PassageMaker - April 2011

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

vulnerable. While it is ultimately the skipper’s responsibility to ensure the safe stowage of gear, I think it should also be incumbent on the boatbuilder to provide adequate physical protection of equipment and systems installed in spaces that also are intended for other uses.

Mark Elgar Orillia, Ontario

are needed if I want to install the appropriate stranded marine-grade wire. What is the solution?

Ken Ronney Reseda, California

You are correct—solid wiring
cannot be used for shipboard wiring.
There are two ways to deal with the
issue you describe. Many receptacles
(but not all) use a clamp-type
mechanism that retains the wire by
means of a screw that is tightened
after it’s been inserted into a small
hole in the back of the receptacle.
Provided the retention method is via
an indirect bearing clamp, rather
than the screw making direct contact
with the wire, use of stranded wire
typically is acceptable (you can
Thanks for the reminder, Mark.
You’re exactly right—the loose items
in both lockers should be secured
against movement. When stowing
gear that is substantially heavy, extra
care must be taken in the selection
and installation of straps and tie-
down points, by both the owner and
the manufacturer.

WIRING CONUNDRUM

I’ve been following Steve D.’s technical articles for many years and keep reading his emphatic directives to use nothing but stranded marine-grade wiring throughout the boat. On my boat, I’ve run into a bit of a conundrum when installing 120VAC wiring. The GFCI outlets are designed to accept solid wire into the inlet slots in the rear, or to have solid wire wrapped around the screw terminals. Stranded marine-grade wire just won’t work in the slots or directly under the screws.

The screw terminals do not have enough room around them to accommodate the crimp lugs that

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