[C320-list] Adding Electronics to Pedestal

[Allan Field]

Quentin - This is a big project, very probably more than a day!  I added a
Raymarine C80 and RAM mic several a few years ago and this is what I found,
going from an aging memory.

The port side tube is filled several inches up from the bottom with caulk.
It can be dug out with a hook, pick and needle-nose pliers but I was
concerned about stabbing wires already running through there so I took a
pass.  The starboard tube has a cable, at least on my boat, that only runs
down to the autohelm motor.  This means that at the base of the tube, there
is no exit through the deck to pass wires through.  What I wound up doing
was unscrewing everything in sight, including some set screws where the tube
mounts into the deck plate, then lifting the tubes up as the pedestal guard
prevents removing the tubes completely unless one goes through the trouble
of removing the guard - I did not.  I needed help from the biggest guy on
the dock in lifting those tubes up evenly. - it is very tight going through
the guard.

Once I got the tubes high enough and out of the way, I drilled a hole DOWN
(emphasize DOWN) through the deck and into the box in the aft cabin ceiling
- you will need to remove this box before doing anything.  Once you remove
the box, you will see why I stress drilling DOWN unless your confidence in
measuring where you think the hole is going to come through exceeds mine!  

The next part, running the wires, was a bear due to the tightness of the
tube.  I doubt that I ever will be able to add Radar but may try some day.
At any rate, I ran all the wires down to a Raymarine buss after
daisy-chaining them across the instrument panel.  I needed a 3-part BUSS and
these puppies are not easy to find and the instructions are not very clear
about this piece.  But it is necessary to maintain the daisy-chain SeaTalk.

The RAM mic is particularly challenging.  The instructions say don't cut the
wire under any circumstances.  But there is no way the plug is going into
the tube.  So I call Horizon.  They told me that there are 9 wires inside
the cable and as long as I was very careful to match them up again after
cutting, there should be no problem.  So I cut the wire and installed a
10-plug buss down by the fridge compressor.  Fishing the wire through
without the plug was relatively easy even with the tightness.  By the way,
what really compounds the tightness problem is that the autohelm wire needs
to make a 90-degree turn out of the tube to go to the motor - that turn
takes up a lot of room that you are trying to get additional wires past.

Once the RAM mic cable was to the buss, I ran it back to the VHF at the Nav
Station.  I also sprayed a generous amount of Lanocote over the buss after
the wiring was complete and I knew everything worked OK.  However, the RAM
mic cable is not long enough so I had to order a 10-foot extension cable -
this simply plugs into the cable from the mic so no additional wiring is
required.  The RAM mic has never given me a moment's problem and is a
fantastic addition to the helm - no regrets at all.

One thing that I didn't do and know I should have done was to put epoxy
around the hole that I cut through the deck.  That is the right way to do
this project but adds another day that I did not have (this was my last boat
project prior to going in for a spinal fusion).  But I did put a ton of
caulk around the tube base before bolting the base and tube back into the
deck.  I did not put caulk in the hole like is on the starboard side for
obvious reasons. 

Hope this helps...

Allan S. Field
Sea Shadow - #808
Columbia, MD


-----Original Message-----
From: c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com
[mailto:c320-list-bounces at catalina320.com] On Behalf Of Quentin Murphy
Sent: Friday, March 16, 2007 2:28 PM
To: C320-List
Subject: [C320-list] Adding Electronics to Pedestal

My boat, like most, have the one-inch pedestal guard.  The newer boats have
1 1/4-inch and the MK-II have the new pedestal.  The problem, especially for
us with the one-inch guard, is adding or upgrading electronics at the helm.
Presently I have the Raymarine Tri-Data, Wind and Auto-Helm at the helm and
the Raymarine "Multi" below.  My existing VHF radio is an older Raymarine.
I'm adding a Chart Plotter Standard Horizon CP170C and changing the radio
(Standard Horizon - Quest) so I can have a RAM Mike at the helm and DSC.
The radio itself will stay below. In addition, I'm thinking of installing a
stereo with a wired remote at the helm.  I would think this is a common
upgrade for many C-320 owners.  With NMEA, RAM Mike, GPS antennae and remote
stereo wires to pull through the pedestal guard, things start getting rather
tight.  I plan on doing all this at one time as the only way this could be
done is to remove all the wires and pull them back in with the added cables
all together.  Ideally, I would like to keep the Starboard side for 12-volt
power (two #14 gauge), Auto Helm to Motor and possibly shielded wires.  Then
the communications (data) wires can go in the Port side where they are less
likely to be interfered with from inductance from the power cables. 

I plan on running the power cable from the breaker (2 #14 marine cable) to
the Auto Helm and then using the Sea Talk to power the rest of the Raymarine
devices and then back to the Raymarine "Multi" below and back to another
breaker (for redundancy).  I will power the GPS from the 12 volt supply #14
wire using an in-line fuse.  I'll also add a cigarette lighter socket to the
side of the Navpod using another in-line fuse. 

As my boat is presently on its cradle a long way away, can anyone remember
if the Starboard side of the guard is relatively free, or if it is used
(lower down) for the wiring harness from the engine instrument panel
(trapezoid) to the engine?  I know there is another tube from this trapezoid
housing through the cockpit sole, but that might be for control mechanical
(throttle, kill handle) linkages only?  Any pointers from anyone on the
group who has gone through this would be appreciated before I get into this
project this spring.  I basically want to do this upgrade in one shot.

Quentin Murphy
Celtic Knot #667