All of the advice is good as far as it goes, but to answer the question asked, what you NEED for your mac. 30,50 or 100 amp service? Many small houses today are built with only 100 amp service. Unless your thinking of loading up on the AC applances 30A should be good for any boat the size of the mac.corkscrew wrote:Many marinas offer 30 /50 / 100 amp service. Not sure what I need for my mac?
Add up all of you power requirements to determine your total need. Power (watts) = Current (amps) x voltage, at 110v, 30 amp service will give you the ablity to run 3300 watts of applances.
What you need to use the shore power in the boat is an entire topic itself, but lets start with the cable and plug. Without question go with the marine grade cordage, it's saftey first, remember our old friend Murphy and his laws? The shore power may or may not have a box with a female receptacle or it may be hard wired (cord is not removable). Your cord should have both the matching male plug for the box and a way to connect to the boat.
now you could just plug an ext. cord into the female end of the shore cord but I'd go with a fuse or breaker pannel wired to a receptacle. Then the cord plugs into a receptacle on the shore side and one on the boat. From your breaker box you can then wire in a couple of 110 outlets for the computer, TV, AC and maybe a small microwave ( need the popcorn while watching the big game).