Ground bar ??

[THE VICTORIA]

In some recent bilge exploring I noticed that when the prvious owner repowered all ground wires to a grounding bar attached to my hull were cut and or disconnected .All grounds now go dirrectly to the new engine block.Should I recconect and use this ground buss that runs along the under side of my hull ?

[PugetSound]

There's an old saying: "If it works, don't fix it." The way I see it, a ground is a ground is a ground. I think the primary reason some boats have grounding bars is due to a lack of anything as substantial as an engine block to ground to (think of all those sailboats using outboards as auxillaries). Stick with what you've got unless someone out there gives you a real good reason to switch.

[Allen Foote]

You could call the previous owner and ask him why.

[Ross Faneuf]

You could also consult a marine electrician, or one of the few books on marine wiring for the amateur. Proper marine wiring is fussier than it looks, and quite different from house or car wiring.

Although I did most of the work on Ceol Mor myself, including casting the ballast keel and installing the engine, I hired a pro to do the electrical system. It wasn't cheap, but I feel it was worth it. They did all kinds of things I never dreamed of; most of the wiring is much heavier, and the connections much fussier and more bulletproof, than I'm used to seeing on production boats.

And they used a grounding bar.

[This message has been edited by Ross Faneuf (edited 01-03-2002).]

[trull]

I always specify a ground bar, typically those made by Blue Sea. It makes for a much neater installation. I have seen too many boats where ground wires run to an engine block year after year and the terminals become covered in oil, vibrate off, etc. I like to see the ground bus in a dry location. How many circuits are there?
Look at some schematics on my web site for some idea.