Article by Capt. Steve Katz
Labeling Systems on your Boat
We are now in the middle of the summer tournament and fishing season, with what seems like an endless schedule of fishing tournaments on the calendar. Keeping your boat in tip top shape is a priority when there is limited down time between fishing trips.
Let's review how to make maintenance and repairs easier by labeling and identifying!
So often a technician or you go to work on one of many boat systems and spend more time locating and identifying the problem than fixing it. Except for a few large production manufacturers, most boats do not come with diagrams or blueprints that show you how each system is laid out or where the critical components are located.
Additionally, different years and models along with optional accessories can result in each boat being unique compared to a similar model. This means a lot of investigative work may be needed to get to a critical component or find how it is connected to the rest of the systems. This is not just for electrical wiring, but plumbing (water, fuel etc.), HVACR, mechanical and even just accessibility to hidden areas. Accurate labeling can dramatically speed up the service or repair of most any on-board systems.
How to Improve your Boat
Label to identify everything – yes, the simple act of labeling wires, pipes, hatches, switches etc. can save so much time when it comes to identifying, operating, troubleshooting or repairing an on-board system. How many boats have an electrical panel with a switch labeled "spare" – that is NOT actually a spare but operates something important?
While the daunting task of labeling or re-labeling everything on your boat may not be in budget or time allotment, this can easily be done little-by-little and on a need-to-know basis.
First make sure you have a good quality label maker available. One example is the Brother P-touch label printers that use laminated tape technology. P-touch TZe tapes are tapes that have a unique lamination, which makes the labels heat, cold, water, chemical and fade resistant. The TZe tapes for these label makers come in a variety of sizes and colors and are readily available at big box stores, office supply stores and on-line too. Brother also offers head shrink tubing labels, great for wiring! Some of the labelers can write the text in various formats, horizontal and vertical, allowing most any label to be created that can be quickly and easily read. There are more expensive industrial specialty label makers for wiring, piping, panels etc., though for most uses on a boat, there is a Brother label maker and tape that will fit your budget and needs.
While you may think labeling is common sense, take a look under the helm or below decks of your boat and see how many wires, hoses, piping etc. are identified and labeled. When it comes to identification of a boat's wiring, ABYC has a broad standard in section E-11 that reads,” Each electrical conductor that is part of the boat's electrical system shall have a means to identify its function in the system”. There are many ways to meet the ABYC standard, such as colored coded wiring with an associated legend, labels at each end of a wire or even writing on the wire with a permanent marker!
Unfortunately for other systems, there is no labeling requirement, so the myriad of hoses, pumps, valves, etc. may go unlabeled.
What is the easiest way to get these systems labeled?
Two easy methods: When a new item is installed, label it! Whether a bilge hose, water line or wire run, label both ends with the pertinent info. As an example, a bilge pump hose may seem obvious and not need a label but when you have more than one onboard, you could label the pump end of the hose with information where the overboard discharge is located such as “starboard midship discharge” and at the discharge point – you can label the hose “from starboard midship bilge pump”. This will help in your maintenance and troubleshooting tasks for years to come. Same goes for wiring – label both ends and provide details where that wire comes from or goes to.
Another time you should be ready with your label maker is when you work on an existing system and finally find the location of that hose or wire – label it while you are working it and before you forget! You will most likely need to work on it again and many of the hoses and wires look alike a year later!
Be sure your electrical panel and switches are labeled correctly. While you may know the nuances of your boat, sending a fishing buddy to the main panel and asking them to turn on a light or pump is much easier if the panel is properly labeled, especially the spares. Not often do I find spare breakers in a boat's electrical panel these days. They often get used for new items and usually don’t get re-labeled. As an example, it is difficult for anyone else to know that the third spare breaker on the left is the back-up bilge pump – especially in an emergency!
Labeling to identify your boat's systems may seem like a big task, but done little by little, the results will be gratifying and beneficial for yourself and your crew for years to come. §
