Earlier this year the company introduced a new, water-splash protected switch/ circuit breaker with "soft" feel and dual illumination for pushfit mounting in switch panels.

They say it's an attractive, contoured, soft feel rocker actuator with dual illumination and choice of both colour and marine legends make it a firstline choice for builders of powerboats and yachts.

A 3-position switch version of matching design enables all combinations of switching and circuit protection to be provided in one control panel grouping.

The E-T-A 3131 is a combined switch and thermal overcurrent circuit breaker providing snapin, panel-mounted, single pole protection against both limited short circuits and low level, but potentially very harmful, overload currents.

The integral overload protection negates the need for fuse holders or additional circuit breakers, thus offering great advantages for boat users and simplifying the wiring circuits. Models are offered in current ratings from 0.1A to 20A at up to 50V DC/240V AC for single pole applications.

The complementary E-T-A 3131 three-position switch, with matching actuator designs, offers the additional switching required for units such as 2-speed fans and wipers.

The ergonomically styled rocker actuator on both versions of the 3131 is, they say, soft to the touch and offers two illumination options with a number of different permutations possible. Splash water protection is provided with its IP66 rating. The company says the 3131 CBE is one of the smallest and lightest products of this type on the market, making it ideal for the protection of circuits and equipment including navigation and communication equipment.

Axon Components has designed and manufactured marine electrical control systems for over 20 years.

Their most recent development is the intelligent control system - or ICSYS.

"For many years the control of on board circuits has been via a central circuit breaker panel, similar to the box of breakers found in most modern homes, from which all circuits had to be connected by bulky, heavy wiring looms, " said Mark D Vipond, a director of Axon. "We moved away from this some eight years ago by developing a system of installing banks of circuit breakers closer to the applications that they control."

With a simple relay connected to each breaker, the circuit can be switched from anywhere on the boat via a 1 amp signal, requiring a very light cable and doing away with the need for long, heavy cable runs, he added.

Latest step ICSYS is the latest step in the development of this idea, providing control and monitoring of all circuits via a full colour touch-sensitive screen.

Should a circuit breaker trip, the screen will show the name, time of fault and exact location of the affected breaker.

Using an industry standard Control Area Network (CAN) protocol, compatible with NMEA 2000, ICSYS is not just capable of switching, monitoring and fault-finding, says Axon, it will also integrate seamlessly with any other CANbased system, such as engine and instrument monitoring.

"When it was first introduced to the market the majority of boatbuilders were clearly impressed with this type of technology, " said Vipond, "but it has taken a number of years to convince them of the very real benefits of a lightweight, networked control system."

However, the breakthrough finally came, and ICSYS was first installed by a UK boatbuilder some five years ago, he added.

"We continue to experience growing demand and highly favourable feedback."

Interconnectivity continues to be a high priority with many manufacturers and Mastervolt is naturally involved in this market. The company feels increased system integration is one of the most important pillars of its strategy for the 21st century.

This integration will be based primarily on MasterBus, the hub in the wheel that allows the different components of an electrical system to communicate with each other.

MasterBus is the name for all communication between Mastervolt products and this new communication platform will be introduced during 2006.

All new products will be MasterBus compatible and many current products will be available with upgrades for MasterBus compatibility.

When Mastervolt products fitted with MasterBus are connected together, communication between them will start automatically.

As a company providing system solutions, in this way the performance of a system will increase while installation and configurations become simpler. A single connector/ wire will carry both data and limited power.

At the lower end of the budget range is a remote panel CC for IVO and MASS Chargers.

The remote control panel CC (charger current) is designed to read out the essentials about the status of the charging process, the intensity of the charge current and availability of AC power.

Besides, a limit can be set for the charge current (to prevent the external AC source from an overload situation).

This small advanced remote panel (universal for 12/24V DC) can be connected to a telejack communication port.

Merlin Equipment, which already claims to be the UK's largest supplier of marine electrical products, has seen extensive expansion in the last 12 months. With a recent addition of 4200 sq ft of workshops and four additional engineers, Merlin is now able to offer complete looming, distribution cabinet, switch panel and sub assembly manufacture.

One-stop solution This expansion allows them to offer a one stop solution for the boatbuilder with complete system design, manufacture and support facilities. Their installation-ready systems allow boatbuilders to install an entire primary electrical system into a boat within one or two days; by mounting all components within distribution cabinets and providing plug in electrical looms, the systems are very much plug and play. As a result this allows lower skilled individuals to quickly fit complex electrical systems.

Merlin is also able to manufacture sub assemblies to fit behind or inside any size or contour of panelling - freeing up significant amounts of internal volume in the boat. The product distribution part of Merlin Equipment's business is also going strong, representing Blue Sea Systems, BEP marine, Lifetime Tinned Cable, Balmar, Victron, Xantrex, Lifeline Batteries and Solarplex custom solar cells.

As well as distributing products, Merlin also manufactures a range of galvanic isolators, alternator controllers, highly advanced split charge systems, battery protection devices and a new battery monitor - for which they are currently seeking international and local distributors.

According to James Hortop, the biggest issues affecting the UK marine electrical market are those of raw material cost and "me too" marketing. "With the price of lead and copper soaring, the industry needs to be prepared for increases in the price of batteries, cable and distribution components and 'Me too' marketing is also a threat to the industry, " he explained.

Electrical systems are becoming more and more complex and require fundamental understanding to ensure reliability and efficiency.

With more and more start up Internet operations, mass market shops and untrained chandlery outlets selling inverters, chargers and AC components, we are having to help many people who have either dangerously installed equipment or been sold the wrong item, he added.

Also, with the advent of digital switching systems on boats, the potential for the DIY skipper to cause a serious electrical problem is increased.

"Instances like this seriously damage the industry but will bring unwanted regulatory intervention, " he says.

A distribution system that maybe less well known is the DNS system from the US.

Imported into the UK by Duncan Yachting of Alton, the DNS system offers all the same advantages of the EmpirBus system, such as decentralised electrical systems, plus all the features a programmable system can offer.

Financially attractive "The system is very financially attractive with the benefit of just superb standard and customisable keypads that are just fab, " (his words not ours), said Chris Duncan, "and the distribution agreement was announced at BBEx 2006, following a roll-out of the product across Europe."

Thousands of systems are in use in the field across the US and Europe, and Duncan Yachting says that a number of race, pleasure and commercial boatbuilders in the UK are now showing interest.

Current control units are the PME1.8 and PME2.0 (CANBUS) and now the new PICO PME (CANBUS) a 10-output controller, perfect for smaller craft and RIBs is available.

DY's most requested PI Series system design to date is a port entry light control system based on standard controllers and keypads. The system is highly adaptable and, as the systems are IP67 minimum, they are said to be very reliable.