Well, Jim...
There's a lot of good advice floating around here and I'm just going to add my two-cents. I just finished re-wiring my boat before launch last spring. Yep...ripped every bit of wire out and replaced it with nice, fresh, new, tinned Ancor. New panel, ground block, the whole nine yards. I even re-wired the mast and installed all new lights. After examining the old wire that was removed (23 years old) it was hard to imagine how ANYTHING electrical even WORKED on this boat. Now normally, I don't hold much stock in the term "marine grade" because most of the time it's used simply to justify the higher price. BUT, there were a couple of wires that were about ten years old that WERE tinned. These were the only wires that did not have any problems...says something, doesn't it? Now, I don't know about anyone else, but after a full season I have found no deterioration of connections or splices, no corrosion on my batteries, and no electrical problems whatsoever. So, now it's decision time for you Jim ole boy. Do you want to do the job right? Or do you want to do it cheap. To me, the choice is clear and simple...the price difference is cheap insurance for a reliable electrical system. Sailors are notoriously thrifty, frugal, etc. (call it anything you want, but it all still means cheap). However, that's okay when you want to save money by doing your own work (provided you have the knowledge). It ISN'T such a great idea , though, when it comes to quality materials unless it's obtaining the highest quality materials at the lowest price. Re-wiring my boat...Was it cheap? Nope...Was there a lot of labor involved? Yep...Would I scrimp on quality to save a few bucks?...Not on your nellie! Remember the words of good old Cap'n Ron..."If anything's gonna happen, it's gonna happen out there!" Oh, yeah...in answer to your question; Not many, if any, insurance companies even ask. Their major concerns are water damage (deck/hull core, around deck fittings, etc.), properly wired (not tinned vs. bare), no "T" fittings for installed Propane/CNG systems outside of the propane/CNG locker (this is a biggie), vapor-proof pass-throughs for propane/CNG lines from the locker, engine and ancilliaries. Cheers, Bob Nonsuch 30C Hull #77 Lazybones
Bud