"William Andersen" wrote in message
news:aGFBf.13718$JT.3837@fed1read06...
I'm not doing a total rebuild, as the only mess is behind the panel. This
is
a 19' bowrider: the panel is the passenger side dashboard, with a shelf
below it. Right now the wires are a maze laying on the shelf - I want to
organize them and avoid them taking up all of that space. I have a few
wires
in the gunwales - plastic ties to keep them together. Most of the wires
enter the area behind the panel from the same place. I have the excess
radar
cable stowed out of the way. I guess that since I'm just about done adding
stuff to that side of the boat, I can wrap them, leaving just about 12"
free
to make the connections. I'll have to find some way to tag the wires, so
that I know what they're for.
I considered adding a board, hinged at the forward edge, keeping the wires
on top of it, and lifting it up to keep the shelf clear. I'm concerned
that
there's so little space to work already, that board may make it almost
impossible to get my hands in there if it's ever necessary.

OK, I totally understand where you're coming from. I sure wish you
luck. That typical installation was a real nightmare in servicing (except I
charged by the hour.. heh..heh). Some of my attempts to "clean up" while I
was there, was to add wrap-around stick-on wire numbers to the wires that I
did know, and keep an index in my files. If the owner took care of his
documentation, it was worthwhile (I thought) to add a sheet with the
information, or at least write a little wire table in pencil on the nearest
clear surface.
Old Chief Lynn