Need advice with a difficult wire run (E38-200)

We need to run a wire (probably AWG 6 or larger) from our batteries (under the starboard settee) to under the galley sink. There are already some wires that make this run in a more or less direct route but there is no pre-installed conduit and very little space for a wire that thick to easily be pulled through using an existing wire as a tag line. Trying with fish tape was a fail. Not enough room to run the tape (or I used it wrong). Any ideas? We considered running aft into the lazarette then under the cockpit sole, pass the fuel tank, etc but that adds a lot of distance to the run. Any suggestions much appreciated!

Nobody?

C'mon, someone must have some ideas?! Right???

Based on the similarity between my E-34 and your boat I'll take a stab at it.

Is there a conduit for the bilge pump wiring and/or for the fridge? Can You use all of those wires to pull through a snake and then pull the new wires along with the bilge pump wires back through? From the bilge it should be easy to pull the wires into the galley area if they are not already there.

Tape everything well so there are no sharp edges to get caught.

This is what's there on the E-34.

If your batts are under the aft berth like our 32-200 on the port side, you could run the wire under the removable section of floor forward of the batteries. I believe there's a weep hole there gong forward towards the galley sink.

Another idea would be to run them through the hanging locker to the rear of the port side cabinet in the galley then down under the stove directly to the galley sink. We ran our duct work for the AC through there. If the space is big enough on 32-200 to run ductwort, it should handle your wire easily.
Rick

Wire Run

Thank you for the suggestions. Yes there is conduit leading to the bilge but it's not smooth on the inside and already has coax and wire in it so we have not yet been successful running a wire through that route. Our batteries are under the starboard settee but it may be possible to run them aft to the laz, under the cockpit sole, then forward by the transmission and into the galley. It just adds a lot of distance we were hoping to avoid. Sounds like there is no magic fix and we just need to bite the bullet, choose the conduit or the long run, and just make it happen... Thanks again, this forum is incredible!

R

Ryan,
Just a few questions. Where is your engine? Is it under the sink in the galley or beneath the companionway (like ours)? Are you trying to pass large wire for your engine ground and alternator or something else? Are you replacing wire that is truly not salvageable by cleaning up the ends? I made that pass with #10 and if your configuration is like mine, I might be able to help.

wire run

Joliba said:

Ryan,
Just a few questions. Where is your engine? Is it under the sink in the galley or beneath the companionway (like ours)? Are you trying to pass large wire for your engine ground and alternator or something else? Are you replacing wire that is truly not salvageable by cleaning up the ends? I made that pass with #10 and if your configuration is like mine, I might be able to help.

Click to expand...

Thank you! Our E38-200 is an 1988 (like yours, right?) and engine is under the companionway. I need to run a completely new wire, ideally around AWG 6 or 8 as feed for a water maker. Are you thinking about the run to the engine through the imbedded hose? If so, I'm not sure how to access the starboard end of that hose without pulling one of the battery cables running to the engine. How did you get it done?

I've got a 1988 E38-200 and just recently ran wire similar to what you're trying to do. The big difference is I was running much smaller wire, I think AWG 14. I also had existing wires making this direct run and I wanted to use the same path. I used a 3' length of large diameter bare copper wire I bought off a spool at the hardward store (cheap) to fish through the existing hole going from the bilge to the the battery compartment. Think of it as a bit more elegant than a coat hanger. I didn't use a proper fishing tape because I figured it was too big. It was a PITA, a lot of poking and fiddling, but I finally made it through from the bilge to the battery compartment. From there the wire pulled easily back through. With your larger wire if it can't pass through the existing holes, I would just drill new holes a few inches forward and run the wire the same way. It appears the run from the batteries to the bilge is just a hole in the floor of the battery compartment, holes in the floor grid and empty space in between. There was no conduit or obstructions. If you're comfortable drilling a couple more holes in your boat this should be the most direct route. Once the wire gets into the bilge space getting under the sink is straight forward.

Dave

Ryan,
Yes, we do have sister ships. I just wanted to be sure because some 38-200s have an engine near the galley. You , too, have discovered one of the design flaws in our boats. I can tell you what I did to pass what I recall as two 8 gauge wires from the panel and battery compartment to the port side for the refrigeration we installed 2 years ago. Not elegant, but it works.First, I passed it through the tube to the forward part of the bilge along with the radio antenna coax. If you can't pass a fish tape, you may try to detach an end of the coax and if there is enough length on an end or if you can extend it by butting another wire with tape use it to piggyback a smaller pulling wire or your big wires. Don't take the coax all the way out unless you have added a tail to it. Then draw the coax back into place while pulling through the bigger wires or a pulling wire along side. With smooth taping, this will help overcome the rough spots in the tube.
Next, I passed the wires aft in the bilge over the fiberglass stringers by "burrowing" at the base of floorboards on the port side with a Dremel tool burr, so that I could tuck the wires beneath the floorboards, above the stringers out of sight along the port side of the bilge. I only carved out deep enough slots to bury my wires away from the bilge cover boards. Then I covered those wires in their niches with a bit of silicone. The only place the wires show is forward of the mast where they cross the bilge. I suspended them from the underside of the floorboards with cable ties so they don't hang down.
If you find a better way, please let me know. If I ever replace the floor, I will include a good passage for wire or hose from starboard to port.
Mike

Our solution

Thank you all for the helpful suggestions! We ended up running the wire through the conduit that leads from the cubby at the forward end of the starboard settee (behind the backrest) to the bilge under the mast then aft (much like Joliba suggested). The distance was shorter than if we had run aft around the engine and then forward, enough so to make a difference in required wire size. Instead of carving space in the foorboards (as Joliba suggested) we deepened the space a previous owner had already carved into our bilge cover. Six to one half dozen...

FYI on our 38-200 there is a conduit running from the center aft portion of the space under the galley sink to the forward port corner of the engine space. We used it to run a cable from the small mid-boat storage space just to starboard of the port water tank to the cockpit lazarette.

Thanks again for the help!

I've seen that conduit in our engine compartment, but never used it for anything. I never tried to see where it led. Now I know. Thanks!