Marine electrician: boat wiring, batteries and electronics

What a marine electrician does

Unlike a domestic electrician, a marine electrician works with 12 or 24 V DC, 230 V shore and inverter systems, service and starter batteries, and a salty environment that corrodes any poor connection. Typical jobs:

• Fault finding: outages, blowing fuses, equipment that won’t start.
• Replacing and upgrading batteries (AGM, gel or lithium) and chargers.
• Installing solar panels, inverters, generators and shore power.
• Switchboards, protection and new wiring.
• LED lighting, bilge pumps, windlass, bow thruster.
• Electronics installation: chartplotter, sounder, autopilot, AIS, VHF.
• Bonding, galvanic corrosion and cathodic protection checks.

Signs you need an electrician

• Batteries won’t last a night at anchor.
• Burning smell, warm cables or fuses that keep blowing.
• Flickering lights or equipment rebooting when the engine starts.
• Green corrosion on terminals or bus bars.
• You plan to install lithium, more solar or a large inverter.

Lithium and onboard power

Switching to lithium (LiFePO4) batteries is the most requested job: more cycles, less weight and fast charging, but it needs a BMS, a compatible charger and often alternator protection. An experienced installer avoids expensive incompatibilities.

Electrical and plumbing together

Many onboard jobs mix electricity and water: bilge pumps, pressure pumps, electric toilets, water heaters or air conditioning. If your problem spans both, also look at marine plumbing and air conditioning.

When to do it

Before the season and during winterisation, when batteries are checked and left charged. Plan it with the maintenance calendar and, when choosing a professional, read how to choose a trustworthy marine mechanic or yard.