I have lurked on this website for 5 years. I have been googling
extensively without finding any comprehensive discussion forums or
websites on this particular subject (small sailboat with or without an
outboard motor, but owner wants electronics on board), and I own The
12 Volt Handbook, Nigel Calder's book and several other marine
electronic references. I have extensively rewired our 30' powerboat
over the years. That's why I am looking for a comprehensive source of
information for this particular problem, ideally someone who has
already done such project recently. Technology has evolved very
rapidly in this specific area in the past couple of years. Hence my
question.

The specific case example that I am looking for is this:

17' sailboat.
Weekend/weekday sal****er sailing. maybe 1-2 nights overnight, some
nights camping out in the slip.
In-water at the marina slip between trips, with or without shore
power.
12 V DC power for:
VHF radio.
Sounder.
Nav lights.
Cabin lights.
DC socket for recharging cellphone, camera.

My thoughts so far a

1. Small 75 -120 Ah (?) pure deep cycle battery.
2. Charging system:
2a. Solar panel if not on shore power? Practical? Size?
2b. Shore power charger. Stray current not an issue if no metal from
the boat is in the water. Does not need to be heavy-duty, but needs
to be "deep cycle" aware.
3. Battery monitor: voltage, amperage draw, and maybe even one of the
Link type battery monitors that can estimate remain Ah, but cost
containment is and issue, and overkill is not in the specs.
4. Wiring: that's the easy part (AYBC specs, etc). The standard books
are fine for this, and the local boating stores sell all the products
I need.
5. I have no experience with LED nav lights, but there seems to be
plenty of info on google for that subtopic, and there was a good
thread on this newsgroup recently.

I am building my own case study for this application he
http://jimthompson.net/boating/Siren/Electrics.htm

Jim