Navigation light installation my way.

[Fab1]

Hi guys,today was the day I decided to install some navigation lights to my tinny for a bit of night fishing.

So I thought I'd do a little write up with a few photo graphs in the hope it will be useful to others.

Tools you will need are:

Drill

Drill bits

side cutters/pliers

Soldering iron/solder

Heat shrink

Electrical tape

Centre punch

Hammer

Jigsaw/hacksaw

Files

Hole saw

Corrugated tubing

Tinned red/black marine wire

Stainless fasteners

In line fuse holder

The first thing you want to do is have a clear picture of what you are going to do.

Better still make yourself a simple diagram like this one.

Next you want to decide where your switch panel is going to be mounted.

I choose this spot on the starboard side of my steering wheel.

Make sure before you cut out the hole that you've got room behind the mounting position,make yourself a cardboard template and hack out the hole using the jigsaw or even a hacksaw blade used by hand as I've done here.(keep the off cut for later)

Tip-Drill a hole to take the hacksaw/jigsaw as a starting point.

Next decide how much wire you need and where your going to run it from.

In my case I have a fwd steer runabout with the battery in the aft starboard corner and a existing wiring loom running up the insides of the starboard gunnels which I utilised.

Here I've soldered the terminals on the wires and running a 5amp fuse on the positive battery connection.These photos I'm feeding all my wires through the corrugated tubing along the gunnels.

Solder,heat shrink ,tape all joints in wires/corrugated tubing for a tight,neat,water proof finish.

Once all your wiring loom is run along your chosen path,use cable ties and electrical tape to bundle them neatly.

Here ive installed a nav light under my bowrail on the mounting plate with a hole drilled through the bow for the wiring.

Here I've wired up the all round white light and made up a bracket from the piece of off cut i cut out for the switch panel.

Ok now everything's wired it's time to fasten the switch panel down.

After cable tying the under dash wiring neatly and connecting up the battery lets give it a test.

In the dark

Thanks for looking guys,this is a very basic way to install electrics for anyone interested in giving it a go.

Cheers.

[antonywardle]

nice work!

[General Zod]

^{Nice job Fab1, the pleasures of doing it yourself, try and put a rubber seal around it before you screw it in or the inside well start to corrode. I know from experience.}

[Fab1]

^{Nice job Fab1, the pleasures of doing it yourself, try and put a rubber seal around it before you screw it in or the inside well start to corrode. I know from experience.}

Thanks guys,If your talking about a rubber seal on the switch panel General Zod I have made up a gasket/seal that goes inbetween the switch panel and dash that's already installed.

[Guest no one]

Well done Fab, good work!

[union man]

Nice job

[troutboy]

Nice Job Fab, 24hr fishing machine now! Just 1 little niggle, I believe that your all round white light is only legal if it is tall enough to be seen unobstructed from all around the boat. Is your light on an extendable pole? cheers troutboy

[Fab1]

Nice Job Fab, 24hr fishing machine now! Just 1 little niggle, I believe that your all round white light is only legal if it is tall enough to be seen unobstructed from all around the boat. Is your light on an extendable pole? cheers troutboy

Hi mate,I removed the guts out of the useless 600mm original pole and modified it to suit a 2000mm stainless pole that I had.All I had to do was un solder the fittings,extend the wiring and re solder everything back on.So now I have a 2meter fixed pole that towers over the canopy and can be seen all round.

Cheers.

[big Neil]

Well done Fab1. A very informative step by step description. I'm going to fit some for the Summer when I'll be night fishing for Murray Cod. Cheers.

[Geoff]

it's a bit hard to tell from the photo angle but it appears the anchor is not legal . It needs to be higher than the screen / canopy so it can be seen 360 degree.

U may like to check the reg's but from memory it needs to be about 6" above the highest point in the boat

[Fab1]

it's a bit hard to tell from the photo angle but it appears the anchor is not legal . It needs to be higher than the screen / canopy so it can be seen 360 degree.

U may like to check the reg's but from memory it needs to be about 6" above the highest point in the boat

Hi mate,the anchor light in the photo is with the 600mm pole.I since modified it to a 2000mm pole as per post above.Im going to mount it later to my windscreen rail as the anchor light pole down the back interferes with my rods and my vision too much when fishing out the back.

Cheers.