October 12th
I put in a big today, completing almost every remaining circuit on the boat. it’s amazing how much wire ends up going in for what is a fairly simple system. Having a sub panel in the cockpit increases the amount of wire by quite a bit. It looks a little loopy, but I much prefer having service loops to a tidier look that’s difficult to work on. Function over form.
The last circuits I need to run are the bilge pumps (very short) and the bonding wires that connect all of the underwater metals in the boat. Hopefully I’ve got enough wire. Per ABYC if I use 6 AWG wire for these runs they doubles as lightning protection, providing a path of least resistance to ground. I don’t have a ground plate on this boat, I suppose my keel ,being externally ballasted, will step up to the wicket.
It was a rainy day, and a dark night, so I thought I’d flick the anchor and steaming lights on to see how bright they are. These LED’s are impressively bright, even through some old cloudy lenses.
