shore power ?

J

Jake B

New member
looking at buying a shore power cable. just wondering what the needed length is, or what people use? i am debating between 25' or 50'. don't want a ton of extra cord but also do not want to be to short either. any suggestions?
 
also my 22 has the shore power already installed from factory with a port plug in. and there are two or three normal plug ins throughout the boat. I am assuming this is all good to go, and all i need to do is plug shore power into boat and into plug in marina? correct?
 
I have both lengths, started with the 25 hoping that would be enough. It wasn't. I have to pull out the 50 more often than not. If you need 26 feet with the 25 you're out of luck. I've never had 50 be too short. I carry both just in case, but I have that luxury with the extra storage in the CD25. :wink:
 
I would go with the 50 footer. There are just too many docks where you have to go two slips down to get the 30 amp power. Another option is a 30 to 15 amp adaptor, and just run a #12 gauge wire extension cord and limit power to 15 amps.
 
I've never had the need for more than 15 amps on Still Crazy, or any of my other boats for that matter. I've gone the adapter and normal size extension cord rout. However, you really need to make sure that the boat end of the "normal" utility extension cord is positively locked to the boat. you don't want that end dropping into the water. If the dock end drops in the water, then it is an unpowered cord and no hazard to other people. I don't know what the law says however, and I expect certain marinas may require full marine hardware and cable.
 
Like Jay, I have a 25' and a 50'. I try to dock "Sea Shift" so that I am able to use the 25' but that is not always possible. I've never had a situation when the 50' would not work....but if I did I could always connect the two of them and have 75'. If you only want one cord then I would purchase the 50'.
 
Yes you should be good to go, just turn off the circuit breaker on shore before connecting.
Check circuit breakers on the boat to be sure they are turned on.

Bill Kelleher


Jake B":2k7t7xvs said:
also my 22 has the shore power already installed from factory with a port plug in. and there are two or three normal plug ins throughout the boat. I am assuming this is all good to go, and all i need to do is plug shore power into boat and into plug in marina? correct?
Click to expand...
 
We use a 100' cable and we always carry a standard 15 amp regular adapter 20 amp male end like you would use at your house for some campgrounds as the RV are different than a marine thirty amp plug. The long cord will give different routing options that allow for a loop so rain does not run down the cord and into your socket. I always put a wrap around the power post. We keep the boat on shore power all thru the winter running a small heater at our home in Pa.. No fun when you come up short. But thats just us. We coil it up nicely and have under the bunk in front of our portable sewer.
D.D.
 
I'd also recommend that you get a Cord Pro XL to stow the cord. I bought one of these at the Seattle Boat Show a number of years ago and it was one of the best inexpensive things I ever bought for the boat. It stows the cord nicely and lets you pay out just what you need.
 
Make sure the cord is attached securely at the boat end BEFORE you plug it into the juice. Reverse that when you disconnect. See "arcing" in a recent thread!

Charlie
 
thanks for the link on the cordpro, never seen those before.

also thanks for the heads up on the right way to plug and unplug cord. I will look up that tread also.
 
Captains Cat":ea5ai6ge said:
Make sure the cord is attached securely at the boat end BEFORE you plug it into the juice. Reverse that when you disconnect. See "arcing" in a recent thread!

Charlie
Click to expand...

Also - that's not just for arcing, it adds a safety factor in case you drop one end of the cord in the water. E.g. it's best not to be carrying around a cord end that's hot. This is especially true in fresh water marinas if anyone is in the water nearby (swimming or washing the bottom of the boat). In such cases, a cord dropped in could result in electrocution.
 
Bill K said:
Yes you should be good to go, just turn off the circuit breaker on shore before connecting.
Check circuit breakers on the boat to be sure they are turned on.

Bill Kelleher


question about this. I am not sure My boat has a circuit breaker onboard that can be turned on or off? maybe I am miss reading this or have overlooked it on the boat. this is the first boat we have had that has shore power and this coming weekend will be the first time we use it? thanks for all the help :smiled
Click to expand...
 
Jake B":1vg7u9y1 said:
Bill K":1vg7u9y1 said:
Yes you should be good to go, just turn off the circuit breaker on shore before connecting.
Check circuit breakers on the boat to be sure they are turned on.

Bill Kelleher
Click to expand...

question about this. I am not sure My boat has a circuit breaker onboard that can be turned on or off? maybe I am miss reading this or have overlooked it on the boat. this is the first boat we have had that has shore power and this coming weekend will be the first time we use it? thanks for all the help :smiled
Click to expand...

If the boat is wired the "standard way" the shore power would feed a panel that has an overall circuit breaker for the A/C (typically 30A) and a 15A breaker for each other use (e.g. one for the fridge, one for the outlets etc). There's no need to have the breakers on the boat turned "on" prior to connecting the power. In fact, I would recommend leaving them off until the power is connected as that way there will be no unexpected current draws that could cause arcing when making a connection. My process has always been to make sure the breakers are off on the boat, connect to cord to the boat, connect to shore power, turn on the breaker at the power source, turn on the needed breakers in the boat. Reverse the process for disconnecting.
 
again thanks for all the tips. just curious where these breakers are located, or should be located at on boat?I am at work now and will check when I get home. I know the boat at one time had a fridge but it was not with the boat when I purchased it. thanks again, and makes sense about having them off while hooking up power.
 
I will check tonight when i get home, but I remember looking at it when I first got it and if I remember right i believe it just goes straight to the outlets...
 
Jake B":1c2uh8h0 said:
again thanks for all the tips. just curious where these breakers are located, or should be located at on boat?I am at work now and will check when I get home. I know the boat at one time had a fridge but it was not with the boat when I purchased it. thanks again, and makes sense about having them off while hooking up power.
Click to expand...

That can vary from install to install. On my 22 (if I remember correctly), the breakers were on the front face of the aft port side seat. That's where they are on my Tomcat now.
 
Usually the breakers (Main input and each sub panel--water heater, outlets, refer, etc ) are on the front of the aft seat under the dinette.

I did it differently, put both a switch and a fuse from a 30 amp Bus industrial motor circuit--all metal enclosed, under the galley, on the aft bulkhead. You need the fuses and a switch.
 
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