Anyone Have Good Advice On Running Wires In Boat?

[JDM]

Does anyone have any tips or advice on running wires down those tubes that they put in boats? I am trying to add a 24 volt port to the back of my boat and my 24 volt system is under my center rod storage. The best way I think I can get to it is to run down the side of the boat, up to the bow, and back down the tube that runs to the 24 volt system. My bow mount trolling motor power wires run down that tube right now. I will also have to go through two other tubes on the way. I thought I would ask in case someone knows of a good method before I start experimenting. Thank you.

[PerchJerker]

Not sure exactly what you're asking. Romex (indoor wiring) can work well as a fish tape - stiff enough to push, flexible enough to follow curves and bends. Try to keep your runs as short as possible, maybe you can break into the tubes or find an opening near the console (if you have one) before you have to run all the way to one end of the boat then back to the other end?

Best advice I can give is to go slow, be patient, and don't let the frickin' thing [PoorWordUsage] you off too much before you get it done

[iffy]

I use the wire from a broken shift or throttle cable as a fish. Is stiff, yet flexible. Its pretty easy to get wires where you want with it.

[RobertELee]

I can't help you with the wiring portion, but a tip to help you out in the future is to tape a small diameter rope to the end of the wire you are feeding through and feed it with the wire and keep it there, leaving plenty on one each end. In the future, if you ever need to run another wire through the boat just tape the wire to the rope and pull it through. And if you leave it long enough you will be able to run multiple wires without ever having to fish another wire through again. Some boat manufactures have been doing this for a while now, it works awesome.

[Payday]

JDM- What boat do you have?

I added a 12/24v outlet to (starboard stern) my 07 Mr Pike this spring and it was quite uneventful. My tubes go either to the bilge or the port from the center rod locker.

I removed the shifter panel, wire covers in the side of boat (and any other covers I thought I may need to remove) and fed romex from the rear access cover up to the counsel. At this point I taped my 3 wires to the romes and pulled them from the storage space in the front of the counsel to the rear most access cover. (Make sure you leave enough wire in the front of the boat to finish the connections)

I then had to remove a concealment plate from under the counsel and fed the wires through the counsel to under the front deck and then into the bottom of the center rod locker to reach the battery location.

All totaled it took ~1 hour to complete the instal.