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I'd put your battery switch / isolator on the positive side. Just cause that is what you do. The negatives go to what ever ground you have. The positives have the control (switches) on them. Helps in the future when you start adding more sh*t, you know which way round everything is. Why would you put switches on the negative / earth?

Double pole single throw, switch that functions as name implies. After toing and froing I decided three +ve switches on the three batteries in two banks, and two -ve automatic voltage/current/temperature sensitive switches on the LiFePO4 right next to the -ve post courtesy of bms’s was enough isolation for me and I considered it done. The start battery -ve post could do with one to be consistent but seeing as cars are permanently wired to starter motor without any isolation switch and have multiple earth paths I don’t think I can be bothered. Lithium is another level or two of paranoia t

I assume DPST refers to : Double Pole Single Throw Switch

I'm sure there are dozens of ways to configure everything, and each way has a logical argument behind it somewhere. But I just like to keep things as simple as possible. Anyway, here is some logic. The isolator switches are always red. So shouldn't they go on the positive? PS, what are these DPST things you speak of?

I have the isolator on the negative side ,why??Last yacht had a wire(presume earth) to the prop shaft. So in my mind ,even though the battery has no earth it self to the outside world.I am picking with salt crystals etc(boat are always damp even though feel dry) that somehow the earth/negative would be connecting to the water and creating a circuit Now comes a problem,auto bilge pump via float switch needs to be hard wired in,if isolator off ho does pump work?

It depends on what you want to achieve. But ultimately doesn't matter. Some standards recommend that both sides are isolated. Is the objective an emergency off, that isolates everything in the event of smoke? Or is the objective short term storage (1-2 weeks) to minimise all parasitic loads on a single battery? In a dual battery system, with solar, lithium BMS, voltage senses and all the extras you find hanging off the positive terminal and as close as possible to the battery I recommend a DPST on the negative side, that fully isolates both batteries in the event of smoke. T

It such a busy calendar it hard to find a free day for our race. We tried really hard to avoid any clashes this year and we were the first event in the AYBA and YNZ calendar but looks like the Gulf Classic have had that date for a while and we just didn't know. We (NZ Multihull Yacht Club) want to work with the other clubs to grow this event into something huge, so please let us know your feedback and ideas.