Brabs
Member
Does anyone have any idea of the cost to re-wire a 33ft westerly, is this something i could tackle myself???
Re-Wire Costs
- Thread starter Brabs
- Start date
Tranona
Well-known member
How long is a piece of string? I have just done a fairly basic 31' Golden Hind with a 16 way DC distribution panel, simple shorepower with 2 sockets and battery charger, split charging system with engine start battery and 2 AGM house batteries, new mast cabling, but not lighting circuits. Material costs roughly £2.5k using best components and cabling. chargers (mains and B2B for bow battery another £500) Hours and hours of work. Photos give some idea. Battery shot before fully wired - just enough to fire up the new engine.
Best to rip out and start again on an old boat - I only kept the lighting circuits. Draw up a schematic of what you think you require and where you are going to locate the major bits of kit. Plenty of books covering the basics,
Best to rip out and start again on an old boat - I only kept the lighting circuits. Draw up a schematic of what you think you require and where you are going to locate the major bits of kit. Plenty of books covering the basics,
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Boathook
Well-known member
It is something you could do yourself if you are practiable to a certain extent.
Produce a list of what there is already on board and then allow for lots of extras. If you have to put trunking in for cables allow for at least 100% expansion for new cables and kit. Decent fittings aren't cheap and it is worth buying reasonable quality crimper and cable strippers for the size wires you are using.
Produce a list of what there is already on board and then allow for lots of extras. If you have to put trunking in for cables allow for at least 100% expansion for new cables and kit. Decent fittings aren't cheap and it is worth buying reasonable quality crimper and cable strippers for the size wires you are using.
Brabs
Member
Hi Tranona
Many thanks for the information, it certainly looks like you have done an amazing job from what the pictures show, i am not looking to do things on the cheap, but don't want to be spendidng more than i need to, as she is a 40year old boat
B27
Well-known member
Cable is not cheap.
Thick cable to carry higher currents is quite expensive.
Re-wiring is quite time consuming, so paying a pro will cost a fair amount.
Personally, I have a 30 year old boat and I've changed the switch panel for a couple of £15 ebay ones and replaced a load of old choc-blocks with an 8-way blade fuse box with built in bus-bars.
I have pretty much mostly tidied up existing, not run much new wire.
I could do with putting in thicker wire as the volt drop to my fridge is more than I would like.
I bought a selection of crimps and a ratchet crimp tool.
Probably spent £100 on parts and tools so far.
Next thing is to replace deck sockets to nav lights and add a proper socket to plug in solar panels, plus a proper solar regulator.
I would suggest writing up a spec of exactly what you want from it.
Mine is simple
Fridge - portable 3A draw from cig type socket
nav lights
cabin lights
sailing instruments depth sound, log and wind, not networked
engine stuff on 1/both/2 switch
socket for tillerpilot
a few amps of solar charging
chinese diesel fired heater
VHF radio
USB charger points
I might add some other minor things, but I don't need shorepower, inverters, anchor windlasses or bow thrusters
Thick cable to carry higher currents is quite expensive.
Re-wiring is quite time consuming, so paying a pro will cost a fair amount.
Personally, I have a 30 year old boat and I've changed the switch panel for a couple of £15 ebay ones and replaced a load of old choc-blocks with an 8-way blade fuse box with built in bus-bars.
I have pretty much mostly tidied up existing, not run much new wire.
I could do with putting in thicker wire as the volt drop to my fridge is more than I would like.
I bought a selection of crimps and a ratchet crimp tool.
Probably spent £100 on parts and tools so far.
Next thing is to replace deck sockets to nav lights and add a proper socket to plug in solar panels, plus a proper solar regulator.
I would suggest writing up a spec of exactly what you want from it.
