Marine electrical · Everett, WA

Find the real cause. Fix it once.

I diagnose, repair and upgrade electrical systems on recreational boats — 12 and 24 V DC and AC aboard — in Everett, Mukilteo, Edmonds and nearby marinas. I’ve worked as an electrician on superyacht builds at Delta Marine in Seattle, and I wrote Boat Electrical, a free handbook for owners.

Describe the problem Read the free handbook

I come to your boat, in the slip or on the trailer. English and Russian spoken.

Common complaints

A symptom is where diagnosis starts, not where it ends

The same complaint can come from five different faults. So I measure before I decide — and you never pay for parts swapped in on a guess.

Battery dead by morning

Something drawing power with everything switched off, a worn-out battery, or a charger that isn’t really charging. I measure the resting draw and the voltage under load, and then decide.

In the handbook: Chapter 3

Electronics reboot when you crank the engine

Almost always voltage drop in the starting circuit, or a shared negative that carries starter current. I find the drop with a meter, not by swapping parts until it goes away.

In the handbook: Chapter 3

Fuse keeps blowing, wire runs hot

A fuse protects the wire, not the device. I check that every fuse and breaker matches the wire’s gauge and run length, and look for circuits wired straight to the battery with no protection at all.

In the handbook: Chapter 4

Bilge pump won’t run on automatic — or won’t stop

Float switch, the always-on feed that bypasses the battery switch, the fuse, the connections down in the bilge. A bilge pump has to work when nobody is aboard.

Shore power (ELCI) keeps tripping at the dock

Pedestals with ELCI protection cut power when current leaks to ground instead of returning on the neutral. I find the leak aboard, or the spot where neutral and ground are tied together, and fix it — before the marina asks you to stay unplugged.

Older boat with several owners’ worth of wiring

I walk the whole boat and build a boat passport: what feeds what, and what protects it. Then you get a work list ranked by risk, not everything at once.

In the handbook: Chapter 2

Adding electronics or a second battery bank

Chartplotter, fishfinder, VHF, battery monitor, inverter/charger; a second bank with its own switching; proper protection on every new circuit.

All services

How it works

Four steps. At each one, you know what you’re paying for

You describe the problem
By email: the boat, where she’s kept, what’s happening, and what changed just before it started. Photos of the panel, the batteries and the trouble spot make the initial visit much shorter.
We agree on what to check
Before I drive out, I tell you where to start and how the work will be billed.
Measurements before parts
I don’t replace anything until a measurement points to the cause: voltage under load, voltage drop, resting draw.
A written report
What I found, what I did, the readings before and after, and what can wait and why.

Where I work

Everett-area marinas

I cover Everett, Mukilteo, Edmonds. By arrangement: Shilshole (Seattle), La Conner, Anacortes, Langley. Trailered boats too.

Background

Superyachts: electrician on custom yacht builds at Delta Marine Industries, Seattle.
Electrical and HVAC on homes and large commercial projects.
Engineering degree in vehicle fleet operations, with an automotive electrical specialization.
Standards: I work to ABYC standards and USCG rules (33 CFR).

More about me

The series

The handbook is free. The modules go deeper.

The handbook continues in paid modules and yearbooks: AC systems, lithium, electrical from scratch, engines, electronics, boat types, and diagnosis as a craft. They’re in development, and the ones readers ask for get written sooner.

See the modules M8. Diagnostic Playbooks

Tell me what’s happening on your boat

A clear description and a few photos make the initial visit shorter.

Describe the problem About me