In the process of installing a relay to allow the engine hatch cover to rise quicker. Thinking of placing a circuit breaker on the positive wire to battery, but if it blows/tirps I would need to open engine hatch to reset it. SO, though it would be better to place the circuit breaker in cockpit of boat. And I've identified a good spot near rear seat where it will be accessible (even with the hatch closed) but hidden from view. Question is: Is there any problem drilling a small hole in the fiberglass material that forms the base of the rear seat in order to run wires thru? This would essentially create a "connection" between the engine compartment and the cockpit of the boat.

UltraBoy,

Define "small"....

For the record, most boats have some passage from engine well to cockpit. I've got openings in the back of my side pockets that lead right into the engine well.

Thanks. Brad.

Small would be about 1/2’ diameter.

My side pockets have speaker enclosures, hence there’s no easy connection. And drilling through the backseat fiberglass would allow me to put the switch in a perfect location.

I've always mounted my hatch relays in a plastic "project box" in the section under the rear seat. I just used an in-line fuse. If you have a dead battery you can then access the relay to jump from another battery to lift up your engine hatch to deal with the dead battery.

That`s not going to make it much faster.
It`s probably .75/second unit .
Theres units that are 3"/sec. Now thats a difference you can actually see.

https://www.firgelliauto.com/

Hmm, there are lots of posts on this form about people, adding relays to engine hatches to make them go up faster. So I was just assuming all those posts can’t be wrong

Run some jumper cables directly from the battery and see.

My experience has been that the relay mounted "near" the hatch ram with larger wire at least doubles the speed of a slow ram. The slow ram is a consequence of a longer power wire run to and from the DPDT switch on the dash and likely undersized wire on the circuit. It's an inexpensive upgrade that's worth the effort IMO.

Revelocity,

Wally was kind enough to post a pic way back in 2011....


I wouldn't mind my hatch moving a bit faster.

Thanks. Brad.

Should the black ground wire that comes off the relay be connected to the negative terminal of the battery? Or some other “ground“?