- Aug 8, 2008
- 3,020
- Boat Info
- A 300 DA 4kw Gen-set, central vac, electric head, windlass, AC/reverse heat, Lowrance 522ci GPS Char
- Engines
- twin 5.7 with Alpha drives
When I was looking for a chart plotter for my 300DA I decided on the Lowrance. I wanted a system that I could add to and update without costing a small fortune. Over the winter I purchased the fuel flow and I finally got around to installing the system last week. The first part of the process was to cut the fuel lines and install the sensors. I thought about adding fittings and not cutting the hoses but I decided to cut the lines.
I've never seen another boat with such nice fuel lines.
After I installed the sensors I routed the cables along the fuel lines and then up the post that supports the floor.
I removed the cover beside the drives helm seat and pushed a steel fish to the back of the boat. I removed a trim panel in the compartment that has the wash down tab and was able to connect the fish to the network cable. I pulled the cable to the front and access cover and then used the fish and routed the cable to the lower helm area and up to the Lowrance plotter. There are 2 power sources required for the plotter, one for the GPS and the other for the network. The network power needs to be connected to a power source that works off of the aux side of the ignition. On my 300DA there are 2 breakers for the power that are turned on before you can start the boat, this works perfect for the network power supply. If you power the network from a constant power supply then there will be a power drain that will run the batteries down.
My second project for the Lowrance was to mount the transducer for the depth finder. I did not want to mount the transducer in the stern so I placed it in the bilge area in the aft cabin. I put water in the bilge and placed a plastic bag of sand on top of it. It worked great last summer and fall and over the winter once it warmed up I epoxied the transducer in.
(Sorry for the low quality picture I took it with my Blackberry)
The routing of the cable for the transducer was a lot of work. I started by pushing a fish wire through the space above the head discharge hose and the wall, from inside the head area. This allowed me to get the cable into the head area. I then removed the plate that holds the button to flush the head and pushed the fish with the cable up to this access hole. I then pushed the fish up to the back of the area under steering wheel and connected to the Lowrance.
There will be more on this project to follow.
Ken
I've never seen another boat with such nice fuel lines.
After I installed the sensors I routed the cables along the fuel lines and then up the post that supports the floor.
I removed the cover beside the drives helm seat and pushed a steel fish to the back of the boat. I removed a trim panel in the compartment that has the wash down tab and was able to connect the fish to the network cable. I pulled the cable to the front and access cover and then used the fish and routed the cable to the lower helm area and up to the Lowrance plotter. There are 2 power sources required for the plotter, one for the GPS and the other for the network. The network power needs to be connected to a power source that works off of the aux side of the ignition. On my 300DA there are 2 breakers for the power that are turned on before you can start the boat, this works perfect for the network power supply. If you power the network from a constant power supply then there will be a power drain that will run the batteries down.
My second project for the Lowrance was to mount the transducer for the depth finder. I did not want to mount the transducer in the stern so I placed it in the bilge area in the aft cabin. I put water in the bilge and placed a plastic bag of sand on top of it. It worked great last summer and fall and over the winter once it warmed up I epoxied the transducer in.
(Sorry for the low quality picture I took it with my Blackberry)
The routing of the cable for the transducer was a lot of work. I started by pushing a fish wire through the space above the head discharge hose and the wall, from inside the head area. This allowed me to get the cable into the head area. I then removed the plate that holds the button to flush the head and pushed the fish with the cable up to this access hole. I then pushed the fish up to the back of the area under steering wheel and connected to the Lowrance.
There will be more on this project to follow.
Ken