Boat wiring question

We needed to run power to the little puck that comes with the Terrova and we want to install a sonar unit in the front of the boat and maybe some other electronics in the front of the boat that would run off the battery for the motor in the back. I have seen recommendations saying not to run other accessories off the batteries your trolling motor runs on. So my question is, is there some sort of device, fuse block or something that I can install in the front of the boat, so that I can just wire accessories into it, instead of having to run all the various power lines all the way to the back to the battery? Just as a way to save running and hiding wires over and over?

Getting tired of having to continuously hide wires….

I have both my sonars wired to the same batteries as my trolling motor and have never had an issue.

Radio shack sells small fuse blocks and simple connection blocks.

Yes you can, just make sure you have a master switch to disconnect from the battery or it will drain it. Run a heavier gauge wire, at least 12 or 10 gauge. Keep as far away from the trolling motor as possible.

Blue Sea makes a little 4-slot fuse block, like mentioned before you could run (1) #10 lead (with a fuse) to the battery, then run your individual units off of this.

https://www.bluesea.com/products/5045/ST_Blade_Compact_Fuse_Blocks_-_4_Circuits

HRG

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I have a couple of the Blue Sea fuse blocks and they work great, however I would get one with a negative/ground block instead, as you don’t want to use the boat as the ground; it can cause electrolysis and corrosion.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000THQ0CQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3veUAb9Y8QKP2

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munchy wrote:

I have a couple of the Blue Sea fuse blocks and they work great, however I would get one with a negative/ground block instead, as you don’t want to use the boat as the ground; it can cause electrolysis and corrosion.

Munchy,
Good point. I failed to mention that for the negative-side, I would run a #10 from the battery to the bow, then tie all the grounds together, usually with ring terminals and a ss screw. But, the panel with the ground bar is a nicer approach.

HRG

You need to install that puck in the rear of the boat. Fyi.

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

You need to install that puck in the rear of the boat. Fyi.

-J.

I’m not sure that you NEED to, but you certainly can. Here’s the installation and calibration manual for the heading sensor.

http://www.comstedt.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2394900rb_Heading-Sensor_low.pdf

Trust me, you need to. Certainly don’t mount up front on the bow. Spot lock and jog won’t work properly.

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

Trust me, you need to. Certainly don’t mount up front on the bow. Spot lock and jog won’t work properly.

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

You need to install that puck in the rear of the boat. Fyi.

-J.

As long as the puck is out of the magnetic interference of the trolling motor and other accessories it will be fine. I’ve seen many pro boats with the puck up on the bow.

It is best to use a different battery then the trolling motor to reduce interference. usually install accessories to the starting battery. it is best to mount the puck opposite end of boat for proper use it helps with the accuracy of the unit. needs to be min 5 feet or so away.

Mike Klein wrote:

needs to be min 5 feet or so away.

-J.

munchy wrote:

I’ve seen many pro boats with the puck up on the bow.

Just because a “Pro” had it done up that way, doesn’t mean it is the best way to do it. Will it work? Sure. Will it work better if done right? Yes!

-J.

You need a marine fuse block like munchy posted.

Be sure to run wire that is correctly sized from the battery to feed the fuse block. As HRG says, 10 GA wire would be a good option in absence of calculating loads. Use a continuous run of wire from battery to block, do not splice wire in the middle of a run, this is just asking for trouble. Never ground to a hull, run + and – to battery.

Make sure the wire is protected anywhere it passes through a hole. Grommet all holes through metal and glue the grommets in place with hot glue or GOOP sealant to prevent them from pulling or vibrating out.

In the past, the recommendation has been to run accessories to the starting battery unless running very high drain equipment.

Grouse

Great advice everyone. I already have the puck mounted on the bow, inside a little storage door. If I have bad performance there, not too hard to move it back.

The instructions for fuse block recommends an inline fuse between the battery and block. Any ideas what size? Just planning to run the terrova puck, and humminbird sonar and maybe a few outlets for plugging in an underwater camera, usb port for phone charging, etc

Also, do I need a switch to turn off power to the block? The humminbird will always be removed from its mount and I am not sure if the puck draws much power at all.

Is this Terova puck something new? My Terova is 3 or 4 years old and I don’t remember installing this. Thanks.

bzzsaw wrote:

Is this Terova puck something new? My Terova is 3 or 4 years old and I don’t remember installing this. Thanks.

