A few have read my posts in other areas here and asked what I have been up to. The conversation quickly led to a more technical one in regards to what I was doing at present. Figured I would create a thread on that topic in hopes it may help some out and also serve as to sharp shoot my work.
A little back story for those wondering why I took a brand new boat and essentially went over each inch and started to "tear it apart". I had the dealer install the Optimus 360 system and noticed on the first couple times out the electronics were not communicating as they should. The main issue that started me down this path was the Garmin display was not sending a waypoint to the Optimus system for the auto pilot to work. After a call to the dealer they put me in contact with the Dometic tech support guy who said to send him pics of a couple different areas. Up to this point I had yet to open any of the hatches and check the boat out in more detail. The first thing I noticed was the terrible wiring job and knew the tech guy was going to have me trace wires. The wiring job I am referencing was not something Parker did, it was the dealer. They are the ones that installed all the electronics. I know because they were all in boxes in the cabin when I looked at the boat. I could also pick out two different styles of wiring and different types of zip ties as I went through the boat. I sent him some pictures and was told that the network (NEMA 2000) "T"s were bent and I would have issues in the future if not fixed. He also told me that I was missing a cable in order for the Garmin to talk to the CANTRAK display (Optimus display). He said when I add that cable I need to also remove all the Optimus components from the NEMA network with the exception of the cable I was going to add (CAN3) and I can leave the Seastion antenna on the NEMA network for better GPS data to be sent to the Garmin, this was the only component that could be hooked up to either NEMA or the Optimus/ private network I would need to build. So I ordered the CAN3 cable and while I waited I decided to dig around the boat to see what else may not be right. Whenever I see something wrong I start to dig deeper, most times there is. I figured I have 23 hours on it and this is the time to get everything right to prevent any issues down the road.
I began on the stern of the boat and quickly saw that when the dealer drilled holes in the transom in order to run the hydraulic and electrical lines for the electro hydraulic steering they never sealed the holes, no boots, no 5200 nothing. Just bare plywood and sawdust. There was a pile of both negative and positive battery cable sitting in the bilge, among other wires. I worked my way to the helm and saw that some wires were disconnected from the accessory panel, to include the diodes for the forward and aft bilge pumps (that was fun figuring that one out). I already knew at this point that I was going to have to take the wiring harness apart from the stern to the helm in order to run the network cable for the Optimus system and I also wanted to clean up the wiring job. I figured if I was going to do all this work I mine as well come up with a list of all the additional electronics or electrical systems that I would want and add it all now. This way I can incorporate it all into the wiring harness and run all the wires at once. I really don't want to make a habit of digging into the wring harness and start adding zip tie on top of zip tie. To say this was a small not very expensive project that turned into something that took countless hours and a lot of money is an understatement. Good thing is once the wife decides to look at the bank statements I have a comfortable place to go.
The list of the changes I made are below, some will look at what I ended up changing the main power 1 and 2 cables with and say it is overkill. I thought so also at first and checked it multiple times, but once you factor in its not just on direction but both it makes sense (25ft one way/ 50ft round trip) I also chose a 2% voltage drop across the board.
-build a private network for the Optimus system
-fix the NEMA network
-fix the transom
-shorten all cables to length to include battery cables, Garmin network cables, etc.
-remove main power cables (6AWG) and replace with 0/1 cable
-install 2 outlets for electric reels
-install 0 degree rod mounts
-remove all inline fuses and wire them to a centrally located blue seas atc/ato box
-change the 40 Amp fuses for main power 1 and 2 to 80 Amp fuses (in the battery turn on/off box)
-install a victron battery monitor for each battery and put the displays for them at the helm
-install a 3 bank battery charger
-put a LED light with on/off rocker switch under the helm for the electronic wiring and another aft for the bilge/ battery hatch
-run a USB extension under the helm for each device to make firmware updates easier
-instal a Garmin SD card reader at the helm to make transferring data easier
-label each wire at each end and the middle
-install an amplifier, subwoofer and better speakers (I like audio)
-install a fan in the cabin
-install a Garmin XM marine weather antenna (mine as well at this point)
I think that's about it, might be missing a few things. The only couple things I have left to do is calibrate the fuel tank, fine tune the audio system and change the jacked up settings the dealer made for the joystick. That last part kind of irritates me, if I push the joystick left that's where I want it to go. I will take into account wind and current and dont need any kind of bias programmed in.
I think the only frivolous thing on that list was the audio stuff and I questioned myself when I decided to do that. The existing fusion system was fine but I also have installed aftermarket audio equipment in every car I ever owned. I am glad I did because I would have not found the leak in the roof if I didn't.
I am taking marine mechanic classes at night about 10 min from the marina where I keep the boat. Before class the one day I figured I would make a quick stop by the boat to remove the black pillars so I could take them home. (I needed to modify them to fit 4" speakers) Well, once I got them off I noticed a water stain and it was also wet. I removed the bolt where the water stain was and a small river of water poured out. The water and stain was hidden from the pillar so unless you removed that you would never see it. In hind sight I did notice that there was always a small puddle of water tucked away behind the jump seat. I just dismissed it as the cabin got wet as I was washing the deck. Turns out what was leaking was the rear bolt that holds the handles on that are on the roof. The reason it was leaking was the bolt was cross threaded and the little leather type material grommet that is there had 0 pressure to work. I ended up taking both handles off, bringing them home, checking threads, re tapping etc. I was late for class but after the explanation I was good to go.
