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Came down to my slip the other day to find my shore power cable unplugged from the dock. Wondered who might have done such a thing. And why.
Maybe they needed the power? But at least they could have plugged it back in.

In an astonishing coincidence, my latest issue of boating with Dawsons has an article called Shore Cords - Which End Do You Unplug First?

Which is here:
http://www.boatingwithdawsons.com/boati ... first.html

...which contains this little gem: NEVER LEAVE A LIVE SHORE CORD ON THE DOCK.
...which is what I've been doing every time I go out for a sail.

So, some sailor out there on my dock is cursing my name for being so dumb, and has remedied the dangerous situation for me.

I used to leave the power cord on the piling, but I DID shut it off at the breaker on the dock so it wasn't live.

Yea, leaving live power bad thing. BoatUS Seaworthy magazine had a good article on swimming in marinas. Fresh water is especially dangerous as it is a bad conductor and human bodies help stray current find a ground. Amazing how many people die swimming near faulty electrical currents.

--Russ

Just sailed with a friend and cut the breaker on his shore power when leaving, he and the other's who own shares in his Catalina had no idea about the danger of a live cord on the dock.

It's a good habit to get into - and a very simple thing to add to your "to-do" list.

DaveC426913 wrote:Came down to my slip the other day to find my shore power cable unplugged from the dock. Wondered who might have done such a thing. And why.
Maybe they needed the power? But at least they could have plugged it back in.

In an astonishing coincidence, my latest issue of boating with Dawsons has an article called Shore Cords - Which End Do You Unplug First?

Which is here:
http://www.boatingwithdawsons.com/boati ... first.html

...which contains this little gem: NEVER LEAVE A LIVE SHORE CORD ON THE DOCK.
...which is what I've been doing every time I go out for a sail.

So, some sailor out there on my dock is cursing my name for being so dumb, and has remedied the dangerous situation for me.

FWIW, when I had a larger boat, I'd unplug it from the shore receptacle and coil it up at the bow rail, as I docked bow-first. I had a couple of bits of line I kept tied to the rail for the sole purpose of securing the coiled shore power cord. That way, nobody was tempted to relieve me of my unattended shore power cord, and I had to handle the least bit of power cord.

For salt-water sailing, getting sprayed or dunked probably wouldn't be so good for the plug end, but I was in fresh water only, so that's how I rolled.

This was for day sailing, by the way, and on long trips I'd coil and stow below, mostly to keep the deck areas clear.

it could have been the "management" .. they might be trying to cut power bills, but ensuring that no one is drawing power while they are not around.

I don't think using the breaker as a power switch is good practice.

kevinnem wrote:I don't think using the breaker as a power switch is good practice.

Why?
I've known business that used breakers exclusively for power switches. I would think friction from unplugging the cord would cause more wear on the contacts.

Here's a link to the BoatUS article on electric shock drowning. Very interesting. Also includes tips on testing your own wiring.
http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/magazin ... lained.asp

--Russ

Such sad stories and such a serious problem really makes me want to double check my boat for safety even though I am mostly a saltwater boater.

There is no physical reason for not using the breaker as a switch.. 3 issues have negative effects on breakers.. #1. Corrosion.... #2. Repetitive tripping..
#3. long term loading of a breaker at or minisculely above, its designed load limits..

Our practice is to turn off the breaker first when disconnecting the shore power from the boat. We do this in spite of the fact that it really isn't as positive (or “safe”) as unplugging the cord from the box. The reason? There are often a multitude of switches at the breaker box feeding more than one boat, and sometimes various other outlet types in one box.

Unless you personally are the one switching off the breaker, you normally have no convenient positive way to confirm the power is actually off (although some power cords do have a small built-in pilot light to indicate this) from the boat. On the other hand, if it's unplugged, the visual confirmation is unmistakable.

It would be quite easy for someone not so familiar with the switchbox to accidentally shut the power off at an adjacent boat. I've seen a variety of wonky outlets connected up to marina boxes, some aligned horizontally, some vertically.

So, in that sense, it is better to unplug than to turn the breaker off.

- Brian.

Only IMHO and as seeing NEC does NOT ( as I read it) require the 30 amp twist lock recpt. to be GCFI protected ( Go Figure) you might want to turn off the breaker and then unplug your shore power..

seahouse wrote: It would be quite easy for someone not so familiar with the switchbox to accidentally shut the power off at an adjacent boat. I've seen a variety of wonky outlets connected up to marina boxes, some aligned horizontally, some vertically.

In my circumstance, each box only services two boats - mine and my neighbor's, his plug is on the far side. A monkey couldn't make a mistake.

Divecoz wrote:Only IMHO and as seeing NEC does NOT ( as I read it) require the 30 amp twist lock recpt. to be GCFI protected ( Go Figure) you might want to turn off the breaker and then unplug your shore power..

That is correct - the NEC does not require GFCI protection for 30A 120V or 50A 120/240V shore power receptacles. It DOES require GFCI protection for 15A and 20A 120V general-purpose receptacles on docks, but they're not permitted to be used for shore power.

Not to anyone in particular, but there are breakers designed and listed (UL, CSA, etc.) for switch duty. The typical 1- and 2-pole breakers at the BORG are not them, but they're out there, and it is permissible (per the NEC - don't know about Canadian codes, which are mostly but not totally similar) to control lighting and such using them, with not other switches. It's usually done in industrial and commercial applications. Just sayin'.

Oh, and I shut off the main breaker in the boat, then unplug from the dock, usually without touching the shore power breaker, as my marina doesn't conform to current NEC requirements. No power pedestals, just shore power receptacles at the level of the dock. Breakers are relatively far away, in a distribution panel. Non-conforming in so many ways, but grandfathered I would imagine.