TECHNICAL REWIRING YOUR YACHT

Any yacht older than 20 years that still has its original wiring will require a complete rewire if you’re keen to avoid endless problems and constant troubleshooting and temporary repairs.

A few decades ago, boat owners typically had minimal electrical requirements, allowing boatbuilders to get away with providing the most rudimentary installations.

Today, however, boat owners appear to want the same level of gadgetry on board that they enjoy at home, which usually requires rethinking the boat’s entire electrical system from batteries to devices, together with a serious upgrade to both cabling and circuit protection. The following is a guide to the main considerations when overhauling your boat’s wiring system.

CABLE TYPE

Choosing the correct cables for the job is the single most important factor when rewiring your boat as undersized conductors can overheat under load, creating a dangerous fire risk.

Firstly, all marine cable should be multi-stranded, with tinned copper conductors. The flexibility of the strands compensates for any movement or vibration typical of a vessel at sea, and the tinning protects the copper wire from oxidisation, which often results in increased