Mine is simple
Fridge - portable 3A draw from cig type socket
nav lights
cabin lights
sailing instruments depth sound, log and wind, not networked
engine stuff on 1/both/2 switch
socket for tillerpilot
a few amps of solar charging
chinese diesel fired heater
VHF radio
USB charger points
I might add some other minor things, but I don't need shorepower, inverters, anchor windlasses or bow thrusters
Stemar
Well-known member
I agree, but don't pull out the old wire until you've got new stuff in place - some of those wires will be hard to feed without the old stuff to pull it through!
B27
Well-known member
Ripping it all out and starting again is OK if your hobby is boat restoration more than sailing.
Doing everything in one go is a big slice of time, whereas I have broken the job down into sections which can each be done between opportunities to go sailing.
If the majority of the actual cabling around the boat is sound, then replacing the parts which are actually failing is a much smaller job.
The 12V system on a boat is mostly not complex or sopthisticated, it's mainly a lot of simple circuits, usually tangled together behind a switch panel that's too small.
People underestimate how much space wiring and connectors take up, and it gets worse when wires are upgraded to thicker copper.
Doing everything in one go is a big slice of time, whereas I have broken the job down into sections which can each be done between opportunities to go sailing.
If the majority of the actual cabling around the boat is sound, then replacing the parts which are actually failing is a much smaller job.
The 12V system on a boat is mostly not complex or sopthisticated, it's mainly a lot of simple circuits, usually tangled together behind a switch panel that's too small.
People underestimate how much space wiring and connectors take up, and it gets worse when wires are upgraded to thicker copper.
salar
Active member
I totally rewired a 25 foot boat with plenty of electrics in board. It is an easy DIY job if you remember your Physics 'O' Level, but very time consuming. The tricky bit is not the electrics but getting the wires through inaccessible places. My recommendation would be to spend some of the money you save on buying some good quality professional tools to do the job, especially crimper, wire stripper and if you are doing high amp cable, a hydraulic press. Use the best quality connectors and terminals, and use plenty of shrink wrap and ties to make a tidy job. Good luck!
Brabs
Member
Hi B27
Many thanks for you advice, i have shortlisted a number of things, i do seem to have a lot of redundant wires behind my main panel, i really don't want to start pulling wires about if there live
geem
Well-known member
Isn't that what winters are for
B27
Well-known member
Stuff breaks when you use it...Isn't that what winters are for
Most of my boat was working OK, but the volt drop to the fridge was a bit much.
A couple of switches were iffy
Tidying up the wiring, including a proper 0volt bus bar, new fuse block and getting rid of old choc-block connections made a difference.
I also put in some new interior lights which were way too bright on 12.8 volts, and probably would have blown up at 14.4V charging, so I put in a couple of adjustable regulators for the cabin lights.
There's plenty else on the winter jobs list.
salar
Active member
Add a multi-meter to the list of tools to buy
Supertramp
Well-known member
Check what's actually not working right before ripping it all out. You may find bits that are perfectly serviceable. My wiring got a lot simpler when I removed redundant circuits, replaced water damaged wiring and replaced bodged installations. The original kit is mostly sound. I thought Westerly used good quality wire.
Add a decent label printer to your equipment list.
Add a decent label printer to your equipment list.
Tranona
Well-known member
Agree. Important to try and trace what you have and label it when you cut it off particularly if the consumer is being retained. I often use this phot of "before" as an indication of where it is better to just forget trying to work out what does what. When I bought the boat, the surveyor reported that everything works - but don't aks me how - or why!
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steve yates
Well-known member
Disconnect the batteries before you start stripping everything and it cant be live.
Rip it all out but where wires run through inaccesible areas/holes through bulkheads etc, just cut them 6 inches or so before the entry point so you can use them to mouse through your new cable. Or just drill a bigger hole through bulkheads tofeed cables through?
[193211]
...
Tiny 23’ boat, £1k ish. Maybe twice that and more for a 33’?
Draw overview diagram. Calculate consumers. Spec wire. Draw circuit diagram. Use proper crimpers, heat shrink sealed connectors and tinned copper wire. Skin your knuckles and swear a lot.
