"Chilton Book" for Venture 21

[NinjaTeacher]

Howdy!
I just became the proud owner of a '79 Venture 21! I have a couple big jobs and a lot of little jobs to take care of before next season. Has anyone put together a repository of wiring diagrams, rigging plans, and general good advice and explanations?
Thanks!
Brian

[NiceAft]

Welcome to our forum.

There are a few of us in the Philly area.

I don’t have a Venture 21, so I can’t be of assistance with wiring.

We have had some gatherings of those in and around the Delaware Valley. Be on the lookout for any announcements for another.

[Russ]

Welcome to the forum.

You might find the manual for your boat here
https://www.macgregorsailors.com/resources.html

Along with other resources.

The search function on the forum might yield more information.

As for wiring....the factory wiring was sparse and often primitive by today's standards. If that is a concern, you might want to educate yourself about marine wiring and redo anything that looks janky.

[Be Free]

Hello Brian and welcome to the forum!

You've found the best resource for understanding and maintaining your boat. You can consider us an interactive "Chilton (or Haynes if you prefer) Manual" for your journey.

Russ has already pointed you to your owner's manual and the resources page and I will heartily second his observation re: the wiring. I'll add that Blue Water Yachts should be your first stop if you are looking for Venture-specific parts.

The original wiring was very simple and if it has not been replaced it's probably time to consider adding it to your project list. If you are not sure what you are looking at post some pictures and we will do our best to enlighten you.

This is a friendly, helpful, and well-mannered bunch and we look forward to helping you learn about and enjoy your new boat.

Bill

[NinjaTeacher]

Thanks All!
I just got into things for the first time this weekend. I cleaned out the cabin, with original cushions, and even recognized the 'cabin light' from an old truck cap we had when I was a kid.
The wiring is completely dry rotted and the panel itself looked to have sat in water for a while, so I'm going to document what's left and just replace it all. You're correct with the 12v system not being complicated, but it's nice to know you're ordering the right parts on the first try through. Assuming you can even identify a corroded and partially crushed doo-dad at the end of a run.
Look forward to running into some of you soon!
Brian

[Russ]

These boats have few essential electrical needs. You are best served to rip it all out and replace it.

Cabin lights
Running lights
Steaming light
Anchor light

Above that you might have other needs.

VHF
Stereo
Cooler

Plan out your needs and buy a panel, wiring and parts to re-wire it all.

I have Nigel Calder's book. It's extremely detailed and explains so many electrical systems.
https://www.amazon.com/Boatowners-Mecha ... 007009618X

[OverEasy]

Hi NijaTeacher!

Welcome!

I’m with Russ on the aspect of old wiring where ANY portion of it looks to be compromised.
General rule on old equipment “ If one part is aged out, then all of it is aged out! “ like with your comment on the ‘dry rotted’ insulation.

Sometime you can use the old wiring as you remove it to pull through a nylon ‘pull’ string that you would then use that string to pull through new marine grade wire. Marine grade wire is made to handle a marine environment. The wire strands are individually tinned and the insulation is rated for wet and funky locations. The benefits far out weight any cost. Generally with active equipment that will be out and about you should use multistranded wiring, not solid core. The more strands the better. Also generally one would want to use wire size larger than your circuit requirement. That ensures that the circuit protection device (circuit breaker or fuse) will ‘pop’ first instead of burning the wiring. Another aspect that is beneficial is to have dedicated circuit protection devices for each circuit and avoid the temptation to ‘gang-up’ multiple items on one circuit…. Such as having all the lighting on one circuit… you don’t want to be entirely in the dark when attempting to find where you put the spare fuses and change out the blown one… just not worth it. Personally I advocate for manually resettable circuit breakers with circuit indicating select switches… that way you know what circuits you have active and which breaker may need to be reset… it avoids entirely the hassle of needing to carry multiple appropriately sized spare fuses. Saves a lot of hassle.

Two important aspects to include in your new system is an appropriate marine grade master switch and a battery circuit breaker(s) or fuse(s). You definitely do not want to ever have a short developing where it has the potential to dump the entire amperage capacity of a battery!

Use proper electrical planning and routing such as appropriate bus bars and terminal strips.
LABLE the ends of the wires and provide a place to keep a LABLE/circuit diagram… your future self will thank you!

Best Regards
Over Easy