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Shore Power


andyg

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I was watching Herbert Woods webcam yesterday when I noticed one of their big boats leaving the Quay. Unfortunately he was still connected to the electric Post. I watched as the lead stretched out and finally broke away from the boat and fell into the water. I was wondering if the couplings are designed to break apart easily and I'm assuming there must be a circuit breaker on the post to cut supply when this happens. I could imagine this kind of event could cause considerable damage to the boat or post. Is this a common problem on hire craft ?? Are they not fitted with some kind of warning system to alert the helm they are still hooked up.

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No they are not designed to break apart, they are designed to be securely attached. Mind you, go on the net, you'll see lots of people driving away and snapping off petrol filling nozzles, and they're only loosely  connected..

Yes there are circuit breakers in the post and there should be on the boat. Electrically there is unlikely to be damage. Physically there could well be.

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3 hours ago, andyg said:

I was watching Herbert Woods webcam yesterday when I noticed one of their big boats leaving the Quay. Unfortunately he was still connected to the electric Post. I watched as the lead stretched out and finally broke away from the boat and fell into the water. I was wondering if the couplings are designed to break apart easily and I'm assuming there must be a circuit breaker on the post to cut supply when this happens. I could imagine this kind of event could cause considerable damage to the boat or post. Is this a common problem on hire craft ?? Are they not fitted with some kind of warning system to alert the helm they are still hooked up.

Hello Andy it is a common problems with all electric post users be they hire craft or private. To help people remember they are still plugged in, if they have an upper helm feed the electric hook up cable through the helm wheel to try and activate the Gray cells.

 

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15 minutes ago, CambridgeCabby said:

It would be very easy for the starter to be disabled when still connected to shore power , an inexpensive fix to a potentially very expensive problem 

That's an excellent idea, I've no idea of the cost of repairing a hole in the superstructure or deck would be,but I'm sure in runs onto many hundreds of pounds. 

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33 minutes ago, ranworthbreeze said:

Hello Andy it is a common problems with all electric post users be they hire craft or private. To help people remember they are still plugged in, if they have an upper helm feed the electric hook up cable through the helm wheel to try and activate the Gray cells.

 

Hi Alan, good idea but CC idea of disabling the start motor seem pretty fail safe. 👍

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44 minutes ago, DAVIDH said:

I have a simple low-tech method of reminding myself. This laminated sign hooked over the throttle lever, or ignition key, works for me.

DSC_0003.JPG

The simple methods are normally the best, but a group on a boozy weekend may forget to. 

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3 hours ago, CambridgeCabby said:

It would be very easy for the starter to be disabled when still connected to shore power , an inexpensive fix to a potentially very expensive problem 

it woul, but also introduces another non start component into the ignition system to fail.

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4 hours ago, CambridgeCabby said:

It would be very easy for the starter to be disabled when still connected to shore power , an inexpensive fix to a potentially very expensive problem 

Except not all boats have immersion heaters or battery charges so it may be necessary to run engine while hooked up, on the other hand with battery charger you should unhook before starting engine, simple reminder for me is run cable around same cleat and post as stern rope.

Fred

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40 minutes ago, Cheesey69 said:

Mains power indicator on the helm. A little neon light connected to nearest mains socket, really cheap, easy install 

About 4 pound on flea bay

I guarantee that wouldn't work for some people....

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Sometimes you wonder what people are waving frantically at you for and think they are just going to miss you while you're gone, then you hear a loud twang, then your shore power plug overtakes you far quicker than your boat could ever go with part of the socket still attached, then you look back to see half the people clapping a full round of applause and the other half rolling around laughing.

Don't ask how I know this.... :default_blush: I was told by someone that knows..........

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Well if you're doing the hours of cruising then there's less need.

I do miss having shore power though, it was nice knowing that regardless of whether the owner the week before had done way too few engine hours, I could just plug in and not worry about the state of the batteries.  

Having the fridge shutting down and the heating not being able to start due to low voltage is a pain! And an immersion heater is a really handy thing - No running engines first thing in the morning for a shower.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Good morning - will say the whole thing about boating is doing things differently. Shore power is great. We now have a portable solar panel which is also great. What we do when we have no hot water is to get underway and then have a shower. Hot water for washing up comes via the kettle when we haven’t got any. It’s all good 

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  • 3 weeks later...

This year will be the first time we have hired a boat with shore power.  When hooked up does the power go directly to the mains sockets on the boat as well as charging up the batteries?  Sorry if this sounds like a bit of a numpty question but someone is asking if she can use her travelling hair straighteners when hooked up! :default_shocked1animated:

Chris

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