Wiring Old Ranger Gunwales

[Rico370v]

I have 1981 370V and am having a hell of a time running wiring up the gunwales towards the bow. Ranger basically put in some hollow conduit tubes to run their wiring and then shot foam around everything making it impossible to run more wires. I can't get my NMEA cable though because the plug end is just too big with all the wires in there. I may be stuck running this ugly wire on the deck from my console to the bow unit unless anyone has any ideas???? Also, I ordered deck lighting and am nervous now that I'll drill holes in the boat to install the lighting when I can't run the wiring.

Anyone got any ideas?

[Scott S.]

That's why Rangers suck. I was putting a tray in one, didn't the idiots run the wire under the the area where the tray goes. I couldn't believe that they were that stupid, but they are.

[bassnman81]

Not familiar with the deck layout of a 370V but is it possible to go through the bulkhead in the starboard rod locker under the helm and go up in the gunwales and to the bow that way?

[Rico370v]

Nope. Sadly, this layout doesn't have a starboard rod locker; it's just an empty space until you get to the front casting deck. I bought some small, skinny fiberglass rods used to run wire in home insulation foam. I'll give that a shot in the next couple of days and report back.

[Rico370v]

Welp, the rods didn't work. I poked them through the foam just outside the conduit at the console, but once it got to where where the forward casting deck starts the rods stopped moving like they hit a bulkhead. It was a pain, but I did get my NMEA cable through the conduit. It's very crowded in there -- too many wires, probably half of them no longer in use, but didn't want to decipher and pull out in this heat...I just wanted to get it done and get fishing again!

After the rods I used string and lots of tape to taper the NMEA plug and pull it through. All the wiring harness made it very tight. When it wouldn't budge I'd put an anchor on the string at the bow, then at the console pull the bundle of wires back out the 2-3 inches of play it had. Then at the bow, I'd pull the whole bundle with the string forward 2-3 inches again. Put the anchor back on the string at the bow, return to the console and repeat, 2-3 inches at a time. It was a pain, but much better than fastening a cable to the deck from the console to the bow. Deck lighting wiring is a project for another day, but it's smaller and I have more options on how to run cables, extensions, etc.