Pensacola FL Sailing Blog - sailingnightwatch

All the wiring and plumbing runs along the starboard hull right below the top of the settee. Although some of the places were a tight fit, there is no place in which you can not touch every inch of wiring or piping. I have done this type work on the new boat in a boat designs and have cursed many a designer. This project was at times uncomfortable, but not difficult. I did have to drill new holes through 8 bulkheads for the air conditioning lines. Because of the heavy taping, it destroyed a spade bit per hole. Thank goodness I did not have to drill more holes than that. The boat had been rewired once before, but who ever did the job, pulled new wire and cut the old wire at its destination(on the dc side). They only disconnected the old wires at the source about 20% of the time and then only because there was no way to fit another connector over the old connector. The ac side had the connectors cut off at the source, but all the old wiring was left. I do not want to think about stray current.HOMELESSWhile I was removing the wiring in the yard, there was a homeless gentleman who lived on the property and would salvage anything in which he could turn a buck. Total wiring with insulation filled about 3-1/2, 55 gallon drums. The homeless man would take the wire from the drum right before the yard people would empty them at days end. He would drag the wire over to the corner of the yard and build a fire and burn the insulation off the wire. In the morning you would see him headed with his nights work for the metal recyclers adjacent to the yard. Life was good. He was a disappointed man when the last day the drum was not full and I had to tell him that there was no more wire.