Under deck conduits

[Todd j]

It seems like there’s a bunch of us pretty close together as far as what’s going on in the shop.  I’m wondering now about running conduits under floors below my decks.  I just don’t know how many, what size, from where to where?   I’ve had boats before, but nothing like this.  Shoot, some of you are building the GA cause your big boat boat wasn’t big enough!
  Pics if any would be handy.  FWIW this is a list I want to plan for. 
  Other than what is required for safety and comfort I would like eventually to be equipped with—
  Anchor winch on bow
  Davit, electric downriggers and reels
  Wash down pump/s
   Bilge pumps, shower sump pump
   Water pump
    Forced ventilation in fuel compartment
   Radar, vhf, big lowrance, 7-9” in cockpit
   Dual helms
   Cabin and deck lighting
In a perfect world I could run conduits everywhere and ther would be one close enough I guess

 

[Brian.Dixon]

Use big conduit with spare room and leave a line in it for pulling wiring through later on when you add more stuff...

[Djeffrey]

I ran two 2 1/2

[Todd j]

Thanks.  I’m not sure when enough is enough.  I have read that fish finder transducer wires should not share conduit with other wires. Any truth?

[Brian.Dixon]

Thanks.  I’m not sure when enough is enough.  I have read that fish finder transducer wires should not share conduit with other wires. Any truth?

In general, "signal" wires in boats are digital and as such, can interfere with neighboring signal wires.  THAT said, the shielding provided on these wires are good enough to allow signal wires to run in the same channel with each other and were designed for that.  If you have older unshielded or twisted-pair wiring, then THOSE should be kept apart, and if they must cross, they should cross each other at 90-degree angles to prevent cross-talk.  With today's electronics and wiring, the rule is ... pretty much do whatever you want and it'll work.  It doesn't hurt to design for separation, but should be no problem if you don't.  Wiring to consider are busses for computers (regardless of device types) and motor control.

[Todd j]

Here’s what I did.   I tried to not use fittings.  There was 1 spot where it was u unavoidable due to the radius of the bends. 

[Brian.Dixon]

Nice neat work!  I don't think you'll run out of available conduit... haha.

Just for the record, noting that I don't care when it comes to under-deck bulkheads and the web stringers, I would prefer that holes in the main stringers stay 2" or further from the top or bottom of the stringers.  You'll be OK with yours the way they are because you'll have glued-in decks on top (perhaps a little deck raising too?  That would add distance) that'll add strength ... and the boat, especially those great big beams, is over-strong as designed... by a big margin.  So far, GA's have proved their strength by going airborne and slamming large swells while running heavy, slamming into deadhead submerged logs at speed, and surviving hurricanes ... these boats are built like a tank.

Brian

[Todd j]

 We talked about drilling through the main stringers elsewhere.  I couldn’t find it this morning.  The conclusion from memory (as foggy as it is sometimes) was:  my stringers with the 4” lvl piggyback on top of the main, once drilled, would not add to the strength of the stringer. 
  I stayed out of the main stringer as designed.  The added stringer was added to the glassed over main as a rot stop.  Your idea there too!

[Brian.Dixon]

We talked about drilling through the main stringers elsewhere.  I couldn’t find it this morning.  The conclusion from memory (as foggy as it is sometimes) was:  my stringers with the 4” lvl piggyback on top of the main, once drilled, would not add to the strength of the stringer. 
  I stayed out of the main stringer as designed.  The added stringer was added to the glassed over main as a rot stop.  Your idea there too!

Oh yeah!!  (Slap my forehead!)  I forgot that you already had the added height on the stringers.  Your solution is el perfecto!  Thanks for the reminder ...

Brian

[Todd j]

Is wasn’t for as much as someone else that might  not know all the details.  😁😁. There is no way you could keep up with all the details of so many projects. 

FWIW.  I would not build this way again.  It has a few advantages, but knot sure they outweigh the PITA factor

[Djeffrey]

A little overkill.....maybe. I found that my 2 two inch pvc wasn’t really enough. Should have used at least one 3 inch. I love seeing patients at work. That is a lot of detail that you will not regret. Well done

[Grady300]

Here’s what I did.   I tried to not use fittings.  There was 1 spot where it was u unavoidable due to the radius of the bends.

The only thing i would add is be sure to use a big enough sweep in the PVC pipe you plan to run you throttle controls through! When I built my Tolman Widebody I was barley able to get the ends that go to the motor through the corner. All sweeps in the Kodiak I'm building will be at least 12"

[Todd j]

RE: throttle and steering controls.  I have 2 each 2" conduits under shelf that are dedicated solely to controls without any bends.  1 each 2" conduit that will be dedicated solely to transducer cables.  all of the above are empty so far.  I have moved a few wiring components to reduce long cable runs.  Having said that as discussed in another thread the wire sizes can get quite a bit bigger than you might think on a boat this large.  Sooooo, I thought I would share some of my observations and lessons learned.
  1) its likely your boat will be way more bitchin than you ever imagined and you will want to make it more so by adding expensive super cool stuff.  Like bow winch, heat, refer, shower sump, jack plate to name a few
  2) double the amount of conduits you think you will need or go up in pipe size where you can on at least one run on each side of the boat.
  3) if you dont plan to run a small conduit to serve a single device(i did this several times) leave your self strategic ways into or out of the main runs(I did this also)
  4) give your self a way across the boat at the stern end(I did not and it cost me extra money, larger wire, and ate up tons of space in the conduit/s)
   5) give yourself a way across the boat in the cuddy under the bunks( i did not and will probably drill small holes in my cuddy roof supports for lighting)

Hope this makes someone's life easier than mine has been.  And we thought I over did it!