cabin lights

[mtadamek]

I have a 1965 41'C that I am refitting completely. I have a question about the cabin lights and was wondering if anyone can help. Installed in the headliner are 3" WAC (this is the brand) 20watt lights. Since much of the wiring on this boat was disconnected and or non existent, I don't know if these were originally AC or DC. I found 2 small transformers that seem to convert ac line voltage to 12volts ac. What were the lights originally? If they were AC, then I guess you could not run the lights away from shore without the genset running? Or did Hatteras use an inverter. Also, in the Hatteras panel is says "valance lights". I don't have them, but it looks like there was a place for a light on either side of the salon. This would seem that it was on the ac circuit as well. The electrical system is pretty much a big mess....Altered and changed many times over 40 years. Even with a wiring diagram there still seems to be a few mysteries.

Is the shower light ac or dc? and is the reading lights in the mid staterooms ac or dc. The headliner was replaced at some time and a lot of the wires are hidden. Oh, one more thing....Does anyone have this model of vessel with a head in the forward stateroom between the bunks? I have the original invoice and it states that it had one. The thru hulls have been sealed, but it looks like it was once there. I think this may of been a special request.


Any insight would be helpful.

Thank you,

mtadamek

 

[jim rosenthal]

First of all, you can probably get original schematics of the electrical wiring from Hatteras- they generally have this kind of information. As a very rough rule of thumb, MOST of the older Hatteras Yachts I have been on had 110vac reading lights mounted on the bulkheads; usually the overhead lights are 12vdc. The shower light ought to be 12vdc, for obvious reasons. It may have been changed, however.

A modern digital meter like a Fluke or similar would be quite helpful to you. It will adjust itself and read voltages whether they are AC or DC, and I think it will tell you what they are. It will also have optional probes etc that can tell you how many amps are going through a circuit, etc. Fluke meters are expensive- and worth every penny.

It is extremely unlikely that an inverter was OEM on a 1965 boat. I am not even sure they were available then- the kind of solid-state rectifiers and voltage converters we take for granted didn't exist then no matter how rich you were.

I don't know about the little transformers, but obviously they would only convert AC to AC unless there is also a rectifier in there. I think it unlikely that anyone would wire a boat to convert AC to low voltage AC at the fixture when low voltage DC was available. The light bulb certainly wouldn't know the difference, I would imagine.

Finally (and this was touched on in a recent very good thread about bonding system wires) marine wiring technology and accessories have all improved greatly in the last forty years. The Hatteras wiring diagram should be useful to show you where things are- or where they were- but a good marine wiring text like Nigel Calder's would be quite helpful as well. Very likely the wiring needs updating as well as replacing. From my own experience, I can tell you that the best place to find a good marine electrician is a Coast Guard yard. If you have a CG yard locally, try to find an electrician who wants to moonlight to help you refit your boat. I had that kind of help when rewiring a Striker a few years ago, and boy did I learn a lot, and boy did it come out well.

 

[kwerges]

Jim handled the electrical issues, and I can only speak for my 1975 42c. It has a head between the v-berths up front, under the cabinet seat. Also has a sink, etc. in the forward berth as well.

 

[Bill Allen]

On the 73 43 dc lights in the showers work off the switch that also runs the shower pump. Bulkhead lights 110. Light in the headliners 12v. They use a relatively small diameter bulb. I'm going to change this one to mult. led as it's very tough to find a small enough diameter bulb with a decent wattage. Bill

 

[Lucky Dog]

We have '65, '66, and '67 41C's on our dock and they all have 110 volt lights at the valences in the salon. Shower light is 12 volt. Stateroom light is 12 volt and a combination 12/110 volt. Believe forward head between the v-bunks was standard although mine was removed and replaced with a holding tank in that space. Good luck with your project - it's a great boat.

 

[REBrueckner]

Regarding the 20 watt light bulbs: you can use either ac or dc if you know the voltage. (The bulb doesn't know the difference.) For example, low voltage undercounter halogens from Home Cheapo are 12v ac for use in a home via a transformer...they work just fine on a 12v dc boat system...

Do yours have a voltage printed on them?
If not, check a bulb resistance: for 12 volts, 20 watts would be about (P = E*E/R, 144/20 or about 7 ohms resistance; for 120 v, about 1440/20 or about 72 ohms....

 

[Bill Allen]

Thats something I hadn't thought about. The 20 watt 12v bulbs are way to dim for me. I'll need to see if theres anything that'll fit in the fixture. Thanks Bill

 

[jim rosenthal]

Bill, I also can occasionally find 12v bulbs that have regular socket thread at Home Despot. They are a lot less expensive there than they are at WM or BoatsRUS. They come in 25 and 50watt ratings. This might help also.

 

[Bill Allen]

I check the toy store (home depot) all the time for the bulbs. They need to be kinda small diameter otherwise the housing won't close quite all the way. On the way to fl. I found one small diameter 50 watt bulb which just died. I'll certainnly keep my eye out. I saved the burnt bulb, of course no markings on it. Thanks Bill

 

[mtadamek]

Thanks for all the help! I really do appreciate the wealth of information the site and fellow Hatteras owners provide here. This boat is a basket case, especially the wiring. It would seem as if many items were retrofitted and in my opinion very unsafe. I have only owned her for a year now and we are slowly putting her back in her Sunday clothes. She will be a real treasure when we are done. I plan on posting some photos in the near future. Engines are beautiful. My Father completely overhauled both original 8v53's and gears. Plumbing and electrical is the current project. House will be next.

Thanks

Mtadamek
GO TEXAN