Wiring paths on R31 CB

[FreeSoup]

Hey gang, spent awhile searching but nothing out. A new to us R31 CB we are curious about some of the wiring routing for some adds/mods we are looking to make. I have the wiring diagrams, but curious about physical paths. Specifically the path and best options for:
1.) From the engine compartment to the helm wiring area in the v-berth, and specifically up to the cabinet above the helm. See the main chase going forward from the back, but where does it go from behind the fridge?
2.) From the cabinet above the helm with the spotlight and wiring to the TV, down into behind the helm in the v-berth. Assume this goes to the main chase behind/above the fridge?
3.) From the command bridge to behind the helm in the v-berth.

Thanks in advance.
-D

 

[Kevin Lamont]

Hey gang, spent awhile searching but nothing out. A new to us R31 CB we are curious about some of the wiring routing for some adds/mods we are looking to make. I have the wiring diagrams, but curious about physical paths. Specifically the path and best options for:
1.) From the engine compartment to the helm wiring area in the v-berth, and specifically up to the cabinet above the helm. See the main chase going forward from the back, but where does it go from behind the fridge?
2.) From the cabinet above the helm with the spotlight and wiring to the TV, down into behind the helm in the v-berth. Assume this goes to the main chase behind/above the fridge?
3.) From the command bridge to behind the helm in the v-berth.

Thanks in advance.
-D

Hello,

Please see my responses below to your questions:
1.) From the engine compartment to the helm wiring area in the v-berth, and specifically up to the cabinet above the helm. See the main chase going forward from the back, but where does it go from behind the fridge?
-The best way to run wires from the engine bay to the helm is via the STRBD side of the boat, you would enter where the hot water tank is, removing the fridge will help out a lot as you then have a clear shot from the fridge to the helm and also the backside of the helm.-
2.) From the cabinet above the helm with the spotlight and wiring to the TV, down into behind the helm in the v-berth. Assume this goes to the main chase behind/above the fridge?
-The wire harness for all of that would/should run down the STRBD side of the windshield, you would need to remove the pillar there by the helm door.-
3.) From the command bridge to behind the helm in the v-berth.
-This is a little harder but doable, from the bridge you will see the wires running AFT on the STRBD side of the bridge helm, from there they run down behind the STRBD center pillar where the round port light window is located. You would need to remove this as well, then they run behind the fridge and forward.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Kevin Lamont

 

[Wee Venture]

We have an R-31CB and have done what I believe you are looking at doing. I mounted the Wilson antenna toward the top of the command bridge bimini on the starboard side and threaded the cable down through the plastic flex conduit that carries all the wires from the command bridge to the cabin space. I also mounted a Mikrotik antenna/router/amp on the flybridge and brought the Ethernet cable from that down the same conduit for WiFi. It is easy to remove the four screws that hold the wooden chase (“pillar”) in place and then slide that out a bit. I brought power from behind the lower helm, with switches at the helm, and then mounted the WeBoost cellular amp and a Max Transit router above the top of the chase/pillar. I can post some pics if you are interested.

 

[FreeSoup]

This is exactly what I needed, and kind of expected but great to confirm. Thank you. Curious to learn more about the Mikrotik, from what I've read from folks the suggestion was to go cellular and use your hotspot vs. relying on decent Wifi even in marinas. Assume you're setting up to optimize for both?

 

[Wee Venture]

Curious to learn more about the Mikrotik, from what I've read from folks the suggestion was to go cellular and use your hotspot vs. relying on decent Wifi even in marinas. Assume you're setting up to optimize for both?

Exactly, to optimize for both. We often cruise in Canadian waters, and spent a couple months in Alaska last summer. If we can get a reliable WiFi signal, then it is nice not to use our cellular data roaming. And there were even a few places where we could get WiFi but no cell signal at all. (Pruth Bay, just north of Cape Caution, is one of them, where it was crucial to get the latest weather data before heading southbound around Cape Caution.) It is true though when cruising that a cell signal is more often available when WiFi is not.

Our home marina has good WiFi. But if/when the WiFi goes down, the router has a a failover feature where it switches automatically to cellular data via a dedicated SIM card. When using cellular data, the cell booster doesn’t really improve (and can degrade) download and upload speeds until you get some distance away from the tower where the signal is weaker.

Our installation consists of the weBoost Drive Reach, Wilson Wide Band Marine Antenna, MikroTik Metal 52ac WiFi antenna/router, and the Pepwave Max Transit w/ Cat 18 LTE (main router for our boat LAN). Incidentally, there is no physical connection between the cell booster and the router - you just place the inside antenna for the booster in the vicinity of the router. Or you can put the antenna near your device if you wish to use it that way and bypass the router entirely.

 

[FreeSoup]

Thanks again gang. In looking at the wiring above the helm for TV, fan, spotlight, it looks like that all goes back to the primary vertical chase behind the helm seat vs. down the window pillar? Didn't want to cause any damage, any tricks to opening up both? Found the (2) screws at the bottom of the bigger chase behind the seat, but felt like I was going to break something trying to open it up. Appreciate any advice.

 

[kermitonbi1]

@Wee Venture I’d love to see your photos of the wiring you did from the Wilson antenna to the WeBoost. I’m thinking of doing something similar on my R23


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Wee Venture]

In looking at the wiring above the helm for TV, fan, spotlight, it looks like that all goes back to the primary vertical chase behind the helm seat vs. down the window pillar?

