VHF Install Help

I picked up a ‘new-to-me’ Sea Boss 19 Bay not to long ago and want to install a VHF radio on it. I’m not a complete stranger when it comes to wiring electronics, but this boat wiring has me stumped. I removed the switch panel hoping to find a breaker bar I could use to connect the radio, but instead it looks like all the wires get bundled up and drop down into the haul. Anyone have experience with this?

I'm not a skewl-trained marine electrician, but know a bit about
mobile (land based) radio installations. Eyeballing a decent assortment of
wiring on boats, it seems like Wild West rules in effect--some (very few)
are neatly and cleanly wired, most are "pull the harness through
and stuff the slack wherever".

You have a couple of options, if a 'spare' line wasn't thoughtfully provided
by the manufacturer--run a new line (with fuse or breaker) to house battery,
or splice into an existing line.

Running a fresh circuit back to house battery avoids the possibility
of overdrawing an existing circuit. Your VHF
radio will draw a lot more amps when you key the transmitter,
which might blow fuse/pop breaker on your gps circuit, if you
tied into it, for example. It might even overload the wiring,
if builder pinched pennies on the wiring harness. "Smoke On
The Water" is a cool; fire on a boat, not so much.

Depending on hull design, running a new line can be easy or
a pain...but should be do-able. If original wiring runs thru
a conduit, check for a pull string. Tape your new lines to pull
string, along with another piece of string (in case you want
to pull another line thru later) and pull your new lines thru the
conduit. Go overboard, taping those lines together; you don't
want the pull string to detach with lines halfway thru a 14'
conduit.

Take your time and try to give the wire run as much protection as possible,
and use good connectors /terminals--that radio might save your life.

While you're in there, it might be a good time to clean up the
existing wiring, if it's a hanging/dangling snag mess.

Don’t forget to check the antenna requirements about where it must be mounted. I bought my boat without a t top and the antenna was mounted right next to the radio. It specifically says to not mount antenna within 3 or so feet from the radio or it won’t work. Trust me It won’t work. When I put a t top on, I put the antenna up on the t top and now all is fine.

Sounds similar to what I had on my flats boat.
I re-rigged by ripping out all the old wiring and running a pair of 1/0 wires from battery forward to console where I installed bus bars and fuseblocks.
I ran through a battery switch and 200A breaker (made for trolling motor applications).
Once I got the leads forward and installed the busbar style fuse blocks, installing anything else is easy.
I would encourage you to squeeze dielectric grease into the cable lug prior to crimping, it will save a headache later by hindering corrosion.

https://www.amazon.com/Asdomo-12V-2...1517170393&sr=1-10&keywords=marine+DC+breaker

https://www.amazon.com/BUSBARS-4-Po...qid=1517169990&sr=8-4&keywords=marine+bus+bar

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Sys...qid=1517169990&sr=8-2&keywords=marine+bus+bar

https://www.amazon.com/InstallGear-...qid=1517170880&sr=8-8&keywords=1/0+cable+25ft

https://www.amazon.com/Unique-Marin...qid=1517170925&sr=8-14&keywords=1/0+cable+lug

https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-220...=1517170979&sr=8-3&keywords=dielectric+grease

Thanks for the reply Steve...very helpful!

Here are a few more images to show you guys what I am working with as far as wiring.

The first image is of the back of the switch panel looking down on it. There is one free switch that I think I can hook the VHF too (right next to the cigarette lighter at the end), but if I go this route what do I do with the radio's black ground wire? Could I easily slice that wire into another ground wire without causing harm, or is there a better way?

The next picture is where the bundle of wires (rats nest) drop into the haul under the center console. There is some kind of protective boot there that looks like it might make running new wires difficult.

The third image is of the rear of the boat where the wires reemerge...good luck with that...

The last picture is of the back of the battery selector switch. There are two batteries on board (four if I count the two for the trolling motor). If I choose to run new wires directly to the VHF, could I run them to the #2 battery here?

Day trip said:

Don’t forget to check the antenna requirements about where it must be mounted. I bought my boat without a t top and the antenna was mounted right next to the radio. It specifically says to not mount antenna within 3 or so feet from the radio or it won’t work. Trust me It won’t work. When I put a t top on, I put the antenna up on the t top and now all is fine.

Click to expand...

Thanks for this...helped make up my mind on where to mount the radio!

Looking
at the rat nest--looks like you might
actually have an unused pair there
(maybe for an uninstalled factory
option?). Can't say they'd be enough
for what the transmitter would draw
...but they might make do for pulling
a line thru "the haul", if you decide
to pull a new circuit...

Another approach--you're willing to give
up the cigarette lighter, that existing circuit
would probably work for the VHF...

For grounding, my recollection on boats is
'brown' is the color code--tho it looks like
they used black, at least on the cigarette
receptacle. You could splice into that
pair and it should give the ampacity for
your radio, assuming they gave the
receptacle a beefy rating...any info
on what the radio draws/onboard fuse
(it will draw more than it's transmit
power!).

Because this is safety equipment, I would want to bypass the rocker switches and the boat main switch altogether. i would want new wires run straight from the battery, with a fuse sized for the wire close to the battery (+) terminal. The vhf has its own switch. It doesn't need to be wired to a switch, necessarily. That rubber boot is just screwed down to the deck. you could remove it and lift it up to help run new wires. Maybe there is a pull wire that was left in that channel, so you could pull a new wire in. If you do, make sure you pull 3 wires, one for (+), one for (-) and another pull wire for the next time. You could also disconnect one of the smaller wires and use it to pull your new wires, but again, pull and extra so you can pull the original back through. If you are buying wire, get tinned wire and good heat shrink terminals. It is best for salt water environment. It shouldn't matter which battery you wire to. but when boats have two, usually one is reserved only for the motor cranking and the other is for the house (all other electronics), so you don't burn all the batteries down and can always crank your motor. If you ever decide on a complete rewire, Blue seas has a charge relay that isolates the batteries when the motor is off, but combines them when charging. I really like that system.

I just wanted to follow up on this thread and thank you guys who offered suggestions. I ended up running the wires through the haul and connecting them directly to the #2 Battery in the back of the boat. As you can see I also decided to mount the VHF to the inside of the center consoles door too keep it out of the weather, but handy when needed. Thanks again!

Nice!