I've found a good exchange on an ericsonyachts.com site from late last year (current) that looks like a good lead in for litlgull.
The guy gets good advise from the likes of Maine Sail and others on grounding, integrating a simple AC into the mix*, charging, dedicating battery 'banks', and whether he should include an ACR or not.
Seems like a good place for me to make a good start on........ THE PLAN.
Important in this thread is that the progression of the discussion yields a progression of versions of the plan in diagrams with colored wire. Which helps understand how wires are chosen, and where they end. Discover for the first time that the DC ground on an OB boat is the battery negative terminal, not the OB or a bronze plate attached to the hull somewhere (that I fantasized.) It's a place to start.
Also found a Basic Electricity manual on New Boat Builders Home Page that is easy to read, well written, not patronizing, well supported with links and advice. The writer should be thanked with a name - and toasted,
which will happen if this post lights up and becomes a thread in its own right.
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*....and I quote Maine Sail
"AC White/Neutral goes back to shore through the shore power cable.
AC Green/Ground does not go back through the shore power cable. once on the boat, and is grounded on board the boat. In this case to a neg buss bar which is connected to the battery neg terminal or directly to the battery's neg terminal because this is an 'ungrounded' DC system at this point."
there you go, a demo of the dunno, and why I needs a plan.