Because of the long business boom, it seems that everybody and his dog is getting into the boat building business. On the other side of the coin, boat building yards that used to do lots of commercial fishing boats are finding themselves without work, due to the decline in the commercial fishing industry. The transition to building pleasure craft is not without it's difficulties, many yards will not succeed.

Here is a list of some of the problems I have seen.

• Inexperience at installing pleasure craft machinery and equipment.
• Installations not done according to equipment manufacturers recommendations.
• Inverters installed without adequate ventilation, in hot engine or other areas. Sometimes on its back where it should have been on it's side.
• Using too small wiring for heavy power using equipment: inverters, autopilot motors, SSB, bilge pumps, etc..
• Failure to read the installation instructions.
• Hidden wiring for electronics installed in such a way as to be totally unmaintainable. (Rats nest wiring).
• Embedding fuse holders for bridge electronics in with wiring bundles, where they can't be found.
• Using stainless steel to make blackwater holding tanks.
• Using stainless steel fittings in exposed locations where salt water can get trapped and promote corrosion, and then not sealing the fittings properly (evidenced by light rust streaks).
• Wiring without any markers.
• Fuel systems engineered and installed that must fail.
• Fuel feeds that power multiple engines (not good). A leak in one can bring down the others.
• Fire Extinguishing systems so dangerous the system itself, not a fire, is a threat to those aboard.
• Steering/Handling so unstable as to be a threat in close quarters as well as in large seas. Not obvious if testing done in calm water.
• Equipment installed, later found to contain no working parts!
• Wiring using untinned wire. Leads to serious corrosion.
• Air Conditioning systems that leak freshwater condensate into sub flooring, instead of overboard.
• Discontinuous welding; leads to rusting within days at sea.
• Pin hole leaks in the covered over exhaust system.
• Failure to include manuals for every piece of equipment on board: doors, port lights, flooring materials, engines, gen sets.
• Dinghy hold down systems totally inadequate in rough seas.
• Hydraulic systems with inaccessible hoses, impossible to find leaks.
• Mismatched hydraulic fittings(45 degree with 37 degree).
• Equipment requiring routine inspection installed such as to be inaccessible or, such that it can't be reinstalled after inspection.
• Shutoff valves that can't be turned or accessed.
• Bilge pumps that cannot be turned off; needed in some ports where pumping not allowed..
• Failure to separate electronic data cables from power cables to eliminate interference.
• Multiple grounding locations. Leads to corrosion.
• Jamming electronic equipment into pilothouse such that it can't be worked on.
• Frequently used electric circuits turned on/off solely by the circuit breaker.
• In some cases breakers next to each other, that control equipment, that will be destroyed if accidentally engaged.