Hey all.
New guy on the block. I just got a used Lowe Angler Pro 16 (as near as I can figure out) for dirt cheap. It's in pretty decent shape over all, hull wise but the wiring could use a little TLC. The guy that had it before me knew just enough about wiring to be dangerous. He's hacked in some LED strip deck lighting as well as bow green/red LED strip lights. I am pretty familiar with wiring as I am an avionics tech and have many years wiring aircraft, automobiles, etc but this is my first foray into boats.
He attached the strip lighting to the various locations with aluminum duct tape which makes it look ghastly. Wire that used to be hooked up to various lights originally, is all pulled out and balled up in the various storage wells with black electrical tape over the ends of the wire. For all I know, the wires could be live. In the battery well, there are spaces for two batteries...I'm assuming one is for starting the outboard (a 1990 Yamaha 50hp jet drive that has a few issues of it's own) as well as the rest of the electrical circuits and then another battery just for the trolling motor.
I guess my question is, are there typically channels under the deck that the original wiring was fed stern to bow and other places in between like in a car or is the wiring typically run under and against the gunwales through wiring channels that are now missing? The wires he attempted to lay in after the fact are running against the gunwales and zip tied but not permanently attached to any of the decking so it is actually a trip hazard.
If the wiring is typically fed along the gunwales, is there an accepted way of doing this like using some sort of tubing that the wire is fed through?
As you can tell, I am a total newbie at this bass boat stuff...for the past 45 years, all I've ever fished from was a canoe. I tend to be pretty anal about things, especially when it comes to safety stuff.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.