Systems installation is the longest stage of a new build and the one where the most trades overlap. Electrics, fuel, water, exhaust and ventilation pass through the same tight spaces; the quality of installation decides how easily every fault is found in later years.
Standards referred to
- Electrical
- ISO 10133 for DC and ISO 13297 for AC installations.
- Fuel
- ISO 10088 for permanently installed fuel systems.
- Gas
- ISO 10239 for LPG systems.
- Fire
- ISO 9094 for fire protection.
- Bilge
- ISO 15083 for bilge pumping systems.
Principles of installation
- Separation: fuel and electrical runs on separate routes; exhaust away from fuel and cables.
- Securing: at regular spacing against vibration; protection at sharp edges.
- Access: valves, filters, pumps and junction boxes reachable without removing linings.
- Labels: cables, hoses and valves labelled at both ends.
- Sequence: systems completed and tested before interior linings go in.
Checks
Every run is seen and photographed before linings close; then the systems are tested. The records go into the handover file.
Routing plan
Cable, hose and pipe routes are planned on the drawings before installation starts. Keeping fuel and electrical runs apart, keeping exhaust away from heat-sensitive lines and laying every run so it can be replaced later are the basis of that plan. Runs laid without a plan chafe against each other in tight spaces and are hard to maintain.
Securing and protection
Runs are secured at intervals; a cable moving under vibration and wave load loses its insulation over time. Where cables and hoses pass through bulkheads and structure, they are protected against chafe. Joints below the waterline are double-clamped.
Labelling
Every cable and hose should say what it is at both ends. Labelling takes a few hours during installation; over the boat's life it saves hours at every fault and service.
Before closing up
This is systems installation's most important check point; finding and fixing a mistake after linings close is hard and costly. The photos go into the handover file and later show where a run goes without opening a lining.
Tests
Electrical circuits are tried under load and pressurised lines under pressure, and results recorded. The thermal camera shows connections that heat under load.
Diagrams
At the end of installation, as-built diagrams are handed over; every departure from the design diagram is marked on them.
Spare capacity
Leaving spare conduit and a few spare circuits makes adding equipment later far easier, without pulling new cable through finished joinery.
Leaving spare ways on the switchboard does the same for the distribution side, and costs almost nothing at build time.
Installation follows the standards named in the specification and is inspected against them at check points; the standard defines cable size, protection and layout, and inspection shows it was applied on site rather than only on paper.
Every change made during installation is marked on the diagram the same day; changes saved up for the end get forgotten and spoil the as-built record, which every future electrician and plumber will rely on first.
A good installation is still easy to follow and understand years later, by someone who never saw it being built.
That clarity is the clearest sign of good work, and it is what a surveyor looks for first when opening any locker aboard.
Label, photograph, test, then close up.