Boatowner's Illustrated Electrical Handbook

For strictly electrical work on a boat, I like this better than Calder's book that covers all mechanical systems, although Calder's is a good book to have. If you want one book on just electrical, this is it. Clear, well organized.

This book has all the detailed information a person would want about DC wiring - particularly in a marine environment. It covers the basics as well as goes the extra distance to explain, in depth, the mechanisims and chemistry of how systems actually work. A great book for either the novice just getting started, or the veteran who wants to further flesh out his informational knowledge. I'd highly recommend it to a friend.

Harry Homeowner wouldn't give it a second glance, but Bob Boatowner should. Dr. Charles has put it all together, from shore power to solar, it has plenty of references to ABYC standards for electrical installations. All of the inforamtion is precise and clear, he makes references to the ABYC and the NEC as necessary. If you're a licensed electrican (like me) you'll appreciate the nomenclature. If you're Bob Boatowner with little or no experience making electrical installations - this book might not be for you. But, if you are willing to read and read again - you'll be OK.

This is a really impressive book. It provides a really good understanding of the many forces/dynamics of electrical systems on a boat. There is a lot more to 12 volts, than a positive and ground. To my surprise, it's more complex than 120 VAC in my house. At home, for the most part, you use one standard type of wire and have no concerns about your wiring causing any part of your house to corrode. While there is virtually a perfect and repeatable way to wire everything in your home, surprisingly their isn't a perfect way to do things on your boat, you need to continuously make tradeoff's when you add something new, and it helps to understand the tradeoff's that were already made on your boat by the manufacturer's and prior owner's in making your next modification. Also, at home for the most part, your not worried about corrosion, while on a boat, the various metals in your boat want to use the water to establish electrical currents that are destructive ... in the very worst case in a matter of days, if not months and years, to metal parts in your boat. This book explains it all very well. Be sure to start from the beginning where it explains what a battery is. I skipped that section initially (I know the chemistry of a battery more than most people), but found it very helpful to read this section, as the following sections establish how the various metals in your boat colude to form their own battery like behavior where you didn't intend, the result being corrosion. Also, don't underestimate the importance of the proper and frequent use of fuses/breakers on virtually every electrical run, fuses need to be sized to the diameter wire as well as the device, selection of wire diameter (larger diamater = heavy wire = boat goes slow, small diameter = voltage drops of a 1/2 volt or more potentially unaccaptable to devices), and standard ways to make electrical connections that will be trouble free. While at somepoint you will want to look at various aspects of your boat to see what tradeoff's were made by the manufacturer or previous owners, you don't need to be near your boat to read this book and understand whats going on, making it a good winter read. You should really read this in advance. While it also makes an excellent reference later, the worst time to read this is when your under time pressure to change something, since you really need to appreciate that there is more to modifying your electrical system than knowing the difference between 12v postive and ground. b393capt