I just bought a 2005 Key West 186DC. I find that I like used boats more than new because they're cheaper and I don't have to worry about drilling a hole, ripping something out or bumping into the dock...

It's a work in progress but I'm going to post some of the befores and afters as I work through the planned upgrades. The boat does not need any structrual work so most of the upgrades I'm planning are astetic, electrical or functional.

The original battery system, a two-battery system based on a 1-All-2 switch, was suspect and the #2 battery couldn't even run the trim/tilt.

Turns out, it wasn't the battery but the power system was a mess and one of the battery cables wasn't allowing the necessary electrical current to start the motor or run the trim/tilt. So, the first upgrade was to add an Add-A-Battery system and re-do any wiring that had corroded or deteriated over time. There were two runs (one to the switch panel in the console and one to an always-on terminal strip also in the console) that were connected directly to a battery without fuses (really?) and there was even a connection with a "wire nut"...all of that is cleaned up now.

Now, all electronics run off of the house battery and the starting battery is used only for, of course, starting the big motor. This ensures a fresh starting battery all the time regardless of how much electronics have been running and all of the expensive electronics are isolated from the ignition circuit when the motor is be started.


Before:




After: