Boat Electrics & Mechanics

Courses and Advice:

How to do it the RIGHT way

  • You're a boater or a sailor?
  • You want to understand what's going on inside your engine?
  • You want to fix and maintain your boat electrics like an expert?

We teach you how to be self reliant on the water and save money by fixing things yourself.

Check out our online courses on electrical systems:

Or sign up to get the latest updates for free...

... and get exclusive bonus content from BOATHOWTO

As Featured In

Your Expert Teachers

Nigel & Jan

Dr. Jan C. Athenstädt

Nigel Calder

We are passionate about technical systems on boats since the 1970s (at least one of us) and we have a mission

We offer the internet's most profound knowledge on
boat mechanics and electrics.

Click here to learn more about our goals and values and here to get to know us.

By now, over 900 students have taken our first two courses on marine electrical systems: Boat Electrics 101, covering marine DC systems and Advanced Marine Electrics, covering a large variety of advanced topics.

We received more positive feedback than we could ever have imagined! This motivates us even more to keep working on great courses, articles and videos. Our next project will be a course on Marine Diesel Engines.

Want to stay tuned? Sign up and we'll keep you posted...

Friends & Partners

We work together with various partner organizations fostering high quality marine education and other services

Click here for a full list with more info on our friends & partners

What students say about us

An evolving learning platform


Miro Peternelj

Having access to up-to-date materials on Boat Electrics is very handy for someone who deals with small boat design, like me. The best part of the whole course is that it actually isn't only a course, but it is an evolving learning platform.

Learning with you in 2022 has been a highlight of the year for me


Jonathan Mastin

I'm so thankful for you guys and all the hard work you put into sharing your knowledge with us. Learning with you in 2022 has been a highlight of the year for me.

I now understand all the electrical systems and how everything works together.


Bob Russell S/V Spartina

I want to let you know how impressed I was with the BoatHowTo course!!
From the very basics, through creating a detailed circuit diagrams of the electrical systems on my boat, my knowledge is years ahead of where I thought it would be at this point.
Thanks for a wonderful, extremely useful (and fun) course that takes a lot of the mystery out of sailboat electrical systems!!

Click here for more testimonials.

Check Out Our Latest Articles & Videos

Listen to Nigel Calder’s interview about boat propulsion in the ShipShape podcast.Available to stream for free at Apple Podcastsor on Spotify

The Past, Present and Future of Boat Propulsion – Interview with Nigel Calder

Listen to Nigel as he talks about the amazing advancements in technology in recent years and how they will affect our lifestyle on board.

Nigel Calder on Advances in Batteries & Solar

Listen to Nigel Calder’s take on lithium-ion batteries on boats in a radio interview in Bob’s No Wake Zone.

Lithium Batteries on Boats – Radio Interview with Nigel Calder

Click here for more articles & videos and here to learn more about our courses.

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