Hiding ugly surface wiring

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FairweatherDave

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On my boat there are runs of wiring in the traditional places, hiding under headlining and supported under shelving , running through lockers well tucked away from harm. But near the chart table I have some vulnerable and unsightly wiring for my VHF and AIS, that runs over the surface of the headlining on the side of the hull. Anyone got any neat solutions or products they can suggest. Or photos of tidy work? I am not devoid of ideas but interested in what others have done when adding electrics stuff to their boats.
 
I've thought to use white gaffer tape for such locations. Or I find electrical tape is available 5cm wide.

It will no doubt become grubby or unsightly over time, but it's so affordable it can be replaced annually if necessary.

Obviously running wires on the outside of the headlining wouldn't be one's one top choice in the first place, so compromises are clearly sometimes necessary.
 
In the traditional forum spirit of not answering your question "how do I do X?" but telling you that you shouldn't be doing X...

I made a conscious decision not to hide my cabling behind headlining and other places. Mine is all open. I run tight lines between strategic places, and clip the cables to that. I justify that by explaining that visible cabling is less likely to have unseen problems; cabling in the open is less likely to overheat; cabling that isn't tucked under a sheet of vinyl is less likely to be sitting in the damp.

By sheer coincidence, it turns out to be a lot less work.
 
KompetentKrew said:
I've thought to use white gaffer tape for such locations. Or I find electrical tape is available 5cm wide.

It will no doubt become grubby or unsightly over time, but it's so affordable it can be replaced annually if necessary.

Obviously running wires on the outside of the headlining wouldn't be one's one top choice in the first place, so compromises are clearly sometimes necessary.
Click to expand...

Yes I was wondering about white gaffer tape. How well does it hold to the vinyl though? And I'd probably want it in a nicotiene stained off white to match:confused:.
If I used trunking it needs a good fix. I imagine I'd have to resin/glue it to some exposed hull fibreglass, or fit a wooden batten that way so I can screw into it. The slight curve of the hull makes it awkward
 
Black Sheep said:
In the traditional forum spirit of not answering your question "how do I do X?" but telling you that you shouldn't be doing X...

I made a conscious decision not to hide my cabling behind headlining and other places. Mine is all open. I run tight lines between strategic places, and clip the cables to that. I justify that by explaining that visible cabling is less likely to have unseen problems; cabling in the open is less likely to overheat; cabling that isn't tucked under a sheet of vinyl is less likely to be sitting in the damp.

By sheer coincidence, it turns out to be a lot less work.
Click to expand...

Fair point:).).
This would only be hidden for maybe 2 ft. It is ugly and vulnerable (since I relocated the Konsort chart tableo_O)
 
I have some cable to run on Jazzcat; if I can't hide them, I'll use something like this
47014.jpg

It's fairly discreet, and the sticky pad on the back sticks like the proverbial to a blanket. I used it on deck on Jissel to run the VHF cable, as that allowed me to avoid a join, and it worked well for several years, even surviving being stepped on. If it's the wrong colour, you can always paint it.
 
Make a feature out of it. Nice bit of teak, mahogany etc to match your other woodwork, routed out to take the cable and in the vicinity of the sticky pads or velcro so it sits more or less flush. I wouldn't let plastic trunking any near my boat unless it was out of sight. It would remind me of my old student digs where most of the electrics were surface mounted ;-)
If the panel is curved it's more difficult but still doable or (hopefully) you can move the cable somewhere so you don't need to get clever.
 
PS I think an easy solution to the "fixing over headlining" problem will be to fit a piece of attractive timber between the front edge of the berth directly up to the vertical piece that used to support the chart table. I can then mount trunking or something to that. Feel free to continue with ideas though, they are useful stimuli!
 
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