Boat Electrical Wiring Made Easy, From The Ground Up, Part 1, Comprehensive Guide

Complete guide to wiring a boat electrical system from scratch. Starting from the 12V boat battery, we look at configuring a complete electrical system including master isolation switch, main switch panel with fuses, bus-bar (electrical distribution bar) and various boat electrical components such as bilge pumps and navigation lights.

This guide starts from scratch, and over a series of video guides we build a complete boat electrical system, starting with the battery terminals. In Part 1 we build a 'buck' representing parts of the boat such as the engine room, bilges, cabin space, cockpit and we begin to install the component parts of the boat electrical system in really easy steps, explaining the method and reasoning along the way. This how-to guide for boat electrics is based on the kind of electrical system you would find or need in a small to medium sized boat. We hope this guide will be useful for installing an electrical system from scratch, and also for adding to an existing electrical system.

In this guide we look at the importance of having a master electrical isolation switch in your boat, and talk about positioning of the master switch. We also explain the reason for having a busbar for making the wiring of the 12V negative side of the circuit easy and organised.

Also in Part 1 we look at some different types of switch panel, with different styles of fuse holders, different levels of water-proofing, and the importance of choosing a good location for the switch panel. The positioning of the switch panel is a balance between have a location which is shielded from rain and sea spray, but easy to get to.

At the end of this first part, we have installed the main battery mast switch, the busbar and the switch panel, which is used to control the electrics to most of the individual electrical devices in the boat. In Part 2 we will build out the wiring from here, connecting the main feeds to the switch panel, and beginning to install some of the individual electrical components in our boat 'mock-up' buck.

Some of the electrical items seen in this video can be found in the link below:

[ftank]

This man was sent from heaven! chiseled from the manliest of the gods. A true gentleman and scholar!

[morskipas]

Impressive. Schools need people like you. Born to be a teacher. 😊

[antonbrum]

I worked for a number years in marine electrical. In larger marine craft, fuses are not mainly used as the preferred form of electrical protection. Marine certified magnetic/thermal circuit breakers are recommended, they come in various tripping curves depending on their applications. In large sea/ocean going vessels, batteries are divided into 3. One set for starting and engine monitoring, one set for light including navigation lights and the other, for radio communications and or radar. All 3 battery configurations can be charged either off 1 or 2 main engines using a blocking diode system. Love your video. Thanks. Retired DC electrician.

[dieterdewaele]

This is what makes YouTube to such a fantastic place, thank you sir for a brilliant set of videos where even I (a non-technical person) understand what you are explaining 👍🏻👍🏻.

[Stevecollinsclear]

I have been messing with small yacht electrics for many years. I have never before grasped just WTF the Busbar is for. huge appreciation: much respect

[erikjensen]

Thanks for this series! As a new sailboat owner and electrical novice, this is very timely! I truly appreciate your taking the time to make a very basic and professional video series!

[josephlai]

Thank you so much. Your idea of making a 3-D mock-up to represent the various parts of a boat is so creative. It is an excellent visual aid for clear instruction.

[indyallen]

Thank you so so much for the videos that you made on boat wiring. I am about to wire my boat from scratch and your videos gave me a great way to visualize my job ahead.

[martinlebl]

Thank you, I found your video immensely helpful as one who recently purchased a boat and is trying to learn the basics of wiring, much appreciated.

[neilclucas]

First class straight forward video. I'm just about to start rewiring my boat and this was an excellent introduction. Thanks for putting this together, greatly appreciated.

[alangarnham]

I purchased a boat that was an unfitted bare bone hull, the boat is complete now except for the electical's. This is a perfect video for me and I want to ensure I can do the electrical's correctly. This video has helped me immensity, thanks for your great work and effort.

[SV_Kittiwake]

Great first episode. I’m just starting to look at revamping my wiring etc.m this will help a lot. I can’t wait wait for next episode.

[SuperCaffeee]

Thank you! your video helped me to re-do electical wiring on my sailboat from the scratch, all by myself. very easy to understand, very informative!

[sethmcgowan]

Such a fantastic way to show an electrical system. So simple. Thank you my friend.

[aboutexactly]

This is the most impressive woodshop I have ever seen.

[Hawks]

Massively helpful video, thanks. I am a complete novice to wiring electrics (I can wire a plug, that’s my limit) and so many boat wiring videos are impossible to follow without basic knowledge.

[bethg]

You have no idea how helpful this series is to me right now. We were gifted a sailboat by a family member and I just looked at the electrical...it appears that all the wires need to be replaced, and many rerouted.

[jesus]

Great video and very well explained.I wish I had a teacher like you in my early educational years.Thank you.

[btcsys]

Wow, we sold our boat 5 years ago. This would have been helpful.
Nice job

[kratos]

Dang, I can only give 1 thumbs up? This deserves more! Awesome!!