Standardised wiring setups

[Caolan]

Hello I am looking to rewire my boat in the Autumn and Winter and am wondering if there's a standardised or at least a Best Practices guide someplace for ensuring that regardless of what elextronic or system components you have, it is sure to be organised and scalable.

For example, what is a standard gauge wire to use? Solid or stranded? Should I use terminal blocks to go from battery to components (my current setup is everything connected to the battery terminal which I hate)...

TIA
-Caolan

[yalla]

user MAINESAIL has posted much on sailing forums regarding electrical installations.
His website is here Welcome To MarineHowTo.com Photo Gallery by Compass Marine How To at pbase.com

[Colin A]

This page has a fair bit of decent info
Boat Building Standards | Basic Electricity | Wiring Your Boat

The USCG has some basic standards
Boat Building Regulations | Boat Electrical Systems

you will hear ABYC mentioned alot sections of those standards can be found online searching for ABYC E11. You can buy the whole standard from ABYC but it is a bit expensive.

You can also search online for NMEA (national marine electronics assc. ) 0400 standard, again you can find parts online but the standard is a bit pricey.

And as mentioned Maine Sail's site is filled with stuff.

[Stu Jackson]

Electrical Systems 101