Electrics
Warren - My boat came equipped with shore power so I didn't have to do this but its not that hard if you just look at it piece by piece. First the battery - it needs to be well secured so it needs to go somewhere you can get good bolts into something solid so you can run a tie down strap. Also, a sixty pound battery will affect trim so think about where its going to go. Low is key. The charger should be as close to the batteries as possible to keep the voltage drop down the charging lines as low as possible. The problem is that it will get hot so you need to figure out how to ventilate it. It may be possible to put a vent in the side of whatever locker you pick. I've even seen ventilation fans of the type installed in electronic equipment racks put over the vents. Shore power is also not that hard as long as you are careful. First - use a ground fault interrupter on all circuits, preferable all outlets. One of these things saved me a nasty shock, maybe my life, last year. The inlet should go somewhere on deck out of the way. Think about the cable run off the boat when you place it. The inlet is convenient only if you're not tripping over the cable all the time. I would then run the power to a circuit breaker box, then to the outlets. Make sure you check the polarity of the circuits to avoid surprises. Justin - O'day Owners' Web
