www.iFourWinns.com

I'm picking this up from a question asked here: http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=13943#p13943



I looked at all the screws and decided against it. The wiring in the bow runs along the port side and then appears to run across the top of the bulkhead facing the anchor locker. It's very tightly setup and I don't see an easy way to get to it. However, the underside is accessible and allows complete access all the way the underside of the anchor locker. Assuming you remove the water tank, of course. This isn't all that difficult, as the panel under the bed (the one with the drawer in it) comes out without too much hassle (lots less than the cabinets). You have to take the drawer out; pull it out and then tip it up, pull and then out it comes just like any regular cabinet drawer. Once the drawer is out there are some brackets up along the top near the bow that unscrew, and two on the inside panel edge (which are best removed with a shorty screwdriver). Drain the tank, unscrew the aft edge of the straps that hold it down, squeeze them to the sides and it'll slide right out. Once out you've got total access under the whole berth area. Just pick up a couple of cargo quilts to lay down against the fiberglass to keep from getting itchy (advice learned the hard way...)

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Perfect,

Thanks for the info. That does sound a bunch easier than taking all the screws out of the cabinets. I think I'd removed about 100 and still didn't have anything really moving or out. Each time I removed a set of screws I found two more sets that had to be removed in order to get anywhere. I finally gave up and decided to try some other routing. I've been able to get all the way from the bow TV cabinet to the bow right above the speaker on the starboard side. I've also been able to get behind the cabinets and to right above the curtain. I've been working on this in order to get cameras mounted throughout the boat. I've now got a couple of axis cameras mounted throughout the cabin as well as a netbotz in order to monitor door contacts, temperature, humidity, and water contacts.

On a related note, have you or anyone else ever run wires from the radar arch to the helm (behind the nav display). I'd like to get a camera mounted on the radar arch to get a good overall view of the cockpit. As long as I'm asking, how about from the helm to the engine bay? Obviously there are lots of wires running from both locations to the helm, but I'm not sure how hard it is to pull additional wires through these paths.

Thanks
Ben

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2001 Cruisers 4450
Volvo TAMD-74P 480hp Diesels

The arch is easy. It's hollow. Just drop the wire down the starboard side. You may want to push an electrician's 'fish tape' down the arch first. Either use the flat ribbon kind or make sure you bend the curves out of the regular wire type. The arch has no restrictions inside of it so it's pretty much a simple drop.

Remove the speaker to get access to the bottom of the arch where it meets the gunwale. There's a pair of holes through the bottom of the arch where it meets the deck. There are other wires in there but you can get a few more in there. From below getting up to the helm is a bit tricky. The fuel tank is located such that you cannot reach very far with your arms. No worries, get to a home despot store and pickup a 3-piece set of fiberglass rods they sell in the electrical department. The rods are about the only EASY way to deliver the wire from the engine compartment up to the helm. Regular fish tape isn't stiff enough to span the whole length from the helm back up and over the fuel tank. Trust me on this, get the rod set.

Getting behind the helm is best done by removing the chart plotter. That will give you access to the area behind it. There's a hole through to the gunwale. Feed the fiberglass rods from the helm. They're stiff, but they're flexible enough to let you make the bends needed.

As a side tip, the same company that makes the rods (whose name escapes me at the moment) also sells a flexible auger bit and a tool for bending it. GET THAT TOOL. It really helps in bending the fiberglass rods. You "can" do without it, but once you get the rod through to the gunwale and back to the engine compartment the bending tool will make it a bit easier to get the rod aligned up and over the fuel tank. You can probably do it without the tool, but if you do any other electrical work it'll come in handy later.

I guess the tedious part of the job becomes anchoring the wires. You do NOT want to leave them loose as wave action and other vibrations will eventually cause them to chafe against something and break. Broken wires in the engine compartment is a VERY BAD THING. As in, sparks and gasoline fumes. So make sure you tie the lines down properly. There will be a length from the arch down to the inside ceiling of the engine compartment that won't be easily anchored. Same deal with a section from the fuel tank up to the helm. Just make sure the wire is reasonably taut between those points. And use decent anchors at the stress points to avoid chafing. A cheapie tie wrap might not be a good idea as the hard plastic edges can cut into the cable. Or put a bit of rubber in between to cushion it. Depending on where it's anchored you could also use screw-down ones with a rubber insert. That's what I did.

Oh, and if you're powering this device be careful about stealing it from the chart plotter circuit. The factory wiring is "just barely enough" to provide power to the chart plotter. I had to run a new +/- set of a heavier gauge to support the drain my E-80 pulls. (THAT was a wiring job, down one gunwale and back up the other to the breakers...)

When dealing with a puzzling question, why not contact Four Winns? Their support department has been very helpful in explaining how to get into the "non-obvious" locations like the hot water heater (you pull up the whole starboard bench support panel).

Which cameras are you considering?

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Bill,

Once again I can't thank you enough for your help and knowledge of our boats. The main reason I haven't contacted Four Winns is that until your post it hadn't occured to me. I think I'm more used to working with manufacturers who don't want you tinkering with their product. That's good advice and I'll take it next time. Though I will say I don't know that anyone from Four Winns will supply me with the level of detail you have in terms of how to do it, what tools to use and what lessons you've learned the hard way.

On the camera question. I'm using Axis 211's in a couple of spots in the cabin. On the arch I plan to use an outdoor bullet type camera with infrared illuminators. The 211s don't have IR sensitivity nor illuminators. I'm also considering putting one in the engine room. If I do that I'll wire that both to the chart plotter and to the Axis 240q video server I'm using for the other bullet cameras on the boat.

In the event your wondering why so many cameras... I had a couple of incidents last year with people on the boat. A few small items were stolen off the boat and I'd like to both discourage that and know what is happening on the boat when I'm not there. I guess that's one of the main downsides to mooring the boat in downtown Chicago.

Thanks again
Ben

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2001 Cruisers 4450
Volvo TAMD-74P 480hp Diesels

Yeah, you'd certainly want to go through your dealer whenever possible. They're "supposed to" be handling most support questions/issues. But given the hassles I've had with mine, well, it was nice to have FW's help. I'd certainly encourage using the dealer FIRST.

Nothing helps like hearing from someone that's done it. Even more when they've done it the wrong way first!

Sounds like you've been having some fun dealing with the camera and monitoring gear. Any reason you picked that stuff? I'd like to add a camera up on the arch but I've yet to see something small and compact, that does pan/tilt/zoom and can survive outdoors (let alone saltwater marine).

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista