Electrical
Marine Electrical & Power Systems
Diagnosis, rewires, charging and networks — Anacortes & La Conner
Most marine electrical work we are called for starts as “something is draining the batteries” or “this trips when the fridge starts.” The job is finding out why, not replacing parts until it stops.
Victron, EPOCH, Interstate, Egis Mobile Electric and KBi on the power side. Raymarine, Garmin and Simrad for navigation, with NMEA-trained technicians at both yards.
The problems we are called for
From a bad ground to a full rewire
- Something is draining the batteries. Parasitic draws found and traced, not guessed.
- A breaker trips when the fridge starts. Loads and distribution diagnosed; panels rebuilt, labeled and documented.
- A fault that only happens underway. Intermittents tracked down under the conditions that cause them.
- Running gear corroding, anodes going fast. Reference-electrode measurement, bonding and shore-power isolation. Cheaper to find than to replace running gear.
- Batteries never reach full. Charging systems: alternators, external regulation, DC-DC, shore chargers, solar and MPPT.
- Shore power and inverters. Sizing, transfer and galvanic isolation.
- Unreliable starting. KBi Kold‑Ban supercapacitor starting, independent of the house bank.
- Moving to lithium. Conversions built as a system, not a battery swap.
- Electronics that do not talk to each other. MFD and NMEA 2000 networks, planned and labeled rather than accumulated over twenty years.
- Wiring nobody can follow. Full rewires on older boats where the wiring has become an archaeological record.
Why we build on Victron
One ecosystem that talks to itself: inverter/charger, solar, DC-DC, shunt and battery share data, so charge sources coordinate instead of each one guessing.
The part owners actually feel is remote monitoring — we can look at your system from the shop while you are anchored in the San Juans, which turns a mystery into a diagnosis and a part in the mail.
Documented, not improvised
Work is done to manufacturer specification and to our own written procedure, and the boat leaves with a record of what was changed. Our electrical technicians work through in-house certification covering marine electrical, LiFePO4 conversion, alternator and charging systems, and MFD and NMEA 2000 installation — see Essential Shipyard University.
Navigation and electronics
One system, from the through hull to the anchor light
A modern vessel’s electronics are one network, not a shelf of instruments. The transducers in the hull, the engine and autopilot data, the multifunction displays, and the digital switching that reaches every circuit on board all sit on the same backbone. We design that network, then fit it.
Three brands, one bench
Raymarine, Garmin and Simrad — sold and installed at both yards. Which one suits the boat is a design decision, and we make it with you before anything is ordered.
Trained to the standard, and to ours
NMEA 2000 is a standard, and it repays being built to the standard: a proper backbone, correct drops, terminated once, powered once and labeled. Our technicians are NMEA trained — and trained again here, through Essential Shipyard University, to our own written modules. The designers draw the network before a hole is cut.
Automation to the anchor light
Digital switching puts circuits on the network that used to be a breaker and a length of wire. We design the whole progression — through hulls and transducers, engine and autopilot data, the MFD, and the switching that runs all the way down to the anchor light.
Tell us what the boat needs
Make, length, what is in it now, and what you want it to do. You get an estimate within 48 working hours, and a firm quote once we have seen the job.
Free for every customer
A complimentary 18-point inspection
An expert technician tests the boat’s systems and writes up every point as Excellent, Good, Monitor, Attention or Critical — a written report telling you what is sound, what to keep an eye on, and what has to be dealt with before it goes back in the water. Free with every job.
EXCELLENT
GOOD
MONITOR
ATTENTION
CRITICAL
