# Jon Boat Electrical Installation from Scratch



## MakeItHappen (Mar 13, 2015)

I've been a longtime lurker of the site and wanted to post up my electrical project. I realize this could fit in the Boat House as a mini-project, but it was an electrical project and I've seen a bunch of questions and learned a ton from the Electrical forum. 

This boat had zero electrical when i got started. I went with a EverStart Maxx 29DC Marine Battery from Walmart, a Noco Genious 2 Bank onboard charger, a Lowrance Elite-4x HDI fish finder, two Attwood 4 LED courtesy lights and a 6-gang switch with built in 5/10/15amp circuit breakers.





For wiring, I used 8 gauge jumper cables from Harbor Freight (found all the 8 gauge O-rings/splices at O'Reilly's) from the battery to the switch box. 12 gauge stranded wire (50ft spools from Home Depot) for connecting to the switches from the electronics. 1 inch schedule 40 electrical PVC conduit with regular 1" PVC 90s, 45s and Ts. The LEDs are mounted to 1" electrical Ts with access doors. The switch panel and the fish finder are both mounted to electrical conduit boxes found at Home Depot next to the electrical PVC. I used 1" conduit single screw clamps to hold the PVC in place. 









I used some 1" T brackets for mounting the trailer guides. These brackets will bend, but it's better than not having them when backing an empty trailer. I placed reflective tape on the caps of the guides to allow for easier viewing in the dark.







I used a cutting board from Goodwill, cut it in half and JB welded it together to give me the thickness i was looking for. I then drilled through both pieces and into the boat. I JB welded the back of the cutting boards then secured it to the boat with two screws. After it set up, I put a bead of silicone around the outside of the cutting boards. 





I'll be adding a bilge pump and trolling motor shortly, but hope this helps some of those who are starting from scratch as well.


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## lugoismad (Mar 13, 2015)

Why the PVC and not wire loom? Would have been a lot easier.

I don't understand the cutting board thing. I just drilled mine right into the hull and caulked over everything with elastomer sealant really well.


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## MakeItHappen (Mar 14, 2015)

Because the wire loom didn't offer solid enough protection for what I was looking for. I deer and duck hunt out of this boat along with bowfishing and regular fishing, so I wanted a setup that would hold up to the abuse. I used the cutting board as I wasn't 100% sure of the best location for the transducer. I have a strake right where I would've put it, so I had to move farther to the outside. This allows me to move it without re-drilling holes in the boat.


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## Jim (Mar 14, 2015)

:beer:


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## lugoismad (Mar 14, 2015)

MakeItHappen said:


> Because the wire loom didn't offer solid enough protection for what I was looking for. I deer and duck hunt out of this boat along with bowfishing and regular fishing, so I wanted a setup that would hold up to the abuse.



Ah, ok, that makes sense. Yeah, I could see the wires being a problem if you have a dog on board or are dragging a deer into the bow.



MakeItHappen said:


> This allows me to move it without re-drilling holes in the boat.




Well crap. That makes sense and now I wish I'd done it.

If I have to move mine again, I can always use the same holes to mount the cutting board. Good idea.


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## MakeItHappen (Mar 15, 2015)

lugoismad said:


> If I have to move mine again, I can always use the same holes to mount the cutting board. Good idea.



Yep. I used two fine threaded size 10 screws with rubber/metal washers on both sides before putting a lock nut on each. Pretty happy with the results.


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