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Hi James. Although I'm not using the K boat plans, I'm basically using the
same method for electrical through hulls as Dan. I have some brass threaded rods
from the hardware store, and these are sealed in epoxy into the stainless
nipples used as through hulls. I have a collar welded inside the nipples, and
nuts and washers to hold the whole thing in place inside the nipples. The cables
on the outside are bolted down on the brass rods, but I'm using spade connectors
on the inside. The inside cables pass through a ball valve and then connect
to the brass rods. In this way, if a leak develops, I can pull the wires off the
brass rods and close the ball valve after throwing the breaker. This setup is
for the motor connectors because my batteries will be inside in sealed boxes so
the connections aren't as large as the main battery bank cables but a means of
having a quick disconnect on a large cable is also possible. Welding cable
connectors would work the same way. They are made of brass, and take a 1/4 turn
to release. They are good for large amounts of amperage, and will fit
inside a 2 inch nipple. The ability to isolate each through hull with
a valve is a high priority with me. I can't really see where an epoxy filled
nipple can blow out, but the valve gives me peace of mind. Here's a sketch of
the connectors for my motors, but again, a large single cable could be run the
same way. This is an older sketch and doesn't show the bolts and washers which
are on the outside of the welded collars inside the nipple so the epoxy fill is
sandwiched into the nipple from both ends. Frank D.
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