Routing Electrical Wire 26x - What type of black magic does this require?

[Chinook]

When I rewired Chinook, one of the biggest challenges was routing wire from the cabin ceiling liner down to the battery box. I ended up using short lengths of white PVC pipe, 1" I think, which I placed vertically, between the ceiling liner and the galley counter, tight up against the cabin side wall. They are very inconspicuous there, and they provide a very handy conduit route for running overhead wires down to the battery box. I ended up needing two conduits at the aft end of the galley counter to accommodate wires for the overhead lights, GPS, VHF, etc. A single conduit at the forward end of the galley counter handled overhead lights, reading lights, and wiring from the inside of the mast (anchor light and antenna wire).

[Be Free]

So this post is a bit stale but I’ll add a trick I’ve used in my X since I didn’t see it mentioned. For spaces tighter than a fish tape will travel, I tie a couple of washers to a string and shove them behind the liner. Then I use a powerful magnet wrapped in something like a microfiber cloth from the cabin side of the liner and drag the washers through. It takes patience. Once you get the string run all the way through, tie/tape your electrical wire to the string and pull it through. Pro tip: drag another string with the wire and leave it in the liner. Next time you have to pull wire/replace the string is already there and ready to use.

I forgot to mention leaving a pull string in the liner and in the mast when I rewired my X. Thanks for mentioning it. The one in the mast save a lot of time when I finally got around to adding the mast-top VHF antenna last year.

The magnet idea is brilliant.

[BOAT]

The magnet idea is brilliant.

Voodoo

[Highlander]

with all the fiberglass U ribs in the roof top liner it,s quite a challenge but with all the wiring I,ve run thru there I,m quite adapt at it now lol u will have to drill holes in the roof liner to b able to drill holes in the ribs so as to run wires thru just make sure u have the right size plastic plugs to cover the holes up afterwards , LED equipment is less of an issue as u can use #20 wire very small dia, but I usually go with 6/1 or 8/1 #18 or #20 wiring that way I,ve got extra wires now in there for future mods

J
now time to watch the s/b game

[socalmacer]

One thing I would add when running new wire up the mast is to add some foam to the wire every couple of feet. I learned this the hard way after rewiring the mast and at anchor. At this rough anchor, the slapping wire in the mast was enough to keep everyone awake all night! Unlike a halard, there wasn't anything that could be done.

[BOAT]

One thing I would add when running new wire up the mast is to add some foam to the wire every couple of feet. I learned this the hard way after rewiring the mast and at anchor. At this rough anchor, the slapping wire in the mast was enough to keep everyone awake all night! Unlike a halard, there wasn't anything that could be done.

Very good idea - foam around the wires is always a good idea on any boat that rides on a trailer bumping along down the road at 55 MPH - stuff gets shook loose.

[BOAT]

with all the fiberglass U ribs in the roof top liner it,s quite a challenge but with all the wiring I,ve run thru there I,m quite adapt at it now lol u will have to drill holes in the roof liner to b able to drill holes in the ribs so as to run wires thru just make sure u have the right size plastic plugs to cover the holes up afterwards , LED equipment is less of an issue as u can use #20 wire very small dia, but I usually go with 6/1 or 8/1 #18 or #20 wiring that way I,ve got extra wires now in there for future mods

J
now time to watch the s/b game

what is an s/b game?

[Highlander]

When running wires up thru the mast put plastic ties on the wire every 10-12" & do,nt cut off the tails problem solved

J

[Catigale]

You can use the magnetic trick with steel washers, or stainless steel washers from Lowes. They spray them with stainless steel look spray which is a nuclear reactor waste byproduct.

When running wires up thru the mast put plastic ties on the wire every 10-12" & do,nt cut off the tails problem solved

J

Who can zip tie anything without yielding to the compulsion to cut off the ties? Are we animals on this site??

[Russ]

You can use the magnetic trick with steel washers, or stainless steel washers from Lowes. They spray them with stainless steel look spray which is a nuclear reactor waste byproduct.

I have a friend who is a radiologist and has access to this stuff has a big hunk of depleted uranium for an anchor.

[Jimmyt]

Cabin fever takes its toll at MacgregorSailors.com ....

[DaveC426913]

My aspirations exceed my abilities.

We bought a tiny chandelier to hang over the table (to go with the tiny plastic plant, and the tiny framed photos, but anyway...).

When I went to install it, I got stumped trying to get the access plugs out. I'm afraid of putting so much muscle into it that they snap.

And the Admiral hates leaving holes in things...

Is there a trick to it?

[ris]

I ordered all new plugs from I think blue Water Yachts. We used a stiff, metal putty knife to take the old ones out but many of them broke. So we replaced all of them. The old ones were really yellow.

[Starscream]

My aspirations exceed my abilities.

We bought a tiny chandelier to hang over the table (to go with the tiny plastic plant, and the tiny framed photos, but anyway...).

When I went to install it, I got stumped trying to get the access plugs out. I'm afraid of putting so much muscle into it that they snap.

And the Admiral hates leaving holes in things...

Is there a trick to it?

Brute force.

Measure the plugs, order new ones on Amazon. Cheap.

https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=round+electri ... nb_sb_noss

[Be Free]

Use a thin putty knife and expect to break some. Even on the newest 26x the plugs are likely to be brittle.