SYSTEM FOR A MARINE VESSEL

A system for a marine vessel includes a first peripheral device including a controller, and a second peripheral device. A first serial bus connects the controller to the second peripheral device. At least one sensor is coupled to the controller via a second serial bus. The first peripheral device's controller can do one or more of the following: automatically control switches in the first peripheral device in response to information from the sensor; stage the first peripheral device upon start-up of the system; diagnose a malfunction of the first peripheral device and control the second peripheral device in response to determining that the first peripheral device is malfunctioning; and/or report a status of the first peripheral device over the serial bus.