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I recently built a portable 50Ah battery box. It will be used mostly for dry land camping, but I thought it would be useful for Weta camping as well. On longer trips, for charging the GPS and phone, and for the electric outboard motor. It is a splash-proof ammo box from Plano. It just fits through the Hobie rectangular inspection hatch, so I would like to install it under the deck, roughly under the mast.
I am wondering about wiring for the outboard motor. Surface mounting is of course one option, but it would be nice to have fixed wires under the side deck so that they are not exposed to the weather or rolling around on the floor under my feet. A plug for the motor should be near of the engine at the back of the boat, roughly next to the boat’s serial number plate.
Two bulkheads are visible through the inspection hatch under the deck. The first is roughly under the mast, (and it doesn’t matter in this project). The second is behind the keel, where I can just barely reach to drill a hole. But what about further aft, are there more bulkheads that would make it more difficult to make a hole and run the wiring…
Another thing to consider is that the bulkheads might be exposed to moisture due to the extra holes, as it would be quite difficult to protect the penetration holes inside the hull. On the other hand, I don’t know if the bulkheads are made of a moisture-absorbing material like plywood or some foam, and if there is a lot of moisture inside the hull of the boat at all.
A completely different option would be to keep the power box outside, at the stern of the boat right under the tiller, but then everything would be exposed to the water and sun, so the box might need to be upgraded to a more waterproof one.
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Paul, thanks again for the good information and tips!
An endoscope would be nice, and it doesn’t seem to be that expensive, which is really surprising! It would make things a lot easier. I already have a brand new, fairly big Hobie rectangular hatch installed, so accessibility inside to the hull is pretty good. Since I’ll probably be using that cargo space quite a lot, an electrical conduit would definitely be a good and necessary protection for the wires.
Although I’d like to avoid the boat turning into Emmental cheese, it might be necessary to install another small inspection hatch on the inside of the hull to lure the wire out.
But let’s see. Maybe it would be best to sail one trip first, keeping the power box in the open air, before doing any bigger crafts.
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Hi Mikko.
There are no additional bulkheads once you are past the one behind the daggerboard case but the space underneath the floor is limited as you can see if you look through the drain at the stern (an Endoscope attachment for your smartphone is inexpensive and makes it easy to check).
The bulkheads are marine ply I believe but coated in resin and fibreglass to make them stronger and impervious to water.
You could run the wires through electrical conduit tube to protect them either above the deck or underneath – although directing the tube through the hole in the rear bulkhead may be difficult – unless you add a larger hatch which would make the under deck storage more accessible.
I have also seen people run wires through the side deck by adding an inspection hatch to make it easier to access.
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