[C38] Electrical fire

[Charles Finn]

Patrick,

Sorry to hear of this!

The first thing I would try to figure out is WHY/WHERE the fire (short) 
originated.  The reason is you might have had a problem elsewhere in the 
boat that overloaded and then melted/shorted behind the panel.

Second is to take a close look at the wiring behind the panel. Is is 
really really marine wire?  Or is there some stereo wire, etc. back 
there.....

Third thing to consider is a re-wire of your boat.  Take out as much of 
the old stuff as you can manage and replace it with modern electronics.

For sure go to circuit breakers.  Blue Sea Systems and Sea Dog both make 
panels (Sea Dog are less expensive).  Remember to get at least 150% more 
circuits than the original as most assuredly you or someone had put more 
electronics in and simply added them on to existing wiring.

The good news is there is a lot of room behind the panel and under the 
floor to string wire!

Good luck!

Chuck Finn
Mighty Quinn   #114
Great Lakes


On 10/11/2017 10:27 AM, 1derful at comcast wrote:
> I am looking for wiring improvement/update
>
> This weekend I had an electrical fire behind switch panel above chart 
> desk.  Melted many connections.  Stopped when I turned off shore power 
> and turned off both Perko switches.
>
> Boat US (my insurance company) is sending an adjuster and they say 
> they will pay for labor ($125 per hour) to repair but little for parts 
> because parts have depreciated. I assume most of repair will be labor.
>
> Right now Blue Eyes is "dead in the water."  No electrical.
>
> On the positive side this seems to be an opportunity for me to upgrade 
> antiquated and corroded electrical system.
>
> I'd appreciate any suggestions on specific upgrades.
>
> Thanks Skippers,
>
> Patrick Harpole
>
>
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