Hi Kevin,

First of all, thank you for all of the time and effort that you put into your website. The boat wiring information that you share is invaluable.

So tell me Mr. Marine Electrical, do my ambitions exceed my abilities?

My wife and I have a small sailboat that we’ve enjoyed for many years. It’s a perfect size for the two of us and can’t imagine anything that would make the boat more fun…with one exception. We find that we are very jealous of our marina neighbors who have shore power. Whether they are using a television, a drink mixer, a vacuum, a toaster, or even a simple battery charger, we start down the “if only” path.

How tough a project is it to add AC power to an older boat? I’m reasonably comfortable with simple household wiring jobs, but have been told that marine AC can be an incredibly complicated and – if not done correctly – incredibly dangerous.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Matt

Hi Matt,

No project is too big, not project is too small when “Mr. Marine Electrical” is on the scene!

Seriously, there is a great new product from our partners at EzAcDc that will fit your needs. They have a complete marine shore power system that follows their snap-together philosophy of simplifying boat wiring jobs.

Installation of the new marine shore power system is easy.

The panel is pre-wired and comes with a remote outlet with 10′ of boat cable that simply plugs into a “snap together” plug on the back. The kit is also pre-wired with 10′ of Marine grade boat cable that runs from the boat AC panel to the included shore power inlet.

Best of all, any complex electrical connections are already made inside the powdercoated aluminum box.

All outlets are GFCI protected. And, for additional safety, the AC panel has a dual pole breaker to protect the boater if the dock outlet is wired backwards.

The panel also includes a power “on” indicator light and a reverse polarity light. It also comes with the AC to DC grounding wire that is required by the US Coast Guard. This wire runs from the back of the panel to your DC negative buss, engine ground, or battery negative and provides an additional safety path to ground if you have an AC fault on your boat. Even though required, this wire is redundant on this well-designed system since the GFCI also protects everything.

Additionally, there is a single outlet on the back of the shore power panel to allow a built in AC device to be connected. This is ideal for a battery charger or refrigerator that comes with a standard 15 A household plug. Simply plug it into the back of the panel before installing.

It comes with the industry standard 30 amp Marinco inlet. You can choose between the standard square plastic inlet or upgrade to the stainless steel version. Both will connect to an 30 amp marine cordset or adaptor.

Please let me know how your project turns out. I always like pictures.

Kevin

Dear Kevin,

I am currently beginning my first boat wiring project, a total rewire of a small Owens cruiser from the late ’60s.

Here’s my problem:

The old wiring runs behind the original paneling and headliner. I could try dismantling everything to remove and replace the wires, but am concerned about damaging any of the woodwork. It’s old. It’s gorgeous. It would be a bitch to replace.

I don’t mind leaving the old wiring in place and just running a new harness, but that still leaves the problem of installing the new wires without causing any damage.

Any ideas?

RP

Dear Ron,

Your problem was common with boat restoration projects – until the introduction of Harness in a Can.

Harness in a Can lets you spray pro-quality boat wiring into even the most hard to reach areas. Simply point, spray, and apply power. What could be easier?

And, it’s not just easy, it’s ABYC approved! Harness in a Can sprays out a harness with correct wire color and sizing – and with all of the connections that you need to get the job done fast.

If you order now, you will also receive a cap snaffler – absolutely free. Cap snafflers snaffle caps off any size jug, bottle or jar…and they really really work.

Call now to order. The toll free number is 877-277-3665. Operators are standing by. That’s 877-APR-FOOL.

Kevin.

Kevin,

I have a 30 amp main circuit breaker on the AC panel on my boat.

When the air conditioner, battery charger and hot water heater are running the draw is 34 amps. This trips the 30 amp breaker.

Would it be safe to remove the 30 amp breaker and install a 40 amp breaker? Most of the time I draw about 16 to 20 amps.

Thanks,

George

George,

To make your proposed system safe, you would need to ensure all parts of your marine electrical system can handle 40 amps.

• Cordset – You probably have a 30 amp cordset
• Shore Power Inlet – You probably have a 30 amp inlet
• Inlet to Main Breaker wiring – Probably sized for 30 amp service
• Main breaker to sub-breaker boat wiring – Probably sized for 30 amp service

Your choices are to upgrade all of the boat wiring and components to a 50 amp system, add a second shore power inlet for the air conditioning, or turn off the hot water heater while you are using the AC.

Hope this helps,

Kevin

Kevin,

I have limited electrical knowledge.

I maintain a 2006 42′ Beneteau Trawler with a single 50 amp 125/250v shore power cable. One leg runs air conditioners & other runs everything else.

After moving the boat from a slip where everything worked fine to a new slip (same dock), I now have what sounds like a rapid chattering relay in the air conditioner control box under the settee, but the air conditioner will still operate (the fan came on, but I did not leave it on long enough to see if compressor would kick on).

Digital voltmeter on the boat electrical panel shows 176 volts (I assume this is total voltage since there is no selector).

The marina does not seem to be in any hurry to check this out so I will stop paying slip fees if the problem is at the dock electrical box.

Are there special meter leads to check the dock outlet for proper voltage & what reading should I see at each slot (two L-shaped,one straight, & ground strip along side)? Thanks

Darrell

Darrell,

I would immediately test the voltage at the dock electrical box.

You will need a digital volt meter that is capable of a minimum 250 volts AC.

Test the voltage between each of the L-shaped terminals and the straight. Also test the voltage between each of the L-shaped terminals and the ground strip.

Each of these should read around 125 volts AC.

Test the voltage between the two L-shaped terminals. This should read around 250 volts.

My guess is there is something wrong with the unbalanced wire (straight terminal) connection in the dock box. You will see this when you measure the voltage between the L-shaped terminals and the straight.

Hope this helps,

Kevin