Advice on the need/use of shore power

[C Spray]

Hi all of you C Brats,

I am looking at ordering a new 22' Cruiser but I have some questions to ask of all of you great people.

How many of you have shore power on your boat?

If you have shore power how many times do you use it and how often do you find docks where you can get power? If you can get power how much more do you pay for it compared to just tying up?

If I don't have the optional refer what other than the battery charger and some AC outlets is the shore power doing for me? If I'm tied up where power is available why can't I just take an extension cord and run it from the power outlet to the boat and run power off from that?

I was just thinking that it seems like a very expensive option for me if I only use it 1/4 to 1/3 of time.

I'm new to this so have a lot of questions and have never ordered a boat before and very much a novice so am trying to get it right the first time. I have owned other boats but I have always in the past been land locked so being in the PNW and all of this saltwater is a new experience for me (in fact it is kind of itimidating) for MT boy but I love it over here.

I have taken the Basic Boating Safety Course. Boy so much to learn, a lot more knowledge is needed to run around with you folks out here compared to running around a lake. I don't know if I'll ever be able to comprehend it all.

Thanks,

[Larry H]

Butch,

I have been using the 'extension cord' alternative to installed shore power since 1991.

Buy a good quality contractors power cord, about 50 feet and with #14 or #12 wire. Run the outlet end thru the same hole the motor control wires run thru on the cabin bulkhead(starboard side, in the cockpit shelf). Then run the outlet end behind the galley and come out by the helm seat. You can then plug in a multi-outlet strip with breaker. Mine sits on the floor under the helm.

This works for using an electric heater, TV, etc.

When not in use, the plug end of the cord is rolled up and stowed in the cockpit shelf near the bulkhead.

This system works great if you don't use shore power much and you don't have an installed battery charger.( I use a portable charger when needed)

[CheckRaise]

Hey, Butch. I'm in a similar position. I'm from Ohio, new to saltwater boating, looking to order a C-Dory in the next month. I'm also about 10 miles away from you, across the Sound in Hansville (7 miles north of Kingston).

Are you buying through EQ Marine?

john

[CAVU]

Nancy H,
I have never used shore power before but I was recently at a dock and took an extension to charge my battery. I discovered that all the outlets at the dock used a special kind of twist and lock plug. Is this normal at docks? Are most of them standardized so if I get an adapter it will work at all docks? Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

[Chivita]

Butch,

When we bought our 22' Cruiser, the shore power basic set up was priced at $750. I thought that was a bit much and I was not sure we would use it enough. After owning the boat for a year and tripping over extension cords draped here and there I figured the cost and time of installing the system just might be worth the hassle, it was!

First off, it is MUCH safer than an extension cord system, and that is just while the boat is parked at home. I doubt many people tied up next to you at a dock would appreciate an extension cord based system due to the safety issues. One of the best parts of an installed system is that all the cords "lock" into place. Things get exciting when a power cord unplugs and drops into the drink.

Second, an installed system must have a circuit breaker at the panel, or within a certain distance from where the shore power plugs into your boat. Again, safety!

Third, you can choose where your outlets are placed. Usually one gets installed somewhere near the cooking counter and then one around or below the table. As I remember, Sea Shift and/or DaNag really thought things out and put an outlet up forward to power an electric blanket. GFI outlets are recommended and they are between $15 and $25 each.

Fourth, although I have not had this problem, occasionally the dock power source has been wired incorrectly. Many of the onboard AC panels have a circuit that will let you know this when you plug into the dock power. Again another safety feature that you don't normally get from an extension cord.

Fifth, you have to buy the special plugs to plug into the shore panel system anyhow as you cannot plug a normal home extension cord into them. Might as well go the entire route. If the dock master/owner found out you had just bought an adaptor and then run an extension cord into the boat, he or she would probably unplug you and then give you ten kinds of heck for doing that.

Six, many of the panels have separate switches for each outlet. This is nice as you can turn on only the outlet that you need.

As I choose to do this myself, I first purchased a few good books on boat A/C. There are several good ones out there that for a half day of reading will give you a real understanding of how to do it right. I choose to go with "Blue Sea" products which are probably more expensive than average and I went with one of their new rocker switch panels. Total cost for my system including all the fancy adaptors and power cords was about $350-$400. But it also took me two or three days of carefully insuring I was doing everything correct. Remember, get it wrong and it could destroy the boat and cost a life. I had an Electrical Engineer check it out after I was finished and he was impressed at how well it came out. Of course he was my father as well so he may have just been impressed that I didn't light myself up like a Christmas tree. If you decide to install a battery charger/maintenance system, that will add approximately $150 or so depending on how fancy you go.

Having done it myself, I like the fact that I know every last bit about the system and can trouble shoot it if I had too. If I bought another boat I would do it myself again, not to save money but so that I knew the system well. But the extra $400-$500 that a pro like Les Lampman might charge is a bargain when you consider that he knows his stuff and your system is safe.

