just saved 90$

[fred1diver]

went to the boat yesterday morning and finally found the shore power plug, it bugged me not knowing where it was located, so not the best place but I can work with it, since I didn't know where it was or if it was present I started shopping for a 30 amp plug, wow those suckers are expensive, or are we the suckers for paying that much?

well I've pretty much ripped out all the existing wires, now the fun begins, redoing the wiring in a better way than the PO

 

[dlochner]

I started shopping for a 30 amp plug, wow those suckers are expensive, or are we the suckers for paying that much?

Sort of depends on how much you like your boat and whether it makes a nice camp fire. If there is any place on the boat that there is no room for shortcuts it is the AC circuits. Do it wrong, boats burn, people die.

Check out this article:

Hall of FAIL - Marine How To

Proper Wire Is A Must This is not a joke. Rubber jacketed wire was used in place of proper marine rated & jacketed wire. All wire is not created equal... NOTE: Click on any image to make it larger

marinehowto.com

And this one:

BoatUS Expert Advice

BoatUS Magazine, the largest boating magazine in the US, provides boating skills, DIY maintenance, safety and news from top experts.

www.boatus.com

 

[fred1diver]

the way there PO wired the boat it's amazing it's still intact, but that is for another story

I'm going to take my time to make sure everything is up to code and wired in a sensible way.

 

[Ron20324]

...a 30 amp plug, wow those suckers are expensive, or are we the suckers for paying that much?

The Smart Plug is a good investment for the boat end of the power cord.

 

[Ken Cross]

If you know what you are doing there is no reason you can't DIY your AC wiring. Just use quality components. Then go back and inspect your workmanship. If it is wrong, fix it now.

Ken

 

[fred1diver]

my AC system is pretty straight forward, one battery charger and 2-3 plugs and a 2 breaker panel

 

[dlochner]

my AC system is pretty straight forward, one battery charger and 2-3 plugs and a 2 breaker panel

There should be at least 4 breaker poles on the panel. 1 double pole breaker for the main feed, with both the hot and neutral on breakers and a breaker for the charger and one for the outlets. The first outlet should be a GFCI (hardware store variety is OK) and the others downstream can be standard 15 amp breakers. Use captive spade connectors, use marine stranded wire, no wire nuts.

For the boat to be fully protected, the main breaker should be a ELCI especially if your outboard is an electric start an connected to the AC system through the battery and battery charger. If the outboard comes out of the water at the dock, then a galvanic isolator would be nice, but not necessary.