>I'm fairly ignorant of electric systems on boats.

I hope you're comfortable with how basic 12VDC electrics work and are asking about how to wire them in a marine environment.

Preface, I'm not a certified marine electrician but I've done a ton of work re-wiring, custom work on all kinds of sail and power boats.

Tools:
>I do have a cheap harbor freight multi-meter

good, now you're going to need a way to crimp those shitty connectors and some dielectric grease.

Unless of course you want to solder all your connections (this is my preference as it doesn't vibrate loose or corrode as quickly), then follow NASA's soldering method s and yuu'll need some rosin cored solder and and a soldering iron, you'll also need to use a crimp connector without the pre-molded shrink wrap and some heat shrink tubing

Ok... got your tools? great, now for supplies.

You'll need a buss bar on your ground

Measure how much wire you need, (are you re-wiring the mast?) and use 14/2 AWG marine grade wire.

If you're only using 1 battery you can get away with a simple switch like this. From the devices & lights you listed It sounds like you can use 10AWG to connect your battery to your switch then to the 14 gang panel.

You'll need a way to label your wires, I use one of these but if you're doing one job you might want to use something cheaper.

Ok... now on the to the fun part

Plan where you're going to mount your panel and pull a single RED 10AWG from there to your battery shut off switch and another strand from you battery to the switch.

Pull 10 AWG from the battery to the buss bar.

pull all the 14awg from the lights to the panel labeling each 14/2 wire as you go

red goes to the fuse block, black goes to the buss bar then to the negative on the gang block, label everything at the connection points, big red wire goes from battery switch to the bolt on the 14 gang, big black wire goes to the buss bar.

install new things, as each device is hooked up test the fuse and switch, then install the new thing.

Edit: I forgot to mention, use dielectric grease on all metal fittings to reduce corrosion.

edit 1: put a fuse between your battery and shut off ont the red wire

u/Knoxie_89 · 1 point r/MechanicAdvice

Try and find if there is a parasitic draw:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a5859/how-to-stop-car-battery-drains/

If you don't want to find the cause of the drain just put in a battery disconnect switch. You could run it all the way to the cabin of the car so you don't need to open/close the hood every time you start the car and turn it off.

For under the hood: http://www.harborfreight.com/battery-disconnect-switch-97853.html

For mounting in car (you'll need to run two wires from battery to this switch): http://www.amazon.com/Marinco-701-Battery-Disconnect-Switch/dp/B005DUUL9W/ref=sr_1_8?s=automotive&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1452027739&amp;sr=1-8&amp;keywords=remote+battery+disconnect

Super fancy remote controlled one; http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Prog-Brain-T3-Protector/dp/B000P4H9W8/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1452027739&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=remote+battery+disconnect

u/MangoMan6 · 1 point r/electricians

Will do. https://www.amazon.com/BEP-701-Battery-Switches-On-Off/dp/B005DUUL9W/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1521649402&amp;sr=8-7&amp;keywords=battery+cutoff

And yeah, the idea is to not kill myself. This is my first large project, although I have messed with low voltage stuff in the form of robotics for years.

This sub has been very helpful. I mean except for the shitter who keeps on hoping I die, thats not very helpful.

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