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Electric Marine specializes in tough diagnostic problems in marine electrical and electronic systems.  We do complex vessel rewiring and equipment upgrades.  We also do simpler jobs for people who just want to know it's done right.  Details are important, craftsmanship matters.  Here, you get the owner, not the journeyman.

I'm essentially a boutique Marine Electrician: One person, very well qualified, reliable, not inexpensive. I operate dockside from San Pedro through Dana Point in Southern California. I'm busy enough to be a little choosy about who I work for.

My best customers hire me because they have an intractable electronic or electrical problem or simply because they want the assurance the job is done right and they like it that I mostly show up on time and call when I'm going to be late. I am CMET certified by NMEA. I basically do anything that is even remotely related to electricity, but only on boats. That sometimes includes plumbing.  I'm not fussy about whether I wire batteries and charging systems (which many people poorly understand) or I install the latest electronics. I like working on older boats because they have developed more interesting problems. I don't care as much for two-hour jobs because it's difficult to string a day's worth of work out of them. I enjoy cleaning up other people's messes.

We can furnish all major brands of marine electronics at very competitive prices.  And install them properly.  We do not have a "storefront" business model, however.  Rather than investing in brick and mortar, we  work dockside, at your vessel from a well-equipped van.  We respect your time: we make firm appointments, confirm them and show up on-time.  We operate from San Pedro through Dana Point in the Los Angeles - Orange County area.

The Electric Marine guarantee (short form):  If we can't solve your problem, we won't charge you for working on it.  

Electric Marine is David Sheriff, a "retired" electrical engineer and high-tech executive.  A marine electrician for the last six years, David has 55 years experience fixing electrical, electronic and mechanical problems.  He holds an FCC General Radiotelephone Operator license with a Ship Radar Endorsement and a NMEA CMET certificate.  

Electric Marine belongs to the two principal boating standards bodies, the American Boat and Yacht Council and the National Marine Electronics Association.  Together with regulations issued by the US Coast Guard and the Federal Communications Commission, ABYC and NMEA standards form the legal and professional basis for practices in the recreational boating industry.

We stay abreast of boating standards as they evolve and base our work practices on them.  ABYC and NMEA standards are voluntary.  To be in compliance with these standards, boats are only required to meet the rules once: when they were built.   When making repairs or modifications, it is rarely practical or cost effective to comprehensively upgrade old boats to the most recent edition of the standards.  Where USCG or FCC regulations are compulsory, we will insist on following them in any rework.  If it's a potential hazard in a system we work on, we're obligated to fix it.  Where we can follow voluntary standards as well, we do so.  When it's a question of proper practice, it's no question.  Details matter.

Electric Marine charges time and materials for all work performed.  We do not bid jobs although we will competitively quote the equipment portion if you're a serious customer.  Customers call us because they trust us to help them pick the right equipment and to do the job properly, not necessarily because we will do it for the least amount of money.  We are very competitive in value delivered for your dollar.  Call me. If I cannot talk to you immediately, I will call you back at the first opportunity.

Boats are not like 2 x 4 studded buildings.  Every boat is different.  We will estimate charges, but boats can be quite surprising when they are opened up.  A wire raceway may be completely full.  It may be impossible to get from here to there without removing an entire wall's paneling.  Boats tend to be designed to be built at minimum cost, not necessarily designed to be modified easily.  Wiring may be installed at the factory before the boat is completely assembled.  Getting to it later can be difficult.

I am a boater.  I love boats, whether sail or power. (I must admit to owning a small sailboat.)  Being a boater helps me understand how to install things so they are easily visible and readily accessible.  There are few things worse than having to bend over sideways at the helm just to tune your VHF to a particular channel, unless it's having to bend forward over the wheel to change a setting on the radar or chartplotter (or even to see the screen clearly). I'm big on labeling things too.  Labeling switches, labeling wires, labeling terminals.  Drawings are nice, and we do them sometimes, but self-documenting systems are better.  By just looking at the labels you can see how the system is operated and even how it's wired.  How many mystery switches are on your boat, switches a previous owner put in and you have no idea what they were supposed to do?

Installing new equipment these days is a matter and of mounting the boxes, connecting the cables and programming equipment options properly.  I do it all the time.  My craftsmanship is excellent; I have the required tools.  What's really fun for me though, is figuring out why systems don't work and fixing them.  

That's why we deal with marine electrical systems as well as working with sophisticated electronic devices.  There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about batteries, alternators, chargers, inverters, grounding and bonding and the other elements of a vessel's electrical system.  The electrical system tends have unique peculiarities on every vessel, much more so than navigation, instruments or communications systems.  That not only makes for interesting problems in the electrical systems, but nothing else functions reliably if the electrical systems are not doing their job.

I turn 63 this year.  I expect to be in this business for the next fifteen or twenty years, perhaps training others to work beside me as I go.   This field is a perfect match for my experience, interests and abilities.  I'm having fun and building a base of enthusiastic customers.  Go ahead, call me.  Talking about a problem is free.  You have nothing to lose but your boat's electrical problems.  

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Copyright © 2002  David Sheriff. All rights reserved.
Last Revised: June 23, 2008.