Wiring in GW 235 - neat or tangled?

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quantase

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I was wondering how are other owners of GW235 freedoms have their wiring at the helm, particularly on newer models. Do you have clean, labelled, layout strapped down wiring in the helm for NMEA2K, radar, stereo, etc. or is it tangled and you have to spend time tracing wires/cables? Didn't expect that the wiring would be so tangled without labelling. If you have pics please show. If you have pics of neatly laid out electrical wiring in your GW235 freedom or other freedoms, please share. I'm trying to get a sense of what I should attempt. I may try to work on the electrical wiring so that it has a cleaner layout that is labelled so I can easily find wires when I need to do some work. Thanks.
 
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Following.
I have a new 235 on order and am curious about the wiring as well.
Some of the messy wiring you've described might have been done by the dealer installing the electronics.
Could you please post pictures?
Regards, Mike
 
Tried several times to send pic, but file is too large. To give a mental image, as in an ole saying ----- "looks like a rat's nest". ;)
 
The wiring in my 2012 Freedon 255 is very neat, but I don't know what the newer ones look like.
 
Capt Bill said:
The wiring in my 2012 Freedon 255 is very neat, but I don't know what the newer ones look like.
Click to expand...
No doubt the neatness of the hidden wiring varies as the factory production managers are changed and the production pressure on the final prep crew increases seasonally.
I appreciate neatness in the under-helm wiring but actually as long as there is no excess weight on connections and no loose wires that are moving back and forth during travel, the electricity doesn't care if it is messy. However, me being the guy trying to trace a particular circuit makes me take a dim view of the installer building those giant birds nests.
 
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Yes, I do appreciate neatness under the helm as well. For me, I want to cut down the time of having to trace down wires if adding or updating equipment. It is not like I'm doing a lot of of it, but it would sure cut down on time when things are labelled and neatly installed.

If anyone has any pics of their wiring under the helm, please post. It would be appreciated for the view as I am thinking of my setup. Thanks.
 
You'd think there would have been a serious improvement project in this area, but just like the transom seams - nope.
 
The wiring on my 2011 255 is a rats nest. In their defense, there really is no bulkhead in the console like the inside of a center console to mount the wires in a neat and uniform fashion. So they bundle them with zip ties.
 
Thanks skunkboat for sharing how to reduce size of photo. Here is the wiring in the helm — it is a mess. Anyone willing to share their wiring layout in the helm to give me some ideas how to make this neater and easier to work through? Thanks.
 

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quantase said:
Thanks skunkboat for sharing how to reduce size of photo. Here is the wiring in the helm — it is a mess. Anyone willing to share their wiring layout in the helm to give me some ideas how to make this neater and easier to work through? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Thank you for posting pix. The dash/fuse panel wiring isn't bad but the second picture looks pretty messy.
If you want to clean it up, start by finding the shortest wire/cable which will determine your routing. Bundling the rest onto that one.
Our 2025 Freedom is set to ship west this week. Very excited but I won't accept delivery if it looks like this.
Regards, Mike
 
Seymour Flatwater said:
Thank you for posting pix. The dash/fuse panel wiring isn't bad but the second picture looks pretty messy.
If you want to clean it up, start by finding the shortest wire/cable which will determine your routing. Bundling the rest onto that one.
Our 2025 Freedom is set to ship west this week. Very excited but I won't accept delivery if it looks like this.
Regards, Mike
Click to expand...
Exciting that your 235 is on its way. When you get it, please share how your wiring looks in the helm upon delivery. Hopefully it is neater than mine, and it will help me to put mine in order. Thanks.
 
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quantase said:
I was wondering how are other owners of GW235 freedoms have their wiring at the helm, particularly on newer models. Do you have clean, labelled, layout strapped down wiring in the helm for NMEA2K, radar, stereo, etc. or is it tangled and you have to spend time tracing wires/cables? Didn't expect that the wiring would be so tangled without labelling. If you have pics please show. If you have pics of neatly laid out electrical wiring in your GW235 freedom or other freedoms, please share. I'm trying to get a sense of what I should attempt. I may try to work on the electrical wiring so that it has a cleaner layout that is labelled so I can easily find wires when I need to do some work. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Organizing and labeling your wiring is a smart move for future upgrades and troubleshooting. Some GW235 Freedoms have neatly strapped and labeled wiring, while others can be tangled. Using wire looms, labels, and zip ties can help. A marine-grade label printer might be worth it for durability. Have you checked if other GW owners face similar issues?
 
Personally, I don't think mine is a mess. BUT...it is "bundled", which may make it appear to be a mess.

I think Grady, like many other production builders create a harness (perhaps a few) on a wiring table and then the harness gets installed while the boat is being assembled.

Just my $00.02
 
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JJF said:
Personally, I don't think mine is a mess. BUT...it is "bundled", which may make it appear to be a mess.

I think Grady, like many other production builders create a harness (perhaps a few) on a wiring table and then the harness gets installed while the boat is being assembled.

Just my $00.02
Click to expand...
That makes sense! Bundling can definitely give the illusion of a mess, even if everything is well-organized. Pre-made harnesses are pretty common in production boats—efficient for assembly but not always the easiest for modifications later on. Have you had to troubleshoot or modify anything in your setup?
 
Do you have any pics of your wiring in the helm you can share to help give me some ideas?
 
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