"YukonBound" wrote in message
...


"W1TEF" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:31:47 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Thu, 08 Jul 2010 11:02:46 -0400, W1TEF
wrote:

It's six gauge solid with UV shielding. You'd have to see the
installation to understand why I went with that type of wire -
stranded wouldn't have worked as well.

Solid wire is generally considered to be inappropriate on boats or any
other application subject to vibration for the reason that even small
amounts of vibration will eventually cause the solid copper to work
harden and crack. Tinned wire with fine strands, commonly available
in West Marine, is the right stuff. UV protection requires some of
that corrugated plastic tubing with the split side.

I agree - won't even argue the point.

But....

Available stranded, even from West, in the appropriate gauge for this
application would not make the run from the bow to the stern without
being in the way or requiring some sort of modification to the seats
and even then, it still would have been in the way. Flat solid tucked
away very neatly under the ribs along the floor channel and it was the
right gauge for the power requirements of the starter, trolling motor,
Lowrance fish finder, GPS and radio.

It worked for three years with me running it three/four times a week
and Don's had it for - what, three years now (or thereabouts) so I
must have done something right. The wire I used is used in
agricultural applications and is UV resistant - which was another
consideration as I didn't want to use a seperate cover material for
the wire.

Sometimes you can't be "perfect" in applying principles of this or
that. This worked, is working and will work for the forseeable
future. It's results that count.

If it wasn't for the fact that I didn't color code the wiring relying
on my own sense of what was right,we wouldn't be talking about "right"
wire, etc. :)


With my limited experience with boat or auto wiring... I'm not sure what
is considered solid or strand.
To me, who's used to one wire in a plastic sheathing...... i think of my
boat wire as strand.
The strands aren't very fine, but there seems to be a dozen or more
tightly wound to make up a wire..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...n/IMG_0465.jpg
or:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...n/IMG_0463.jpg

Here's how the flat wire running from the battery in the bow to my fuse
box under the transom fits under the ribs or stringers.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...IMG_0466-1.jpg




You have what looks to be direct burial wire. You might as well call it
solid wire because it doesn't look to be capable of bending easily. The ends
of the wires are severely corroded and the crimps don't look too good. At
the very least the cable ends should be sealed with liquid electrical tape
or something similar. The wire itself should be finely stranded tinned
copper and the connectors could be soldered if the wires could be rigidly
supported for 6" or so from the end. (There are different schools of thought
on this). It just doesn't seem right to be running wire in an aluminum boat
in the absolute wettest part of the bilge. Other than that it looks really
good.