Well, this is the place to start. All the details in this book will probably raise as many questions as are answered but questions are good and lead to understanding. This book is not technical, (well, not much) and will not talk about repairing an alternator or the like. It will however discuss what you need to know in order to buy and fit one as part of your cruising conversion.
Cruising is fun (mostly) and reading about it should be too so I hope you get a laugh every now and then.
www.championmarinesurveyors.com