How to get to power in console of Mirrocraft Holiday 1738

[NM_Trout]

I'm about to break out my sonicrafter vibratory saw. Or a stick of dynamite.



Uncovered my Mirrocraft to start to figure out how to install my new 12" Lowrance unit (mounting location is another problem) and for the life of me, I can't figure out how to get to a power bus to get power.



The entire underside of my console is a fiberglass bucket, with no penetrations on the bottom.



I tried to pull the switch panel to see if there was a big enough hole to get in and work, but there is not enough service loop in the wires to bring it out of the dash.



If I try to remove the dash, I will have to pull the steering wheel, drop the steering gearbox, and remove 5000 screws on the dash. I removed a couple of screws, and the dash seems bonded to the hull.



Any suggestions of how to get DC house power to my fish finder without cutting out the bottom of the steering console?



I'm not sure how the last owner got into this dash. From the top side, the install doesn't look pro at all.



Argh. (why are boats and campers made like this?)

[NM_Trout]

Well, I think I figured out the easiest solution.

I'm going to run an auxiliary power bus from the house battery up to under the dash. Put a 30 amp inline fuse at the positive terminal of the battery, run silicon wire in a loom, and put a nema box under the dash with a fuse block and bus strip in the box.

Run wires in and out through glands, anchor the whole thing to the side panel.

This will give me some additional auxiliary power in case I need to run any other misc. electronics.

Much less of a hassle and will result in some additional flexibility over the risk of pulling apart the console.

I'll definitely be looking at how to get onto power in my "next" boat.

[dvl2700]

That is what I would recommend anyway. I always want to leave the factory wiring alone. I ran a 10 gauge wire from the dual purpose starting/cell battery to a fuse block under the dash, and then ran all of my new electronics to that fuse box. No disturbance of the factory wiring, and access to a fuse box at the easiest location for hooking up more stuff.