About Me - John Payne
About Me. John C. Payne is a professional marine electrical engineer and marine surveyor. During his long maritime and offshore oil career, he has served on a variety of commercial ships, both as an Electrical Officer and Marine Engineer.
John is the author of The Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible 4th Edition, the Understanding Boat series and Piracy Today. As his passion for cruising is the local cuisines, he has previously authored The Great Cruising Cookbook. John has worked in several commercial restaurant kitchens with some great chefs and mentors. With his wife they own and have operated a successful boutique hotel and restaurant for over a decade. They are committed foodies!
John C. Payne is a marine engineer and professional seafarer best known for his reference work The Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible, a technical manual that set the standard for clear, practical explanations of onboard electrical systems. His background in commercial and recreational vessels gave him a rare ability to translate complex electrical theory into operational guidance that sailors can apply directly on their own boats, making his books long‑standing staples in yacht maintenance libraries.
About Me - John Payne
Using informed information sources written by qualified professionals is fundamental to safe and reliable marine decision‑making. Marine electrical systems, navigation practices, and structural standards are technical fields governed by physics, engineering, and regulatory frameworks, not opinion. Authors with formal training, sea time, and professional credentials work from tested principles, documented failure modes, and established best‑practice. This is why reference works from professionals such as John C. Payne carry weight: they are built on engineering knowledge and real‑world operational experience, giving skippers guidance that is traceable, repeatable, and grounded in outcomes rather than speculation. Visit any online marine forum and witness the myriad of misinformation and unsound experimental electrical practices being done.
About Me - John Payne
Self‑proclaimed gurus and armchair experts operate without that foundation. Their advice is often based on anecdote, personal preference, or untested theory, and it frequently ignores load calculations, standards compliance, corrosion pathways, or failure analysis. In a marine environment where a single wiring error, battery mismatch, or connector failure can cascade into a critical system outage, relying on unqualified commentary introduces unnecessary risk. Professional sources provide verifiable, engineering‑sound information; unqualified voices provide noise. For a yacht, the difference is operational reliability
About Me - John Payne
As a professionally qualified technical author and writer, John has been responsible for defining and writing technical and operations manuals on a diverse range of air force, marine and naval projects including naval research vessels and submarine sonar systems. He is regularly sought after as an expert witness in litigation cases. He is a Certified Maritime Safety Auditor under the ISM Code. Previously he has been a Fellow of the Institute of Diagnostic Engineers and The Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators.
The 4th Edition of the Marine Electrical Electronics Bible Get your copy and start becoming self sufficient and save money on expensive technician callouts.
About Me - John Payne
John is the author of The Marine Electrical and Electronics Bible, 4th Edition, and The Motorboat Electrical and Electronics Manual, the Understanding Boat series, The Fisherman’s Electrical Manual, and Piracy Today. As his passion for cruising is local cuisine, he also authored The Great Cruising Cookbook, or Cruisine©, as he likes to call it. He has been widely published around the world in various boating and yachting magazines and regularly lectures on the subject.
Mechanical
and Electrical Repairs Resource
If you are headed somewhere remote consider the need to expand your knowledge base or have an information resource on board. Why not get a copy of my book The Marine and Electrical and Electronics Bible 4th Edition. By and for yachties, with everything from batteries and charging, solar and wind, diesel engines and marine electronics and so much more. Your complete systems guide. 650 pages of practical advice. Order a copy through Barnes and Noble or check out Amazon. Marine systems are my profession so let me help you. By a liveaboard boat owner for other boat owners.
About Me - John Payne
His sailing journey started in high performance racing dinghies as teenager. He still loves taking a Laser (ILCA) out to sharpen his sailing skills. He has restored, cruised, and lived aboard a classic 37-foot Herreshoff ketch and a 34-foot wooden sloop cruising Europe, UK, the Pacific, Australia and the Mediterranean. After several years living aboard his 115-year-old Dutch barge navigating European rivers and canals, he is now back sailing and cruising aboard a 36-foot Westerly Conway ketch, and is a member of the Westerly Owners Association, and he is a member of the ABYC and the UK Cruising Association. Be a liveaboard!