what did you end up with Daz?

oooohhh... top secret at the moment Matt. Deal isn't 100% done yet... will be done next weekend. Then it should be in the drive way in a couple of weeks.

But it's glass & powered by a honda.

I'd probably recommend that you do the wiring yourself. Yes really, the main reason is that occasionally boat places get auto-electricians to do the wiring, and whilst they are competent, its not really done the right way for a boat.

Not everyone fusses over gel-filled or tinned wire, but I'd consider soldering all joints, and using glue-lined heatshrink and/or grease on joints as appropriate.

might have to get you around to help out hey Jamie.

Actually I second what Jamie said.  Do it yourself, so you are sure it's done right and that you know how to fix it if it goes wrong.

Might need to do more than that, I think I have a brand new waterproof vhf radio in a box here unused too =)

ahh, interested! Will be in touch if you're keen! I'm not electrical minded by any stretch of your imagination though.

It's pretty easy to wire up marine electronics. On both of my boats that was the first thing I did- rip all the electrical system out and install new wiring, switches, fuses etc. The plus side is the $$$ you will save and you know it inside out if something goes wrong. It's also good fun and gives you a excuse to spend some time in the new toy.
Looking forward to the pics.

Sounders , Radio's and gps's are prety easy to fit. just find a + and a _ wire and thats the start. as far as the rest goes it could be trial and error, the worst thing you could do is blow a few fuses

red to red , white to white and blue to bits , if you spend $ 2/3  k on a sounder/GPS they wont take it back because you connected it wrong make sure you know what your doing , you need to cable for the future and bigger is better especially on long cable runs , 12 volts drops of pretty quickly when loaded up .you need to assess all equipment that will be used and have a cable suitable for that loading otherwise you will get cables melting etc, every item requires it own fuse and the master feed cable needs to be fused as well, the fuse can only be rated to the cable current capacity otherwise you may as well use fencing wire instead of fuses.

If you use to much power or the cable is to small you have the problem of your gps and sounder turning off whilst trying to start your motor, work out in your boat where every thing is going then run your cables in location that are hiden and wont get damaged etc , keep communication and radio leads apart especially VHF radios, any wet areas solder and heat shrink joints and make a electrical map of how you have wired everything as it will be handy later , also run a few spare wires front to back , because when you buy something next year you wont have to pull it all apart to install extra cables 

Give Cameron Degan a call from Waterline marine on 0409936 644 if your North of the River. he is positioned behind me and uses all the right gear. Also if your thinking of taking it somewhere than just ask them what they use up front.

Rod

peter sertis at boat city

thanks all. I've given Vince @ Dinghy world a call & he seems to be very helpful.