches, how to run to source battery, and what not. once i get my hands on the job ill know how to do it, my overall question is where do i start with specific numbers and "other" things that i may not know i need. i've attached the following picture of my 14' jon boat, i did quite a bit of modding to it last season and this year i am ready to install some new avionics, electronics and so forth. this is a picture of in between mods from last season ill add a recent picture with it but its not the same view.

1st - this is all brain storming/what i want to do....its up to you guys to let me know if its possible haha.
2nd - below is the photoshopped plan on what i want to do - the picture is labeled but here is what i want to do

a. install BRAND SPANKIN NEW LOWRANCE HDS 5 Gen 2 with structure scan :lol: =D>
b. next to that install marine speaker
c. next to that marine radio
d. next to that x2 12v charging ports for electronics i.e. cell phone/ipod
e. i would like to add switches too but thats where i need help/advice also
f. i can take care of building the box and doing the carpeting and so forth.
g. you will also see that i plan on cutting in to the rear decking to make use of "hidden" space

so after all that - my questions.... what else do i need to add so it runs safely, do i need an onboard charger? do i need fuses? do i need resistors? do i need something that i have totally not even brought up? thanks in advance fellas

oh and the picture of the other boat with the box already built is from a guy on here who gave me the idea on how it would look

 

[TheBassinBarber]

Hey man, I'm not an expert, but probably more like you in the fact that once I get to doing something I can pretty much figuret out. When it comes to your electronics, always use an inline fuse. I think they are normally 3 amp inline fuses, but it will keep your nice fishfinder from getting fried if their ever becomes a short or something of that nature. As far as wire gauge size goes, I try to match whatever it is I am wiring. I know that using the wrong wiring can have some affect on performance. Just make sure you have plenty of battery power. You can get away with running a 45lb thrust trolling motor, fish finder and aerator off one of the 90$ walmart diehard marine battery (group 29) for a full tournament, so just make sure you have an extra battery to hook up the other accessories you want on your boat, such as everything you would wire to the switch panel. An onboard charger isn't necessary, but they seem like they would be very convenient. I would recommend adding a fuse to whatever you can though. Hope this helps some. Good luck

 

[RMull53]

hey, thanks for the kind words and advice. that helps me for sure. ill keep investigating things through the next couple of weeks since its still cold as hell here in eastern PA. but hey, at least im not in boston where my boat would be completly covered in snow by now. here's to spring time!

 

[TheBassinBarber]

I know the feeling, I live in delaware so I'm dealing with almost the same weather you are, however we have been getting lucky with the snowfall, but looks like that luck will be ending tomorrow night lol. I am in the middle of redoing another jon boat, and luckily have a single car garage to store it and work on it in, but its **** cold in that garage lol. Looking forward to warmer days myself. If you have any other questions on modding a jon such as decking and framing or whatever I would be happy to share what I know. Take care

 

[RMull53]

good ol' DE.....shhhhh i traveled to cabela's down there for about $1,000 worth of supplies for this season....mostly going towards the Lowrance HDS 5 Gen 2! yah apparently we're supposed to get quite a snowfall this evening. nothing compares to boston though! ha. wish i had a garage to work on my jon boat! i already did my decking last year, shockingly first time ever doing anything like that and it worked perfectly, couldnt be happier with it. in fact i am going to work on my neighbors wide beam jon boat once it gets warmer out too. if you have pics of your boat i'd love to check them out, always looking for newer ideas. ill post a few more of mine if i can find them too.

 

[JPB]

I just completed a similar project with no prior knowledge of what I was doing. I would suggest using a switch panel already fused and a common bus bar. It will make your installation much easier and cleaner. Just run the appropriate gauge wire from the positive battery post to the switch and do the same from the negative battery post to the bus bar and then any accessory you have will be wired directly to the switch on the positive side and directly to the bus bar on the negative side. I would think an on board charger would be nice if it is in your budget and they just connect directly to your battery.

 

[JPB]

I have a bass pro 2 bank charger laying in the garage that I took out of my project that you are welcome to have. I plugged it in and it seems to work but have not tried to charge a battery with it. It certainly does not look new but appears to work...I will mail it to you if you send me your address.

 

[RMull53]

JPB check your inbox

 

[JPB]

Here is the charger

 

[RMull53]

JPB if you really don't need the charger, ill happily take it off your hands.

 

[TheBassinBarber]

Man, will the snow ever stop lol. It always wants to wait until its close to march to be winter around here lol. How is your progress on the electric system? Fortunately, a fishing buddy of mine is a master electrician apparently, so I have been trading him haircuts for electrical work on my boat lol. Gotta love bartering. As soon as the electrical work is done, I will be putting the front deck on. Will post some pics when I'm done. I am only doing the front deck right now, because I plan on turning my boat into a mini bass boat. Going to convert the tiller motor to side console(remote steering). Their is a cool video on youtube that shows a guy that did it and it looks awesome.

 

[RMull53]

yeah no kiddin, 6 inches of snow yesterday, rain/ice through the night, 49F and sunny now. WTF is mother nature doing to us!?!?! as for my electrical system, i have my plans drawn up, JPB helped me with what exactly i think i need. wont start the project until march/april b/c of the weather, i only want to remove my DIY tarp/cover one time, so when i do so, ill start working on it. i am pretty excited about it though. ill post pics when it happens.

 

[earl60446]

" and this year i am ready to install some new avionics, electronics and so forth"

AVIONICS! How big of an outboard are you gonna put on that thing? :LOL2:

Just kiddin
Tim