Shore power safety
You can protect yourself, your boat and those around you by checking your shore power cord for damage and following the safety tips below. If necessary, you should replace your shore power cord. A standard 30-amp yellow rubber shore power plug has a black retaining ring and three prongs on its face. To ensure that the plug is inserted correctly, the ground prong has an appendage that will lock in place when the plug is turned. The other two prongs are the hot and the common (or neutral) leads respectively.
If these prongs are loose, discolored or show heat damage, the plug should be replaced. The damage most likely resulted from a loose or poor-fitting marina shore power connection.
Poor-fitting connections create resistance, which causes heat. The current is forced to jump across the contacts, burning both your plug and the dock receptacle contacts.
To prevent the problem, always check the connection and don’t use loose receptacles. If the receptacle has a threaded fitting for your plug’s retaining ring, use it to secure your plug to the connection.
Make one or two wraps around the dock pedestal base with any extra cord to isolate the electrical connection should the cord be moved. Support the connection and keep it tight.
When you disconnect from shore power, always turn off your vessel’s primary breaker or shore power selector switch because an open circuit will cause arcing, which could damage your equipment, cause a power failure or even start a fire.
If your vessel doesn’t have a single switch, turn off all AC breakers to prevent current flow. As a last resort, turn off or trip the breaker on the dockside power pedestal as well. Remember, arcing affects both the marina receptacle and your shore power cord. –Pat Lamagie
Introduction to Marine Batteries
Learn the ins and outs of marine batteries before leaving the dock. Take the “Introduction to Marine Batteries” seminar from America’s Boating Club today.
