Looking for an Electrician in London

[NarrowBoatNewbie]

Hi Everyone, I have a 42ft narrowboat currently moored around Rickmansworth though I am a continuous cruiser so can move to get work done if required. I am looking to have my boat completely rewired and was hoping for suggestions of people I could contact to get the work done. Many thanks Jon

[BEngo]

Ralph at P&S Marine.  Just up the cut from Ricky,  at Watford  Cassio Bridge.

 

N

[Tony Brooks]

6 minutes ago, NarrowBoatNewbie said:

Hi Everyone, I have a 42ft narrowboat currently moored around Rickmansworth though I am a continuous cruiser so can move to get work done if required. I am looking to have my boat completely rewired and was hoping for suggestions of people I could contact to get the work done. Many thanks Jon

 

I very much doubt it will need a total rewire so perhaps it would be bets if you could be more specific as to what you want done or why it needs it. I would expect a total rewire to cost a great deal of money if it involves all the domestic wiring. Just the engine systems may be cheaper.

[NarrowBoatNewbie]

25 minutes ago, BEngo said:

Ralph at P&S Marine.  Just up the cut from Ricky,  at Watford  Cassio Bridge.

 

N

Thank you for the reply, I will get in contact with him and see what he says. Thanks again.

[NarrowBoatNewbie]

29 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

I very much doubt it will need a total rewire so perhaps it would be bets if you could be more specific as to what you want done or why it needs it. I would expect a total rewire to cost a great deal of money if it involves all the domestic wiring. Just the engine systems may be cheaper.

Hi Tony, 

 

Thank you for the reply, I did originally have an electrician to do the work. He told me to strip all the wiring from the boat as it would be cheaper and easier to just put new wiring in. Which I then did.

 

We had a greed a price, but with lockdown there was a long delay and then when I contacted him he was not interested in doing the job anymore.

 

I have had another quote but it is a lot more than he had quoted for the job. 

[Alan de Enfield]

6 minutes ago, NarrowBoatNewbie said:

He told me to strip all the wiring from the boat as it would be cheaper and easier to just put new wiring in. Which I then did.

 

Was he a 'domestic (house) electrician' ? It seems as if you may have fallen foul of the "London experts". 

It is extremely unusual and unlikely that it would need all of the wiring taking out.

 

If you find an electrician ensure that he / she is a boat electrician as the wiring practices and types of cable used are very different to 'house wiring'.

[NarrowBoatNewbie]

7 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Was he a 'domestic (house) electrician' ? It seems as if you may have fallen foul of the "London experts". 

It is extremely unusual and unlikely that it would need all of the wiring taking out.

 

If you find an electrician ensure that he / she is a boat electrician as the wiring practices and types of cable used are very different to 'house wiring'.

He was definitely a boat electrician, I got his number from one of the boaters forums on facebook. I have spoken to other boaters that have used him or known people that have and he has a good reputation. 

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, NarrowBoatNewbie said:

I got his number from one of the boaters forums on facebook.

 

Is there anything that stops a non-boating electrician from posting on a boating forum ?

 

Glad that you have spoken with other boaters but if they do not have the experience to know the differing requirements they may have just been 'blinded by science' and assume when he told them to rip out all the wiring he knew what he was doing.

 

Cynical, Moi ? (no, just experienced)

 

Good luck with your search.

[NarrowBoatNewbie]

7 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Is there anything that stops a non-boating electrician from posting on a boating forum ?

 

Glad that you have spoken with other boaters but if they do not have the experience to know the differing requirements they may have just been 'blinded by science' and assume when he told them to rip out all the wiring he knew what he was doing.

 

Cynical, Moi ? (no, just experienced)

 

Good luck with your search.

Very true!! I never thought of that 🤦 I don't know if he told other people to rip out their wiring. I had just been told that he was reliable and good. 

 

I've got a feeling this could be an expensive error. Thank you very much for your input, hopefully it will all be sorted soon.

 

[Tony Brooks]

1 hour ago, NarrowBoatNewbie said:

Hi Tony, 

 

Thank you for the reply, I did originally have an electrician to do the work. He told me to strip all the wiring from the boat as it would be cheaper and easier to just put new wiring in. Which I then did.

 

We had a greed a price, but with lockdown there was a long delay and then when I contacted him he was not interested in doing the job anymore.

 

I have had another quote but it is a lot more than he had quoted for the job. 

 

I am very sorry to hear that but that sort of conduct is far from rare when jobs get complex. I think that as long as there is no 230V AC involved from any source  it should not be beyond an average DIYer to do the cabin electrics, especially if you have removed sufficient linings to get at the cables. Even the engine instruments may be doable but you may need help to terminate the heavy (25sq mm CCSA) battery & starting cables. It is the charging circuit(s) that are a little more involved.

 

While you are looking for an electrician have a look at the electrics course notes on http://www.tb-training.co.uk and see if you think you could do tit. f the answer is "possibly" then come back for some tips on cable size etc.

[reg]

2 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

While you are looking for an electrician have a look at the electrics course notes on http://www.tb-training.co.uk and see if you think you could do tit. f the answer is "possibly" then come back for some tips on cable size etc.

When I wired my boat 14-16 years ago these were the resources I used extensively. I always appreciated your having made them freely available at the time and also your ongoing commitment to helping others on here. The OP maybe does not yet  realise the, yet again, generous offer you gave just made to assist a forum member.

 

[Murflynn]

13 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

.................    you may need help to terminate the heavy (25sq mm CCSA) battery & starting cables.

 

 

 if you are going DIY it is well worth buying a heavy duty crimping tool and a cable cutter, you can always sell them on when you have finished, but in my case I found them worth retaining.

[NarrowBoatNewbie]

16 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

I am very sorry to hear that but that sort of conduct is far from rare when jobs get complex. I think that as long as there is no 230V AC involved from any source  it should not be beyond an average DIYer to do the cabin electrics, especially if you have removed sufficient linings to get at the cables. Even the engine instruments may be doable but you may need help to terminate the heavy (25sq mm CCSA) battery & starting cables. It is the charging circuit(s) that are a little more involved.

 

While you are looking for an electrician have a look at the electrics course notes on http://www.tb-training.co.uk and see if you think you could do tit. f the answer is "possibly" then come back for some tips on cable size etc.

Thank you very much I will look at these and see if it is something I could do myself. Thank you for the advice.

2 hours ago, Murflynn said:

 if you are going DIY it is well worth buying a heavy duty crimping tool and a cable cutter, you can always sell them on when you have finished, but in my case I found them worth retaining.

Thank you.