A series of articles covering all the things to check when buying a boat

Previous articles in this series cover:

Boat electrics

It’s not uncommon to see a mess of wires like this under the dashboard or behind the console on a boat:

Boat wiring mess

This may not be an immediate issue, but will make troubleshooting difficult if not impossible. However, if the engine starts, the dials work and the trim mechanism operates correctly at least you know the main electrical systems are working.

Checks

  • Look for a battery isolation switch. This is essential so you can prevent the battery draining while the boat is not in use.
  • There should be a fuse panel somewhere. Follow the leads from the battery isolation switch to find it and check fuses are in place.
  • Large boats often have multiple batteries in separate banks, but a smaller budget boat may have just a single battery for starting the engine and powering onboard circuits. This is obviously a single point of failure, so you may want to add a jump pack to your essential equipment list.
  • Check electrical systems work, which may include:
  • Horn,
  • Interior lighting,
  • Navigation lights,
  • Anchor light,
  • Stereo,
  • Windscreen wipers,
  • Bilge pump. Bilge pumps usually have an ‘always on’ mode and an ‘auto’ mode so the switch may have three positions including ‘off’