Wires caused Rot .. fix rot, run new wires .. Question

[Jasper Windvane]

The Previous Owner.. [po], he put in a car stereo radio. He ran wires for the radio and attached the wires to wood near the bulkhead on the starboard side forward of the starboard berth. The wire is a magnet for moisture. Last weekend, I reached in, pulled the wire, poked at the wood,, and ROT,, Wood Rot.. The wires must have weeped moisture for a long time. So now I must replace rotted wood, etc. I took the radio out. Although I have not decided how to approach the wood replacement yet ,, I got to thinking about how wiring should be run in an old sailboat.

Is there a method to run wiring? Does wiring need to be insulated? What type of insulation...

If you have run wiring,, how did you do it, and what method to avoid the wet wire issue.

[Tim]

The way to avoid the wet wire issue is to avoid the wetness. Contrary to popular belief, the inside of a sailboat does not need to be a damp, dripping mess.

Figure out where the water came from and fix that problem first. Then, keep all wiring away from areas where you know there is likely to be moisture, like the bilge. People run wires through bilges and the depths of lockers because it's an easy path, not because it's a good idea. It's always best to keep your wiring up in the drier parts of the boat to begin with, but since this tends to be more difficult, one sees a lot of wires run through the lower, open, more direct spaces. This represents an issue that needs fixing, rather than looking for a way to keep water out of the wire penetrations.

There are probably as many ways to protect wires from chafe where they run through bulkheads and other interior structures as there are boats. Short lengths of hose at these chafe points are a popular and straightforward option. While you need to protect from chafe, you don't have to make these connections waterproof; again, if there's that much water in the space, either remove it and figure out how to keep it dry, or relocate the wiring.