# aluminum boat battery gang switch



## burkereneaud (May 31, 2018)

Hi everyone, 

I have a 1974 14 ft smoker craft aluminum boat. It has a 25 horse Johnson motor with an electric start that is located on the motor. I want to set up some sort of gang switch on it so I can have the battery in the front of the boat, instead of in the back for weight displacement reasons. There isnt much on the boat that I would want to run off of the battery- lights, fish finder, electric trolling motor and the starter for the motor. Is this possible? are there any reccomendations on a gang switch to use? I already have a sort of "dash board" that i move in and out with the fish finder and rod holders mounted to it, Ideally, I would have the gang mounted to the bottom of that. Attached are some pictures of the dash that I am talking about.


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## DaleH (May 31, 2018)

You're going to need OVER-sized battery cables for the peak amp of the OB starter based on the length of the run (times 2!) from the battery to the motor.

Otherwise, I'm confused by what you mean by 'gang switch' ... 

Do you mean you want to be able to pick up and move that wood piece/panel from bow to stern? If so, wire all devices on the panel to a suitable fuse/breaker box and then have a quick-disconnect connector that powers that box. Have one opposite sex connector for the box in the bow and another in the stern. I'd use weather-proofed ones at that.

NOTE all wire sizes to power that panel/box would need to be based off your worst case ampacity ... and remember that for amp draw calculations, that a load (device) 5' away from the battery, *demands *that the wire sized be based off the TOTAL length of the run X 2, so a 10' run in this case - for each wire in that circuit.


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## burkereneaud (May 31, 2018)

the attached file is what I mean by a gang switch. I don't necessarily need to run the motor starter through it, just trying to think of ways to eliminate wires everywhere. It is a tiller, so I am at the motor anyway. hope that helps clarify.


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## DaleH (May 31, 2018)

Yes, a switch setup like that will certainly work. You still will need to account for the battery cable & primary wire size (to feed that gang switch) as based on the total circuit length.

If you provide details of how far the battery is from the OB and how far the battery is from the switch panel, then I/we can help walk you through this.


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## burkereneaud (Jun 1, 2018)

Thanks Dale! my plan is to have the battery in the front of the boat and the gang switch about 2/3 of the way back. so from the front of the boat will be the battery first, then 10 feet back will be the gang switch, then the motor will be 6 feet behind that. the boat is a 14 footer, but that should give me a little bit of wiggle room with the switch placement.

Thanks again!


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## DaleH (Jun 1, 2018)

You'll need heavier battery cables for that 16' run, probably 3/0 maybe even 4/0 size, depends on the peak amps of that starter. I know V6 OB peak starting amps are well over 240 or so, not sure on smaller OBs. 

I'd probably use a #8 (maybe #10 if low amp draw) from the battery to power the panel, just for lights & fishfinder. 

Not sure where the trolling motor will be, but ideally close to the battery for direct hookup.


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## water bouy (Jun 5, 2018)

Here's a good how-to page:

https://newwiremarine.com/how-to/wiring-a-boat/


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