A bit overwhelmed

[azazzera]

Hello:
I have recently purchased a 1972 pearson 30 with an a4. Although it has been starting flawlessly for me so far the general appearance of the engine and obvious water in the oil has convinced me that it needs to be pulled and overhauled. Thats not the overwhelming part. I have been scouring over these fourums for the past few weeks and have purchased the mmi manual and feel that the tear down sould be fun and I am looking forward to the rebuild. The part that is becomeing more and more overwhelming for me is the electrical. I plan on doing a compleat rebuild of the electrical system as well. Boy do I have questions!!! Ive purchased charlie wings "Boatowners inllustrated" and caseys "sailboat electrics simplified" What other books/articles/ would be helpfull the get. I know I haven't read all there is on the subject but from looking at my old system and reading what i have I have questions like: should the power coming into the panel go through the switch first or the fuse, or does it matter. I see some build a panel with switches and push to reset breakers and not circuit breakers only. whats the pros and cons of each. I know the more I read and see the more questions I will have. So I quess my top question/request would be please turn me onto some quality lierature. Ill be back as the questions pop up.

Thanks. adam z.

[Dave Neptune]

Really?

Adam, good that you want to rebuild however to do so for just water in the oil is a bit overkill if there is no real damage. Unless you have a breach in the block I would get that fixed and then assess the need or not for an actual rebuild.
Do you know how the water got in?
RE the electrical that's a good idea on these old boats. I did mine as a two season project. I did the ground sid one year and te positive side the next. It did really make a nice improvement in lighting and battery life.

Dave Neptune

[Dave Neptune]

Oops!

Adam I forgot, welcome to the MMI forum. This is the right spot to be for anything related to the A-4 including the boats they are attached to>

Dave Neptune

[Al Schober]

Adam,
Enjoy your rebuild - I've enjoyed the ones I've done. Finding a good shop for the machine work will make things easier.
As for the electrical, the power to the panel should have a fuse close to the battery to protect the cable to the panel. My on/off switch is close to the battery, but I don't think that is a rule - can also be at the panel.
There are several threads on this site about doing rewiring which will give you options to consider. Using breakers as switches seems preferred by current boat manufacturers, but has the downside of cost and taking up a lot of panel space. I've seen some 'compact' panels made using just switches, with the circuits protected by automotive type fuses in a separate fuse block. I don't see any downside to using fuses - how often do you trip a breaker or pop a fuse? Personally, I can't recall the last time.
Upgrades that I've made that have worked for me include (a) get rid of the off/a/b/both switches and use on/off switches, (b) separate the house and engine start batteries and use a combiner, and (c) add a battery monitor to keep track of the charge in/out of the house bank.

[Trés 30]

Welcome to the forum

Anything's overwhelming when you try to take it all at once.

If it starts flawlessly, the electrical can likely wait. I've also got a rewire on the list, but first things first, eh? Change the oil and figure out where the water intrusion is occurring. As you dig in you'll really see what work is actually needed & how far you're willing to go. The rabbit hole gets deep.

It is a lot of fun, but can also be tedious & time consuming when really the point is sailing (w/ the confidence that the engine's reliable).

It sounds like you've got all the print/electronic resources you need for the job.

Good Luck!

[BunnyPlanet169]

Hi Adam: Welcome to the Forum!

If you haven't got it, I'd highly recommend Nigel Calder's book:

http://www.amazon.com/Boatowners-Mechanical-Electrical-Manual-Essential/dp/0071432388

It covers far more than just electrical, but the electrical portion IMHO offers a good practical and theoretical discussion of boat electrical systems, not just volts and amps.

Ultimately, you'll need to ask yourself: 'Am I a systems, bells, and whistles guy, or am I a bulletproof, boilerplate, nuts and bolts guy?" This will guide some of your choices. You might be in between.... My needs are primarily daysailing - and I don't need a monster alternator, AGM batteries, solar panels and wind generation. YMMV. The simple stuff is less expensive, and easier to assemble and troubleshoot.

For the record, I have separate house (2x G24) and start (1x G24), on/off for each bank, manual on/off for combine and automatic combine relay, and circuit breakers for switches.

LAST NOTE: I like working on the boat, but it has reduced the amount of time I spent on the water. Both are therapy for me, but the former does become work after a while, the later never does.... When you take something apart on a 40 year old boat, it's often broken. My advice: think about what you can accomplish easily during the winter, and sail in the summer.

[ndutton]

Two questions

Where are you located and what brand of beer do you provide?

[Ajax]

Az-

I own a P30. Let me dig through all of my documents. I think I have a scan of a Pearson 30 wiring diagram.

Even without the diagram, the 12 volt system of these boats was very simple.
It only becomes complex when people start adding loads (devices) and piggy-backing them onto other circuits, and splicing inline fuses into places.

Before you attack the DC electrical system, I recommend that you make a list of your current loads, and things that you think you will add later. That will help you buy the proper switch panels, fuse or breaker panels, etc.

[Mo]

Hello:
I have recently purchased a 1972 pearson 30 with an a4. Although it has been starting flawlessly for me so far the general appearance of the engine and obvious water in the oil has convinced me that it needs to be pulled and overhauled. Thats not the overwhelming part.

Thanks. adam z.

Adam, I've been associated with 4 engines in the past 2 years that had water in oil because the seal went in the water pump. The water gets pushed past the seal and goes directly to the base pan. FWIW I'd be taking a look to see where your water is coming from...

[lat 64]

Where are you located and what brand of beer do you provide?

Adam,
Neil is "da man" for electrics. More importantly, find out what kind of beer HE drinks.

Could that water in the block be from water pump seal gone bad or other fixable prob? (edit; I see Mo is on it)

Welcome,
Russ

[edwardc]

Hi Adam: Welcome to the Forum!

If you haven't got it, I'd highly recommend Nigel Calder's book:

http://www.amazon.com/Boatowners-Mechanical-Electrical-Manual-Essential/dp/0071432388

...

I second both items. Caulder's book is worth the price for the electrical chapter alone.

And welcome to the forum!

[Whippet]

pull engine?

To add to other comments, and from my own travails, diagnosis for water in oil in can be done on the boat. You will find various threads here including one with Don Moyer giving his advice for his diagnosis involving block/manifold pressure tests, etc. If i can do it, most anyone can. Seems my water in oil was solved through a rebuild of exhaust -- higher loops above waterline and lower exhaust water entry point below manifold (I think?!).

happy wiring!

[azazzera]

Thank you for all the advice.

Thank you all for all of your advice. I am going to pull engine for a few reasons.
Clean and inspect paint bilge. Proper inspection of
Engine etc. etc. new boat want to start from ground zero with
All systems. It will be a great way to learn all about
The boat. This boat was gotten for 3500$ so you can estamait
From that price what shape it's in. As I said I will most certainly be
Back frequently for advice and questions. Thanks again.

[Trés 30]

Now you can check "winter project" off the list!

[BunnyPlanet169]

I'm surprised we haven't mentioned it yet, but you'll totally want one of these... The Manual:

http://www.moyermarine.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=MANL_01_98