Fuses
 

If you fuse the power wire at the battery terminal for an amp, do you need to install a fused distribution block too or can I use a regular non-fused block?

You could use a non-fused distribution block as long as the wires are all appropriate for the fuse rating at the battery. Ideally you would fuse all wires based on max loading. If you have an 80A fuse at the battery and pull a 12GA wire off to power a neon tube without a fuse the wire might actually light on fire without blowing the fuse if there is a short.

Ugh, that's a good point. It never occurred to me to use too-small wire so I never thought of that.