Downrigger wiring

S

smp747

Crew Member
I'm currently working on rewiring my 17' BW Montauk and I'm adding scotty downriggers to the unit.

My plan was to buy a fused blue sea switch panel but the max amperage rating per circuit is 15 amp at 12v, and need to have 30 amp protection for each downrigger.
The fuse used switch panel can be seen here for reference https://www.bluesea.com/products/4308/WeatherDeck_12V_DC_Waterproof_Fuse_Panel_-_Gray_8_Positions

My question is, what is the best way to be able to run a rocker switch setup on my console and still be able to support the 30 amp protection requirements of my downriggers? Am I overthinking the situation? My last whaler was wired from a fuse black to switch and i never had any issues with downriggers.

Would it be best to go to a separate fuse block with 30 amp protection and wire each one to a switch?

Appreciate the help as always.
 
Not sure what others do but , both my riggers, on all my boats I’ve owned, I wire direct to house batery with an inline fuse capable of 40amp,use 30amp fuse, but with trap puller I sometimes need 40 amp, use a 8gauge wire, I see no need for switch In my application,
 
brutus said:
Not sure what others do but , both my riggers, on all my boats I’ve owned, I wire direct to house batery with an inline fuse capable of 40amp,use 30amp fuse, but with trap puller I sometimes need 40 amp, use a 8gauge wire, I see no need for switch In my application,
Click to expand...

That's what I have as well. Doesn't really need a switch.
 
On my Montauk, the downriggers were wired direct to the battery with inline blade fuses. No need for switches like others have said.
 
brutus said:
Not sure what others do but , both my riggers, on all my boats I’ve owned, I wire direct to house batery with an inline fuse capable of 40amp,use 30amp fuse, but with trap puller I sometimes need 40 amp, use a 8gauge wire, I see no need for switch In my application,
Click to expand...
Ditto as well on the wire size
 
Thanks guys, ill probably just avoid running them off a switch for and use a blue sea fuse block with 30 amp fuses. I just liked the idea of having local control over each device on the console. I will still have my main battery disconnect.
As for wire goes, I'm using 10/2 so I'm covered for that.

Appreciate the help as always, I tend to make things as complicated as possible for myself, and often need to be humbled into simplification.
 
I would reccomend a 30 amp resettable breaker, If you trip the breaker you can hit the reset button and be back on line rather than looking around for a fuse while your 2 lead balls are stuck on the bottom and the wind is pushing your boat in circles off beechey head.
 
Gong Show said:
On my skiff, I have a blue seas fuse block with spade fuses between battery and Scotty plugs.
https://www.bluesea.com/products/5025/ST_Blade_Fuse_Block_-_6_Circuits_with_Negative_Bus_and_Cover
Click to expand...
Same one I added to mine, had the 12 gauge wires, went to 10 gauge as per Scotty's recommendation for the HP's, 30 amp fuses for the downriggers.

I have a 40 amp for the prawn puller but the electrician that did it told me he uses the 30 with his prawn puller and it has not gone out on him. Will look into the resettable type in the off season.
 
Not saying they aren’t good but one thing with a breaker is if they do trip a couple times they begin to get weak and will need to be replaced. And if you are busy pulling traps on say a prawn run the breaker can tend to heat up and get very weak and start to trip earlier and earlier. Just something to consider.
 
walleyes said:
Not saying they aren’t good but one thing with a breaker is if they do trip a couple times they begin to get weak and will need to be replaced. And if you are busy pulling traps on say a prawn run the breaker can tend to heat up and get very weak and start to trip earlier and earlier. Just something to consider.
Click to expand...
Not a fan of the breaker because of that reason, one thing to keep in mind, if wired properly , short run of proper gauge wire with clean connections, a 30 amp breaker should not trip unless something is wrong
 
Your downrigger is protected internally by a self resetting circuit breaker that just protects just the wiring within the downrigger. The wiring that powers the downrigger needs to be protected as well, hence the heavy wire with 30 amp protection. I would not use a self resetting circuit breaker in an application such as this, primarily because after it resets it will continue to kick out until you either fix the problem or a wire melts and at best results an open circuit or at worst a fire.
 
23Hourston said:
Tough to fit 8 awg into the plugs no?
Click to expand...
No,to support 30amp you need at least 10gauge, I go with 8 just so I can bump to 40 for my puller, just use the butt connector with a small modification.lots use too small of a wire and that’s why they blow fuse all the time,even melt wire's, buddy almost burn his boat from burning wires to his riggers years ago
 
Last edited:
brutus said:
No,to support 30amp you need at least 10gauge, I go with 8 just so I can bump to 40 for my puller, just use the butt connector with a small modification.lots use too small of a wire and that’s why they blow fuse all the time,even melt wire's, buddy almost burn his boat from burning wires to his riggers years ago
Click to expand...
Totally should use 8 on all the scotty wires, a buddy just burnt a whole blue seas panel because of a puller problem and 10 ga wire. I rewired my puller and riggers to 8 so i can interchange plugs in an emergency
 
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