old electrical or upgrade

trojanmanXS · Post by **trojanmanXS** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:07 am

Have another question on my 1979 f26. I'm closing on the int. remodel and gearing up for wire chasing and upgrade. Has anyone just scrapped the original shorepower system and upgraded? I had the idea of installing a new small service box and chasing new wires to power up the boat while at the dock as it would only require a panel box and possibly four /five outlets and a couple switches. Just not to sure how the original harness and box is and would not want to waste time or money on something that could nickel , dime me the next four years troubleshooting.
any ideas , tips?

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 6:50 am

Thats really up to you depending on the condition of your wiring , If you you have factory installed shore power , Trojan use very good wiring .

You must use marine grade wire and its not cheap . Home type wiring will not hold up , it will break due to vibration ,and not being tined will corrode.

gettaway · Post by **gettaway** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:08 pm

I'm with Prowlerfish on this one, I have found the wiring harness' to be of pretty high quality and installed in neat and organized wiring bundles. I wouldnt change them unless the PO has cut and tapped into it in a lot of places. you could clean up the terminal ends(?)

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 10:22 pm

The original panel in my F-26 consisted of a steel enclosure with a plastic face that housed the required breakers along with a volt meter. I upgraded the electrical panel with a Seimens panel and added holes in the front for additional switches and a gauge.

Other AC upgrades were the addition of a covered & ground faulted outlet in the cockpit, a ground faulted outlet in the bathroom, a battery charger, a hot water tank, air conditioning and a generator. All were wired in with with tinned marine electrical wire. As Prowlersfish and Gettaway said, all of the original wiring was marine wire and was in very good condition.

If you should choose to replace some of yours or add to your AC system, be sure to use marine wire. You should also leave some slack in the wire runs so that even when the wire is secured to the hull (zip ties, etc.) it wont' pull tight on the connection at either end.

Below is a photo of my upgraded panel.

Hope this helps,