Hardwired dowriggers?

[A-a-Ron]

I honestly though RC was messin’ with me when he said they could catch fire

 

[Derby]

No it's a really thing.. know another guide some years back boat caught fire and burn his garage and boat

 

[Flashman]

The plugs corrode really badly inside. You need to disassemble them and coat the internals heavily with grease or something like fluid film. It's almost a total waste of time to only coat the prongs. Both male and female sides of the plug need to be dealt with to reduce the corrosion problems.

 

[BC Coast Pilot]

Switch to Audible fuses, .22lr model

 

[searun]

wire them to circuit 30/40-amp breakers doing away with the plug socket . job done as long as you can get the breakers tucked away from open weather elements..... flick 'em off when not in use.............................. my set up but gives you the idea ......i do have plug's and sockets but done away with fuse's and just using breakers View attachment 100875

Exactly same set up as I have for my tub. I have one dedicated to each rigger, and the others to my electronics.

 

[baddogg]

No it's a really thing.. know another guide some years back boat caught fire and burn his garage and boat

Danny

 

[wdlfbio]

Hardwire them with circuit breakers. No plugs to catch fire, which has probably only happened once since scotty started making them…

 

[searun]

Hardwire them with circuit breakers. No plugs to catch fire, which has probably only happened once since scotty started making them…

I know of at least 4 guide boats where this has been an issue, so well worth taking precautions to have re-settable circuit breakers.

 

[A-a-Ron]

Is there a reason (aside from convenience) that hardwired with inline fuses wouldn’t work the exact same. And just pop it open at the fuse every time

 

[BC Coast Pilot]

Is there a reason (aside from convenience) that hardwired with inline fuses wouldn’t work the exact same. And just pop it open at the fuse every time

Until you're hung up in a rock pile and blow a fuse and its a bit windy with fuses scattered all over the wet deck and the downrigger gets ripped off the boat while you try and reinstall said fuse instead of maneuvering....Or the boat and house burns down because the downriggers were hard wired to the battery and not switched then no, you could call it convenience or preventative maintenance.

 

[Gong Show]

Same can be said for a warm resettable breaker that will not reset until it cools.
Fuses are cheap.
Either way you want them to be accessible for when the show begins!

 

[CiscoCat]

wire them to circuit 30/40-amp breakers doing away with the plug socket . job done as long as you can get the breakers tucked away from open weather elements..... flick 'em off when not in use.............................. my set up but gives you the idea ......i do have plug's and sockets but done away with fuse's and just using breakers View attachment 100875

Unfortunately your asking for problems with how this is wired. Make sure your line side jumpers can handle the sum of the loads not each individual breaker. Also make sure all of the load side connections are minimum #10 and that there is a main breaker or fuse before all these breakers not just a disconnect switch off the battery.

 

[wildthing]

Unfortunately your asking for problems with how this is wired. Make sure your line side jumpers can handle the sum of the loads not each individual breaker. Also make sure all of the load side connections are minimum #10 and that there is a main breaker or fuse before all these breakers not just a disconnect switch off the battery.

Cheers main load cable is #6 coming from 100 amp breaker to the 5 breakers for the scotties its all #10 then to the scotty sockets in fact its MERC 300 HP outboard power wire out the scrap bin which is the grey red/ blk coming off...
i'll live with the jump loop's for time being and there inside the cabin area

 

[searun]

Cheers main load cable is #6 coming from 100 amp breaker to the 5 breakers for the scotties its all #10 then to the scotty sockets in fact its MERC 300 HP outboard power wire out the scrap bin which is the grey red/ blk coming off...
i'll live with the jump loop's for time being and there inside the cabin area

Or trip the breakers when not in use - That's what I do every day.

 

[A-a-Ron]

wire them to circuit 30/40-amp breakers doing away with the plug socket . job done as long as you can get the breakers tucked away from open weather elements..... flick 'em off when not in use.............................. my set up but gives you the idea ......i do have plug's and sockets but done away with fuse's and just using breakers View attachment 100875

Cheers to all for the advice. I ended up rewiring it all… similar to @wildthing but as @CiscoCat pointed out, rather than jumpers on the line side I brought each #10 back to a main + bus.

 

[wildthing]

Unfortunately your asking for problems with how this is wired. Make sure your line side jumpers can handle the sum of the loads not each individual breaker. Also make sure all of the load side connections are minimum #10 and that there is a main breaker or fuse before all these breakers not just a disconnect switch off the battery.

doubt i'll have all rigger breakers running at once ... understand will have a bit of amperage drop at each loop connection point but i don't think a scotty rigger will mind ....if i go with a prawn puller prob go #6 or #8 AWG and a 50/60 amp breaker ...... beside's i have had to rewire most of the boat .... but doing it on a limited budget ...and trust me its better now than when i first got her.....
horror number one // fuel filler neck - fresh water tank - fuel tank direct connection to live side of battery some idiot thought the earth line was a positive ....... No grounding on shore power charger .... 50 yrs old solid mains cable on the 110v side ....so that all got sorted .... my Bertram is a 1965 hull but some of the old wiring is still holding up good where it's not its getting replaced ....