August 16, 2013.
Another week finished. It's a little
bizarre how much faster the week flies by when you enjoy your work.
It's been glorious waking up to temps in the mid sixties the last few
days and it makes everything a bit easier as well.
As far as work goes it was a run of
the mill kinda week. Installed some new davits on a sailboat,
replaced a few bilge pump float switches, rewired a mast and
installed some new stuff here and there. All in all a very pleasant
week.
I did formulate an opinion on a
subject that I’ve been aware of but had never given serious
consideration. I've read multiple opinions that instead of dropping
a bundle of money on marine battery cable that its okay to use
welding cable as a substitute.
Last week I had to replace some 2/0
cable that ran through the bilge of the ships engine room. The wire
was welding cable and the sheathing on the cable was definitely not
up to the rigors of a marine environment. After a few years of
exposure to diesel and oil the wires covering had turned into Jello.
The covering had expanded so that it was 40% larger than the wire it
covered and without the support of the covering the wire itself just
went limp. I could pinch the wire between my fingers and rip the
covering. So my opinion is that you can save money by drinking
cheaper rum but you really shouldn't cut corners when it comes to
your wiring.
And no matter what wire you choose,
either way it really ought to be wired correctly. This was actually a positive cable. I guess the wee piece of red shrink tube at the end was supposed to be the clue. I found this 2/0
cable today that had been stripped WAY back, the terminal was crimped
on and the perpetrator tried to cover the 3/4's of an inch of exposed
cable with some shrink tubing. Nice.
One good thing about powerboats is
that every once in a while you come across a really nice stateroom.
Today I was fortunate enough to
encounter the smallest Praying Mantis I had ever seen.
4 comments:
The plug wiring is awesome. Was it at least soldered? When you see shit like that do you go hunting for more stupidity onboard? Do the owners just shrug their shoulders when you show them, or do they go pale?
You have to be careful because a lot of the time it is the owner thats been doing his own wiring. Of course they'll blame it on the previous owner or that guy down in the Rio Dulce.....
Cool. I always wondered what those little holes were for on the end of the plug pins.
I think I know the guy that wired that --- hHis name is Jimmy Bob
Post a Comment