They just came out with it last year I believe. The one I bought last year had it and my brothers the year before did not.

Jeffrey Trapp wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bzzsaw wrote:</div>
Is this Terova puck something new? My Terova is 3 or 4 years old and I don’t remember installing this. Thanks.

They just came out with it last year I believe. The one I bought last year had it and my brothers the year before did not.

2017 was indeed the first year. These models have “BT” for Bluetooth on the model number when looking at the label under the head.

Jon Jordan wrote:

Trust me, you need to. Certainly don’t mount up front on the bow. Spot lock and jog won’t work properly.

Can you elaborate? I know for heading sensors / remote GPS pucks for locators you want them as close as possible to the transducer, but for the heading sensor tied to the trolling motor, I’d think you would want it as close to the trolling motor as possible since that’s where the control of the boat is at?

russellhess wrote:

Great advice everyone. I already have the puck mounted on the bow, inside a little storage door. If I have bad performance there, not too hard to move it back.

Inside? I don’t think you can do that. I do believe it needs to be outside with a clear line of sight to the trolling motor.

Mount the Heading Sensor in an area that has a clear
line of communication with the head of the motor that is installed with a Bluetooth compatible i-Pilot or i-Pilot Link system for optimum performance.

re-read the post. It needs to be at least 5 feet away. Back of the boat if possible.

-J.

marineman wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jon Jordan wrote:</div>
Trust me, you need to. Certainly don’t mount up front on the bow. Spot lock and jog won’t work properly.

Can you elaborate? I know for heading sensors / remote GPS pucks for locators you want them as close as possible to the transducer, but for the heading sensor tied to the trolling motor, I’d think you would want it as close to the trolling motor as possible since that’s where the control of the boat is at?

It uses the compass to sense the direction the boat is pointed in so it can accurately jog the boat in the correct direction.

With that said, moving it farther away will certainly make for a more accurate reading, how much it matters is debatable. I feel that how parallel it’s mounted in relation to the keel is as important if not more important than how far back it is placed.

I agree 100% that getting the arrow pointed in the right direction is of utmost importance.

Maybe I’m missing something on how this works… is Ipilot using the position information from both the head unit AND the directional indicator?

If it’s getting it from both, then I agree moving them further apart would aid in accuracy.. I thought though that that puck was “only” a heading sensor? If that’s the case as long as it’s pointed in the right direction it doesn’t matter where in the boat it goes I guess?

marineman wrote:

I thought though that that puck was “only” a heading sensor? If that’s the case as long as it’s pointed in the right direction it doesn’t matter where in the boat it goes I guess?

This is correct. I did some thinking later and realized it doesn’t matter how far apart they are. The heading sensor only tells the motor which direction the boat is pointed.

Not sure if this illustration will make sense. It shows the heading sensor in two possible locations (small white circles). It also shows the mounting alignment. One showing the sensors mounted perfectly in line with the keel (yellow) and the angled ones 10 degrees off from the keel (red).

I showed what it would look like if you jogged 10’ to the right with the heading sensor mounted front, back and if both were 10 degrees off (yellow and red circles).

Better illustration added. Ignore the one with white lines.

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There is a calibration procedure that you spin the boat around in two circles and it will determine what angle the puck may be offset, and when you accept the calibration, it uses that offset to basically zero itself.

Now, thinking about that calibration and how you do the circles (assuming you do so by using the Minn Kota), perhaps that could lend to a different offset number if the puck is located at the bow or at the stern?

You drive the boat in 2 big circles with the main motor. This sets the calibration. There is another step to set the offset. The way I understand the heading sensor, the farther away from the t-motor, the less the t motor has to make corrections. As mentioned, this also helps with the job feature.

-J.

It would be interesting to hear what the guys at Skeeter Boat Center have to say about rigging the Heading Sensor. I rigged mine last summer with the Heading Sensor on the bow. I followed the set up and calibration instructions and every thing seems to work fine. This discussion has got me second guessing myself.

I called Minnkota today. They told me it needs to be 24” or farther away from anything magnetic. 2’ or 20’ makes no difference. It’s only there as a sensor to tell the motor which direction the keel is pointed.

Also note, the older ipilot models had the same calibration procedure.

Thanks for getting the official word!