Start with a Solid Plan
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Are you looking for guidance on a marine electrical project? Does your boat require an electrical repair or redesign? Or perhaps a complete retrofit of its electrical system?
Pacific Yacht Systems offers personalized, tailored, electrical consultation and design services for projects of all sizes. Working with us simple and offers the benefits of:
- Developing a better understanding of your boat,
- Leveraging your existing gear, and
- Making design improvements gradually as you build your dream boat.
Plus, it saves you time and money by getting things done right the first time.
Whether you are tackling a retrofit, a DIY project, or a new electrical design, an ABYC and NMEA certified design technician can help. We always follow industry standards to keep you and your crew safe. We’re boaters too. We listen and we care. We welcome the opportunity to be your sounding board. Expertise through repetition has made us leaders in marine electronics. We have consulted, designed, and repaired thousands of boats around the world.
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Design Consultation Process
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Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of our most frequently asked questions and answers about our electrical consultation and design services.
Click on a question to view the answer.
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How do I know my boat project is something PYS can handle? Is boat size relevant?
PYS tackles boat projects of all sizes and scopes. Size isn’t a primary determining factor. It depends on how much you care and are passionate about the reliability and safety of your boat’s electrical system. Whether your boat is 25 feet or 75 feet, if you care about your boat, your project will be a good fit with PYS. We’ll work with you to create a design plan to optimize your time and money.
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Are your services for DIY yacht owners or for businesses?
Both. Our clients may be DIY yacht owners who want to make better choices for their electrical systems. They need advice or resources to inform their projects, such as detailed wiring diagrams. These clients tell us what they need, and we put together the electrical system details into a schematic that they can use.
Sometimes our clients are boat owners that require a design plan to give to a business that they’ve hired. PYS creates the design based on the owner’s requirements, which are translated into specifications, to be executed by knowledgeable marine electrical technicians.
Alternatively, some businesses have a client who need a design and the business engages with PYS for our electrical design expertise so they can build the electrical system. They need additional details to support the repair, upgrade, or overhaul of an electrical system, ensuring it is done to code. This typically results in less installation time.
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How do I get started?
Book your kick-off design consultation through the booking platform.
To make the most of our time together, we suggest you document your needs using a consultation and design brief that we can refer to together. This brief should be completed at least 48 hours before your appointment. This brief includes topics like:
- Your project objectives (stay at anchor longer, cruising offshore, fishing, etc.)
- What’s not working on your electrical system
- Existing electrical components you wish to incorporate in the new design
- A wish list of new equipment to purchase and install
- Any relevant pictures you have of your existing system
If you need to send more then one document (e.g. photos, diagrams, etc…), please send a link to a shared folder (dropbox, icloud, google doc, etc…).
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How soon can I get started?
Check the calendar for availability and book your kick-off design consultation with our booking platform immediately. Make sure you complete a consultation and design brief (see "How do I get started" above) to maximize your time with your assigned Marine Electrical Designer.
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Can consultations be done remotely or only in-person?
Our consultations can be done remotely by phone or video (e.g. Zoom). PYS has clients throughout North America and internationally, and clients who live right in Vancouver. Local clients can meet face-to-face, if desired.
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What happens during the kick-off meeting?
During the kick-off meeting (up to 1 hour), we review your consultation and design brief (see "How do I get started" above), and potentially explore electrical design packages that may suit your requirements. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions and get clarification about the different options. To book a kick-off meeting, utilize our booking platform.
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What are the most common topics discussed during the consultation?
- Battery bank size, chemistry and recommended voltage
- Options for charging the battery
- How to design a lithium battery and charging system
- How to use alternator output to reduce engine run-time
- Number of solar panels needed and installation requirements
- Implications of electric propulsion
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What will my final designs look like?
For DIY boat owners, we provide user-friendly schematics in Visio PDF format. The diagrams are easy-to-understand and provide details about the system so clients can complete the electrical work.
If you’re more familiar with CAD software, we can provide CAD schematics. Your designs can be as simple or as detailed as you want. Not sure what you need? We can make a recommendation for you.
Here are some samples of electrical designs.
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Can PYS assist with solar design consultation?
We can provide solar design recommendations during our consultation. Our expert technicians can provide a detail solar array with the recommended number of solar panels, solar controller, and fusing and interconnectivity to the positive and negative of the battery bank.
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Once the initial design and consultation phase is complete, does PYS offer additional support?
We sure do! We can support you along your entire design journey. The kick-off meeting allows us to answer your questions within an hour. Our clients frequently find follow-up appointments valuable where we can discuss designs in more detail. Once we’ve had the kick-off meeting and understand your requirements, we can tailor additional consultation and design package at a fixed price, at your request.
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How do I pay for my kick-off meeting?
We accept credit card payment when booking your kick-off design consultation through the booking platfom. Other packages can be paid by Visa, Mastercard or a bank wire transfer.
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How do I know my boat project is something PYS can handle? Is boat size relevant?
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Case Studies
"PYS' knowledge is amazing," says Jack, who consulted with PYS before undertaking the replacement of his trawler’s electrical system. "I have confidence that I’ve done everything correctly, and this adds to my feeling of self-sufficiency. We obviously share a passion about boating."
"What I really appreciate about the system Jeff designed," said Lyle, "was its simplicity - not only could I install it, but it is also really simple to operate, diagnose, and maintain."
"PYS Techs helped me immeasurably. It is worth it to spend the money upfront to understand the concepts and create a practical design. I just spent the summer away from the dock aboard Wassailer, and the electrical system performed flawlessly, in significant part to PYS. Thank you so much."