Below are pics, not in any order. (the shit work is the before) I will add some of the finished aft hatch on Monday.
A little back story for those wondering why I took a brand new boat and essentially went over each inch and started to "tear it apart". I had the dealer install the Optimus 360 system and noticed on the first couple times out the electronics were not communicating as they should. The main issue that started me down this path was the Garmin display was not sending a waypoint to the Optimus system for the auto pilot to work. After a call to the dealer they put me in contact with the Dometic tech support guy who said to send him pics of a couple different areas. Up to this point I had yet to open any of the hatches and check the boat out in more detail. The first thing I noticed was the terrible wiring job and knew the tech guy was going to have me trace wires. The wiring job I am referencing was not something Parker did, it was the dealer. They are the ones that installed all the electronics. I know because they were all in boxes in the cabin when I looked at the boat. I could also pick out two different styles of wiring and different types of zip ties as I went through the boat. I sent him some pictures and was told that the network (NEMA 2000) "T"s were bent and I would have issues in the future if not fixed. He also told me that I was missing a cable in order for the Garmin to talk to the CANTRAK display (Optimus display). He said when I add that cable I need to also remove all the Optimus components from the NEMA network with the exception of the cable I was going to add (CAN3) and I can leave the Seastion antenna on the NEMA network for better GPS data to be sent to the Garmin, this was the only component that could be hooked up to either NEMA or the Optimus/ private network I would need to build. So I ordered the CAN3 cable and while I waited I decided to dig around the boat to see what else may not be right. Whenever I see something wrong I start to dig deeper, most times there is. I figured I have 23 hours on it and this is the time to get everything right to prevent any issues down the road.
I began on the stern of the boat and quickly saw that when the dealer drilled holes in the transom in order to run the hydraulic and electrical lines for the electro hydraulic steering they never sealed the holes, no boots, no 5200 nothing. Just bare plywood and sawdust. There was a pile of both negative and positive battery cable sitting in the bilge, among other wires. I worked my way to the helm and saw that some wires were disconnected from the accessory panel, to include the diodes for the forward and aft bilge pumps (that was fun figuring that one out). I already knew at this point that I was going to have to take the wiring harness apart from the stern to the helm in order to run the network cable for the Optimus system and I also wanted to clean up the wiring job. I figured if I was going to do all this work I mine as well come up with a list of all the additional electronics or electrical systems that I would want and add it all now. This way I can incorporate it all into the wiring harness and run all the wires at once. I really don't want to make a habit of digging into the wring harness and start adding zip tie on top of zip tie. To say this was a small not very expensive project that turned into something that took countless hours and a lot of money is an understatement. Good thing is once the wife decides to look at the bank statements I have a comfortable place to go.
The list of the changes I made are below, some will look at what I ended up changing the main power 1 and 2 cables with and say it is overkill. I thought so also at first and checked it multiple times, but once you factor in its not just on direction but both it makes sense (25ft one way/ 50ft round trip) I also chose a 2% voltage drop across the board.
-build a private network for the Optimus system
-fix the NEMA network
-fix the transom
-shorten all cables to length to include battery cables, Garmin network cables, etc.
-remove main power cables (6AWG) and replace with 0/1 cable
-install 2 outlets for electric reels
-install 0 degree rod mounts
-remove all inline fuses and wire them to a centrally located blue seas atc/ato box
-change the 40 Amp fuses for main power 1 and 2 to 80 Amp fuses (in the battery turn on/off box)
-install a victron battery monitor for each battery and put the displays for them at the helm
-install a 3 bank battery charger
-put a LED light with on/off rocker switch under the helm for the electronic wiring and another aft for the bilge/ battery hatch
-run a USB extension under the helm for each device to make firmware updates easier
-instal a Garmin SD card reader at the helm to make transferring data easier
-label each wire at each end and the middle
-install an amplifier, subwoofer and better speakers (I like audio)
-install a fan in the cabin
-install a Garmin XM marine weather antenna (mine as well at this point)
I think that's about it, might be missing a few things. The only couple things I have left to do is calibrate the fuel tank, fine tune the audio system and change the jacked up settings the dealer made for the joystick. That last part kind of irritates me, if I push the joystick left that's where I want it to go. I will take into account wind and current and dont need any kind of bias programmed in.
I think the only frivolous thing on that list was the audio stuff and I questioned myself when I decided to do that. The existing fusion system was fine but I also have installed aftermarket audio equipment in every car I ever owned. I am glad I did because I would have not found the leak in the roof if I didn't.
I am taking marine mechanic classes at night about 10 min from the marina where I keep the boat. Before class the one day I figured I would make a quick stop by the boat to remove the black pillars so I could take them home. (I needed to modify them to fit 4" speakers) Well, once I got them off I noticed a water stain and it was also wet. I removed the bolt where the water stain was and a small river of water poured out. The water and stain was hidden from the pillar so unless you removed that you would never see it. In hind sight I did notice that there was always a small puddle of water tucked away behind the jump seat. I just dismissed it as the cabin got wet as I was washing the deck. Turns out what was leaking was the rear bolt that holds the handles on that are on the roof. The reason it was leaking was the bolt was cross threaded and the little leather type material grommet that is there had 0 pressure to work. I ended up taking both handles off, bringing them home, checking threads, re tapping etc. I was late for class but after the explanation I was good to go.
Below are pics, not in any order. (the shit work is the before) I will add some of the finished aft hatch on Monday.
