N2KBuilder isn't really designed to show the physical lay out of a network, but Jeff Shukis figured out a way to do it, and it works pretty well, I think. He also used the "don't include in BOM" command to gray out devices and cables that he has not yet installed on Beneteau but plans to. That way he could set the powertap at a worst case 10.5v and see that his blue Mid backbone and micro drop cables delivered sufficient juice. Jeff's .nb2 file is here, and the floorplan .jpg file here. Both files have to be in the same folder to work (and "desktop" did not work on my PC).
That's a great looking design, but it makes me VERY happy to have a nice deep bilge and all kinds of room under the floor to run wiring.
That looks like a lot of builkhead drilling to me. ;-)
Let us know how it goes with the sourcing of parts and pricing. I've yet to dig into that much.
Hi Patrick,
I can imagine that for many boats the bilge would be the "natural" place for such wiring. On the Beneteau, however, it was very natural to follow the existing wiring harness around the perimeter of the boat - and I did. Access was quite easy and there were no bulkheads to drill through. Securing the wires was also very easy: I just slipped the wire through the existing cable tie loops as I threaded it around the boat. The install of the entire backbone took about five hours, most of which was spent attaching the Maretron connectors. Prior to the install, I spent at least two hours planning the install and building the diagram above.
Jeff