[C38] hanging lamp

[David Stoltz]

Hi Tom,
Thanks very much for your very detailed explanation of what's involved, greatly appreciated.
Best,
David 

On Sep 4, 2015, at 8:22 PM, Tom Troncalli wrote:

> Hello David and group,
> 
> When I sawed a 4" hole in my cabin top for a vent, I cut out an incredibly heavy piece of boat with no voids between the inner and outer cabin tops.  I saved the sample cutout just because I am a pack rat.  The cutout makes for a very heavy paper weight.
> 
> Surface conduit may be the best choice for cabin top retrofit wiring.  It is very inexpensive and very easy to work with.
> 
> Your lighting wiring harness is hidden where the hull and deck join and can be easily tapped into but for a professional upgrade, the original harness should be replaced with marine grade wiring in a heavier gauge than the original 16 gauge.  I think I used 10 or 12 gauge when I replaced my harness.
> 
> The original harness started at the electrical panel and went counter clockwise around the boat at the hull to cabin top joint but dropped down at the forward v-berth lockers  where it then continued aft on the port side. to the galley or sail locker  My new harness was routed the same except I made my harness cross back to starboard at the engine room door to make a complete loop which gives less resistance than the original horse shoe shaped harness.  With a loop, every light can get electricity from both directions with very little additional wire being used which essentially cut the resistance to about half of what it would have been otherwise.  I have been told this system is OK on low voltage but against code on 120 volt circuits.  Maybe one of our readers can shed more light on this topic.  This technique is used on fire sprinkler systems in buildings so that water pressure is equally distributed to all sprinkler heads evenly.
> 
> The original harness also used crimped three way connectors where the wires from the light met the lighting harness.  These three way crimp connectors can eventually fail according to the experience of myself and several other of our members.  You can use butt connectors to make a three way connection but the steel rivet in the middle of the original three way connectors would eventually rust causing electrical failure.  The original three way connectors proved to be unreliable in a salt air corrosive marine environment.
> 
> Some people have soldered their connections but they don't meet the boat manufacturer's code without enclosed junction boxes with internal wire supports or terminals or supports next to the junctions.   Where the solder terminates on the wire it can develop fatigue if the wire is allowed to flex and vibrate.  The wire can fail where the  wire meets the solder. If you do solder, all wires going to the solder joint must be supported near the solder junctions.
> 
> Properly done, solder is forever and has the least electrical resistance.
> 
> Tom Troncalli
> Former owner #95
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 9/4/2015 6:36 PM, David Stoltz wrote:
>> Hello,
>> I'm installing a hanging electric lamp over the dining table and have a question. Does anyone know if there is a space between the inner cabin ceiling and the exterior cabin top?
>> If so, I would prefer to run the power cord through there.
>> Thanks as always.
>> David Stoltz
>> Andiamo #297
>> MdR
>> 
>> 
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David Stoltz
Executive Producer
310.785.9100