Negative. Per Kevin Lamont’s earlier post, the wiring above the helm actually goes down the window pillar, or more precisely down the pillar immediately forward of the helm door. But removing this pillar is not for the faint of heart. If I were installing a cable to this area I would run it behind the teak trim over the helm door back to the main central pillar aft of the helm seat. I would drill a small hole into the bottom right of the cabinet space over the helm so that the entire cable is concealed. As far as removing the vertical main chase/pillar, don’t forget the two top screws (four screws total). It will then be free to gently pull it back from the wall and rotate it slightly so you can see and work behind it. There should be enough slack in the wires to allow you to do this. You will probably want to bungee or stabilize the top somehow once you get it moved back so that it doesn’t accidentally fall over if the boat rocks.

Kermitonbi1, I will post some pics soon.

 

[Norsac]

In looking at the wiring above the helm for TV, fan, spotlight, it looks like that all goes back to the primary vertical chase behind the helm seat vs. down the window pillar?

Negative. Per Kevin Lamont’s earlier post, the wiring above the helm actually goes down the window pillar, or more precisely down the pillar immediately forward of the helm door. But removing this pillar is not for the faint of heart. If I were installing a cable to this area I would run it behind the teak trim over the helm door back to the main central pillar aft of the helm seat. I would drill a small hole into the bottom right of the cabinet space over the helm so that the entire cable is concealed. As far as removing the vertical main chase/pillar, don’t forget the two top screws (four screws total). It will then be free to gently pull it back from the wall and rotate it slightly so you can see and work behind it. There should be enough slack in the wires to allow you to do this. You will probably want to bungee or stabilize the top somehow once you get it moved back so that it doesn’t accidentally fall over if the boat rocks.

Kermitonbi1, I will post some pics soon.

I’m guessing that depending on the year of production, the wires are run differently (maybe a difference on a CB vs Sedan?). We have a 2015 R31 sedan and the wire run from the radar does not go down the window pillar as others have reported (I had originally removed the the pillar to run an additional antenna cable) and found they were not run there.

The radar, tv, and all mast wiring on our R31 come in from the mast and run down the vertical main chase/pillar on the starboard side. You can trace the cable above the ceiling headliner.

 

[Wee Venture]

I’m guessing that depending on the year of production, the wires are run differently (maybe a difference on a CB vs Sedan?). We have a 2015 R31 sedan and the wire run from the radar does not go down the window pillar as others have reported (I had originally removed the the pillar to run an additional antenna cable) and found they were not run there.

The radar, tv, and all mast wiring on our R31 come in from the mast and run down the vertical main chase/pillar on the starboard side. You can trace the cable above the ceiling headliner.

Hello Norsak,

I don’t know specifically where the wire runs are on the Sedans. But to clarify a bit about the CB:
The TV *antenna* cable, radar cable and all mast wiring on our 2018 model as well other model years that I am aware of are all routed down the wooden pillar/chase aft of the helm seat in the cabin.
However, the TV *console* wiring for the drop down cabin screen (power, video signal cable), as well as wiring for spotlight and fans is routed down the window pillar immediately forward of the helm door. Hope that clarifies. If some CB’s are wired differently that would be interesting to know.

Happy cruising,

John

 

[FreeSoup]

We have an R-31CB and have done what I believe you are looking at doing. I mounted the Wilson antenna toward the top of the command bridge bimini on the starboard side and threaded the cable down through the plastic flex conduit that carries all the wires from the command bridge to the cabin space. I also mounted a Mikrotik antenna/router/amp on the flybridge and brought the Ethernet cable from that down the same conduit for WiFi. It is easy to remove the four screws that hold the wooden chase (“pillar”) in place and then slide that out a bit. I brought power from behind the lower helm, with switches at the helm, and then mounted the WeBoost cellular amp and a Max Transit router above the top of the chase/pillar. I can post some pics if you are interested.

So the two bottom screws were obvious under the trim board just above the counter top. But where are the upper two screws?!

 

[FreeSoup]

We have an R-31CB and have done what I believe you are looking at doing. I mounted the Wilson antenna toward the top of the command bridge bimini on the starboard side and threaded the cable down through the plastic flex conduit that carries all the wires from the command bridge to the cabin space. I also mounted a Mikrotik antenna/router/amp on the flybridge and brought the Ethernet cable from that down the same conduit for WiFi. It is easy to remove the four screws that hold the wooden chase (“pillar”) in place and then slide that out a bit. I brought power from behind the lower helm, with switches at the helm, and then mounted the WeBoost cellular amp and a Max Transit router above the top of the chase/pillar. I can post some pics if you are interested.

So the two bottom screws were obvious under the trim board just above the counter top. But where are the upper two screws?!

Any insight appreciated. Is it above the headliner, and that needs to be removed?

 

[Wee Venture]

Looking at your picture, you are missing the top two screws that were put into our unit. We have a screw in each side that is in a vertical line with the bottom screw and about two inches below the horizontal line of the top of the galley window glass. The wood column is just pressed rather tightly against the ceiling vinyl. If you don’t see any other fasteners (I don’t see any in your picture), I would just try to use a little more force and finesse it back from the wall. Since the ceiling curves up toward the midline of the boat, once you move it out an inch or two, it frees up and moves much more easily. Good luck!

John