hmmm . to say your
project is 'ambitious' is an understatement. it takes most boat owners who consider themselves (rightly or wrongly) capable of working on their own
electric systems a lot of time with good
electric theory
books to get to the point where they can actually do a competent rewire that won't burn down the boat or shock someone. there is a great book by (may be ?don casey) BOAT ELECTRIC SYSTEMS. get a good book, get a decent digital multimeter $20 at an autoparts store. understand why it matters what gauge of wire is correct for a particular application. understand what happens if you accidentally do a dead short. understand why you should not let a screwdriver touch both terminals on your battery. understand why you don't wear rings or bracelets or necklaces when working on your
engine or electrics. and why you don't want to have long hair or loose shirt cuffs in the vicinity of a rotating
alternator belt. understand why it's important not to wire a new 12v outlet with stereo wire. understand why you can't use household lamp cord for wiring your
bilge pump. understand that black DC is NOT the same as black AC. (and to be blunt --Don't even think about doing anything to or near your AC circuits..unless you want to end up dead.)
i assume you have some wiring on your boat already? are you looking to just understand it, or do a complete
seaworthy upgrade, component by component? understanding it is one thing. contemplating a complete rewire is a daunting task...
by the way YES i am a degreed
engineer, YES i have completely rewired 2 of my own
boats. (and none of them burned. ) YES i own a complete library of boat electrical books... and it is nevertheless still a daunting task to tackle a new electrical/ wiring component issue..let alone the entire boat.