Draw overview diagram. Calculate consumers. Spec wire. Draw circuit diagram. Use proper crimpers, heat shrink sealed connectors and tinned copper wire. Skin your knuckles and swear a lot.
Concerto
Well-known member
Last year on my Fulmar I fitted a new switch panel as I did not have enough circuits and wanted to change from fuse to circuit breakers. Everything else is working, so I saw no need to replace all the cabling. Most of the time slight corrosion after 40 years is what causes problems with the electrics.
The cables behind the electric panel are a mess as these photos show. The thought of rewiring is a dauting and expensive task, so I have to ask why you want a full rewire? If you have a problem with a circuit, then trace the cables using cable tracer like this. CABLE FINDER TONE GENERATOR PROBE TRACKER WIRE NETWORK TESTER TRACER KIT 5051259025035 | eBay
It would be nice having my boat rewired, but it will not make any difference to the value when it finally comes for me to sell. Personally I would do the minimum to keep it working and spend you money on new standing rigging/running rigging/sails/headlining/electronics/engine as these are what buyers always look for.
The new switch panel from ASAP
The view behind the panel with all cables labeled.
This is the side view of what is behind the panel.
You want to rewire, where do you start?
Brabs
Member
Concerto
Good call, were do you start, i did unscrew my switch panel, took a look inside and screwed it right back up lol, my issues is finding what wires are live and what are not, i will certainly invest in a cable probe tracker, it looks so daunting when your faced with all those wires
Supertramp
Well-known member
As per Tranona's picture, get the big stuff right, check there is a proper -ve buss bar and connections are good and tidy. Much easier to trace and tidy fewer big wires. I didn't replace except where damaged but I did remake some connections. Labelling wires as you work is good practice and I added a battery monitor which is invaluable in checking what's going on overall without using the test meter.
Personally I would leave your big wiring loom and bundle unless you know there is a problem. Individual wires will feed through and replacing a switch panel with one of similar size should need careful tracing, dismantling and labelling.
The worst problem for me has been poorly installed additions plus previous work not removing redundant wiring. Rerouting and removing dead stuff made a big difference, allowing new wiring to feed more easily and freeing up switches.
Personally I would leave your big wiring loom and bundle unless you know there is a problem. Individual wires will feed through and replacing a switch panel with one of similar size should need careful tracing, dismantling and labelling.
The worst problem for me has been poorly installed additions plus previous work not removing redundant wiring. Rerouting and removing dead stuff made a big difference, allowing new wiring to feed more easily and freeing up switches.
Stemar
Well-known member
Sure it's daunting at first view, but, data cables aside (If you've got any, identify and label them, but otherwise don't touch), each circuit runs from the battery +ve to a fuse, to a switch, to the light or whatever, and back to the battery -ve. Most stuff will have twin cable, so if you can identify which cable wanders off to feed the saloon lights, the rest is relatively simple. It just takes shaking off the confusion that's facing you and looking at things logically.
Some like to use circuit breaker switches, others prefer separate fuses and switches; I did because it was a good bit cheaper. If you decide to use fuses, get a fuse box that takes car-type blade fuses and has an LED that tells you if the fuse is blown. The only fuses I've ever had blow were self-inflicted - always turn stuff off before fiddling with wiring, but there may be a dark night when you'll thank me for telling you about the LEDs!
A label printer would be a worthwhile investment. Of course you know that the red wire with the blue stripe is for the steaming light. Today. What about in a couple of years time, though? I speak from experience
Some like to use circuit breaker switches, others prefer separate fuses and switches; I did because it was a good bit cheaper. If you decide to use fuses, get a fuse box that takes car-type blade fuses and has an LED that tells you if the fuse is blown. The only fuses I've ever had blow were self-inflicted - always turn stuff off before fiddling with wiring, but there may be a dark night when you'll thank me for telling you about the LEDs!
A label printer would be a worthwhile investment. Of course you know that the red wire with the blue stripe is for the steaming light. Today. What about in a couple of years time, though? I speak from experience
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