Practical Boat Owner's Electrics Afloat

In these days of advancing technology, it's no longer practical for boat owners to be sanguine about their electrical systems because we are becoming more and more dependent on them. On today's yacht you can find many of the comforts we're familiar with at home: hot water, TV, microwaves, heating and refrigeration. This means a comprehensive distri¬bution system and, for many, some reliance on AC shore power. Then there are the navigational aids. A well known yacht designer recently told me that he foresaw the demise of the traditional chart table - indeed, he no longer bothered to include one in any of his designs below 30ft. Such boats, he said, will navigate by electronic instruments - GPS, chart plotters and the like - and the space previously occupied by the nav station will be liberated to provide more accommodation. And when did we last crack an engine? Very few modern diesels even offer a hand start facility - the only emergency starter being a spare battery. Although we might question the wisdom of such developments, there's no doubt that this is the reality whether we like it or not. As yachtsmen, we need to know about electrics. Much of this book originally appeared in Practical Boat Owner. It contains no electrical formulae - except for the basics of Ohm's Law - and seeks instead to provide an understanding of how electrics work and what possibilities are open to you if you want to upgrade. All of the systems recommended comply with the codes and guidelines of the British Marine Electronics Association and the European Recreational Craft Directive. This electrical book for boat owners provides clear, well illustrated explanations of boat electrical systems, no offputting formulae or calculations, a four-page fold out illustration of a yacht's complete electrical layout and a resume of the world's leading marine electrical websites.