Power on a Catalina 310

Nov 16, 2012
1,038
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
just plug into shore power, turn on the pedestal side then turn on the boat side.

Jesse
A quick note: The order that Jesse suggests for connecting and turning the AC on is actually quite important (as well as the reverse when disconnecting). Plugging or unplugging the AC cord into either the pedestal or boat when "live" creates an arc that over time causes increased resistance and heat at the connector. Mainesail has some great pictures of what can happen to the plug when it gets too hot (https://marinehowto.com/hall-of-fail/).
 
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Nov 16, 2012
1,038
Catalina 310, 2000, #31 31 Santa Cruz
Interesting. Your voltmeter is reading 0v. It appears that the selector switch for the voltmeter is on "Batt 2". You could try selecting Batt 1 and see what the reading is. In any case, it appears you might have at least one bad battery. Time to get someone on board with a voltage meter and hydrometer to check out the batteries.
Another thing to note, it appears your bilge pump circuit breaker might be in the "off" position. It's a good idea to verify it is in the middle, or "Auto" position whenever the boat is in the water.
Another good possibility is that the volt meter is broken. Ours was (Hull 31, 2000 year). But I agree that the batteries are suspect, especially if the reefer only runs on Both.
 
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Oct 3, 2011
827
Anam Cara Catalina 310 Hull #155 155 Lake Erie/Catawba Island
Welcome Houghto, hopefully,You as I did, will find lots of GREAT, knowlege here, as we did when we first bought our 310
Between Jesse who is the 310 tech editor, and all who responded here we still learn about our boat.
There are No dumb questions.
Welcome, you will love the boat, she is well designed and a great safe fun boat.
Please consider joining our 310 International Association-Again Welcome!
BTW interesting Panel-different from Ours....
 
May 10, 2012
14
Catalina 310 Bayport
Congrats on joining the Catalina 310 club!
I also believe you're gonna love your C310.
Have owned a 2000 C310 ( hull 26 ) for the past 10 yrs hull.....very much enjoyed the boat.
One of my 1st and only posts 10 yrs ago was similar to yours......fridge rarely worked properly.....only on shore power.
Much appreciated all the input from the many Catalina owners on this forum.
As stated batteries are likely the 1st place to look.....check the wiring next.....voltage drop is not insignificant if wiring connections are loose from opening the panel or wiring is undersized.
Would just add how many tasks I've been inspired to take on because of Mainesail, Stu & Jesse to name a few.
I replaced significantly damaged port lights last year.....been meaning to post ( took many photos thru the process as recommended by Stu ). The task wasn't as intimidating as I thought it would be.....boat looks like new after the replacement.
Apologies about drifting off topic.
 
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