On a small boat that I would be using only as a day boat, an installed shore power system would probably rarily get used. But if you intend to camp overnight several times a year at a place that has power, I can't think of an option you would appreciate more! It will add to your resale value and if you plan to keep the boat for a long time I believe it is worth the cost for safety reasons alone. I got tired of tripping over the dang extension cord leading into the cabin!

There are several photos in my "Chivita" photo album of my system and there is a great separate photo album under "Electrical" or something like that on this site. DaNag and Sea Shift have some good photos as well as I remember.

Hope this helps!

"Chivita" Dave

[Sea Wolf]

Butch- Chivita Dave is definitely correct in all that he says. However, I like Larry of the Nancy H have been using the extension cord system for about 6 years, always in a covered berth in fresh water.

Additional features I would include with those mentioned by Larry would be to make the outlet strip GFI protected, which will eliminate many potential problems. {The Ground Field Interruptor circuit cuts off the power if a larger amount of amperage is going down the hot wire than is returning on the common.}

The second addition would be to add a coiled (tool type) drop cord from a post next to the boat down to the imput end of the busbar tail which is brought out under the gunwahale on the starbpoard side end of the cabin. I drop this coiled extension through the (wooden, in my case) handle on the end of the cabin for additional security. The flexible nature of the coiled extension and the multiple supports keep it up out of the water and prevent it from being disconnected.

The only big disadvantage of factory/professional grade shore power is that the ground wire of the 120 vac must be grounded to the negative ground of your 12 volt circuit for safety reasons. This means that all the metal in the boat and the grounded part of the wiring becomes a magnet (really a charged pole) for any stray currents resulting from bad wiring in the harbor and/or any poorly grounded boats. This makes your boat the target of electrolysis from such currents. Not too bad overnight, but I wouldn't want to leave the system plugged in an go home for a couple of weeks!!! If I had such a system I'd be sure to get a meter that would show stray current flows through the ground system. Les Lampman once said on one of these threads that he really hated to see a small boat like the CD-22 complicated with two electrical systems of such diverse nature and all the associated problems introduced therein. (Although I'm sure he understands the need for safety and compliance with the manufactuers codes.)

For me at least, the cheapo system works fine with no problems in probably 50 or more nights each year over the past six or so, thus I'm not anxious to complicate the boat any further. An inexpensive flat (so you can't tip it over) electric heater saves refilling the 20 lb propane bottle, and charges the batteries so you can simultaneously use all the 12 volt accessories with abandon. Works for me. Joe.

[DaveS]

[Chuck S]

"Shore power" is a 30 amp extension cord. Only exotic thing is the cord connects to the boat via an inlet with a cap. If you don't need 30 amps, and I can't think of ever using this much on a trailerable boat you can run your own 15a setup quite inexpensively. You need a weather proof inlet and the internal breaker and wiring. External wiring is a simple HD 110v extension cord as you 'd get from Home Depot.

-- Chuck

[C Spray]

Thanks so much for everybodies response. All of them have been great.

This is a subject that I'm going to have to do some research on I can tell. As far as installing the system I'm not worried about doing it myself. I have been in electronics since I was 14 yo (I worked in the field for 31 1/2 years). I have wired a lot of houses for additions and I also wired a new house by myself. I know wiring on a boat is different but I think with a little reading I can figure it out.

I would always make sure that I had a GFI in the circuit. I have been an RVer for over 30 years and I always carry an outlet checker to check the polarity and to make sure that it is grounded right. In my RV I have one that stays plugged in at all times.

"Chivita" Dave

You do make some very good points in favor of the system, just in the respect of tripping over extension cords. Would there be any reason that a person couldn't buy the locking end (male side like this ) of the system and wire it into your bulkhead the same as a shore power system and then you could use the regular shore power cable (like this) running from the boat to the power pedestal and not have the extension cord running on the dock. I don't foresee my using that much AC power at this time. Maybe in the future I'll see it differently like you did.

hansvillian (John)

Yes I'll be buying from Les at EQ. I have been over a few times already bugging him and asking all kinds of questions.

DaveS,

What part of MT are you from? I still have a house in Kalispell that my mother lives in right now. I was born and raised in Whitefish.

NancyH,

Thanks for you input as this was my original thoughts. I don't know how much power I'll be using in my boat. Maybe a little for a LCD TV (can't leave home without it as I would have withdrawal). For longer times I have to have some kind of power available for my wife's CPAP machine. She isn't going to worry about it for one night but will want it for longer stays on the boat.

Chuck S,

This was kind of my original thoughts also but if there is a problem with the extension cord laying on the dock then I would have no problem adding the above items I mentioned. Then like you said once inside I can do a GFI breaker and add an outlet box.

I think maybe I'll try without first and see how that works out, if needed I will install myself and as "Chivita" Dave says I will then know how it is all wired if a problem should arise. Time to do some more thinking and that is hard on an old man.

I want to thank you all very much for all of your time and advice you have given me.

Thanks,

Butch