by GreenLake » Tue Jun 27, 2017 7:55 pm
That is a very nice sailing area.
I opted for not installing wires permanently, but I agree that this would not be the best solution in your case.
First, the best location for your battery (preferably plural, as in two) would be as near the mast as you can manage. Otherwise the balance of your boat will be adversely affected. The downside of that is that you'll need a pretty long run of cables. To avoid unacceptable voltage drop you'll need to use wires that are substantially thicker than what came with the motor. (The label on the cable says AWG 4).
What I did, is to borrow a professionally sized crimping tool from the shop where I bought the wires and used that to crimp eyes on either end of the "extension" cable. I couldn't find any fittings that connected cables of different sizes, so I used a small block connector with four screw terminals to connect the original wire with the "extension" cable. (Each has eyes, so I just screwed the eyes onto matching posts on the block connector).
The connector has holes where it could be screwed to the hull (or better, to a piece of marine plywood bonded to the hull with epoxy - and also sealed with a coat of epoxy). My idea was to fit that underneath the gunwales in a DS1. For a DS2 you could do that under the seat, with an inspection port.
To connect the motor, I purchased (but never used) a trolling motor socket. My idea was to cut the original leads from the motor and attach each end to plug/socket to make the motor removable. I think you should be able to do that with the socket mounted in the seat. I wanted to cut the motor leads because the connector did not support the heavier gauge of my "extension" and the socket would be located closer to the motor anyway. (The connector I have would have been connected by stripping about 1/2" off the end of the cables and inserting them into holes where they can be clamped with screws on the connector. For this kind of connection do not solder the ends but use dielectric grease to keep out moisture).
You may want to get some kind of additional enclosure for the block connector, just to keep salt and moist air out. A simple plastic box that you can tape shut (the main protection would be from being under the seat). Also put some dielectric grease on the eyes and screws to cut down on corrosion.
To connect the circuit breaker you'd have to look at how it is designed. Does it have screws for eyes? If so, cut your cable a the appropriate place and crimp eyes onto the end. If it is inline, just place it where it won't get wet, if it bolts to the hull, treat it the same as the connector box in my setup.
On the forward end, just have the cable exit the seat and seal that exit with something. Leave enough loose cable to connect to a battery (and if you have two, to reach either one).
Anyway, other than not having mounted the plug/socket or having bolted the connector block to the hull, your planned setup matches what I've been using. So I hope this description gives you an idea how to proceed.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~