It's a requirement- if the AC breaker is more than 10 feet from the input connector..
Attaching things to fibreglass
- Thread starter MickP
- Start date
Weld-Mount studs are your friend here. Not a cheap product to get started with but makes all the difference..
I agree with screwing through the bulk head. you can get some nice smooth headed stainless screws. Who knows what you may want in that same place down the road, small holes in that location are an easy fix.
that being said it does sound like an odd spot for a breaker, I think a picture would be in order, if you going to glue a pcs of wood there maybe it should be lg enough to accommodate other items?
that being said it does sound like an odd spot for a breaker, I think a picture would be in order, if you going to glue a pcs of wood there maybe it should be lg enough to accommodate other items?
MickP,
I liked what Istream & Stu advised. I don't use Plywood on my boat for mounting. Find a man-made waterproof material instead.
Clean the surfaces & size your mounting pad. Drill a few holes near the edges to secure the pad to the fiberglass for temporary holding. Locate your pad & matchdrill these holes thru the fiberglass. Mix some 2-part epoxy, use some small screws just to hold the pad in place & mount it to the fiberglass. Don't tighten down too much as to squeeze out most of the epoxy. In five minutes it's permanent. You can remove the screws if you want to.
I use this method & it always works.
Plywood also works well with epoxy, I'm just not crazy about the material in a marine application.
CR
I liked what Istream & Stu advised. I don't use Plywood on my boat for mounting. Find a man-made waterproof material instead.
Clean the surfaces & size your mounting pad. Drill a few holes near the edges to secure the pad to the fiberglass for temporary holding. Locate your pad & matchdrill these holes thru the fiberglass. Mix some 2-part epoxy, use some small screws just to hold the pad in place & mount it to the fiberglass. Don't tighten down too much as to squeeze out most of the epoxy. In five minutes it's permanent. You can remove the screws if you want to.
I use this method & it always works.
Plywood also works well with epoxy, I'm just not crazy about the material in a marine application.
CR
Thanks all the the responses. Seem to be 2 philosophical camps here - the drill holes vs the permanent fix. I will have a closer look at the location over the weekend and decide which to go for...
BTW as noted above, i need the additional circuit breaker as the distribution panel is > 10' from the shore power inlet. I'm also going to put in a galvanic isolator while i'm about it
BTW as noted above, i need the additional circuit breaker as the distribution panel is > 10' from the shore power inlet. I'm also going to put in a galvanic isolator while i'm about it
Maine Sail- I had forgotten about the Weld-Mount studs. In the right application those are really a neat install.
I literally go through about 120 of those or more per year plus all the other doo dads.. Weld-Mount is not inexpensive but when you figure the labor of other methods the customer still saves big time..
Interestingly enough our water heater is held to the boat with 4 Weld-Mount Studs. Has been now for about 5 years....
This is the exact situation the OP is trying to avoid. This bulkhead was very thin and gelcoat on the other side. Owner did not want visible screws and not enough meat to drill into without poking through, maybe 1/8" thick..
This option allows the Duo Charger plenty of air flow for cooling and took all of six minutes to mount...
Thanks for the heads up. Any idea why they made this regulation? If 10 feet of unprotected wire is a magic number what about the circuits in the boat that are longer than 10 feet?
It's also a NEW code. There was a thread earlier this week about surveyors noting things in surveys that would end up requiring older boats to conform to newer codes by including these type of items in basic surveys of older boats for purchase surveys - not too many happy skippers when surveyors do that, incorrectly.
It is not really new, been in E-11 for quite a long time.. It is just that many builders ignored ABYC standards for years and shipped boats with land style hot only breakers...
The reason for the 10' rule is because on-board the boat it is a requirement that OCP can break both hot & neutral.
Why? Marina's are rather famous environments for reverse polarity or dropped neutrals etc.. The dock pedestal only breaks hot so marine standards don't want to see any more than 10' (wire feet) of wire on-board that is not protected by a double poke breaker interrupting both hot and neutral.