Power

Ross · Sep 17, 2009

You need some hands on expert help! Otherwise you may connect the wrong thingy to the other thingy and burn your boat up.

Timo42 · Sep 17, 2009

Seriously, get professional help, not the rummy down the dock, an electrician. The only thing scarier than your description of the problem is someone saying "Hey y'all, watch this"

Napa Ed · Sep 17, 2009

Get the electrics for sailboats book by Casey. It will walk you through proper setups. Also, is that a series of waterlines inside your boat? What else got wet besides the floor pan?

Ron20324 · Sep 17, 2009

On the shore power there could/should be two fuses before it gets to the Nav breaker panel. Follow your wiring. Mine are in the lazz. You ARE getting power on the dock outlet, aren't you? Could have blown a breaker in the marina fuse box, not just on the dock outlet.

Bill Roosa · Sep 18, 2009

DIYing

Since you sound like someone who wants to learn, get yourself a digital multimeter ($10-20).
1) Test the 3 outlets at the dock. There are "hot", "neutral" and " ground" terminals for Alternating Current (AC). Check out WM for the actual placement of the terminals. If you have 4 terminals you have 2 "hots." I will not deal with that version here.
2) Assuming you have 120ish volts AC at the dock between the hot and neutral, plug in the shore power cable and test for 120 volts at the other end.
3) Assuming you have 120ish volts AC at the boat end of the shore power cable plug in the shore power cable to the boat and see if you get power to your AC outlets in the boat. Don't forget to turn on all the circuit breakers needed.
Somewhere between 1 and 3 you should have a failure and be able to determine the component. If your sockets are fried then you need to clean/replace them. This is annual stuff for boats. Salt air is hard on these sockets and corrosion causes resistance which leads to heat and burning so an occasional cleaning is required.
120 volts is deadly so don't start working on a circuit unless you unplug from shore power. Also make sure an electrical capable fire extinguisher is handy.

Stu Jackson · Sep 18, 2009

Want to learn?

But can't afford to buy a book?

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've heard that here.

It is also the lamest darned excuse I've ever heard.

No one here is prepared to type the amount of stuff you need to learn, which you can usually ONLY get from books. That's why they write books.

That's the way many of us learned: buy a boat, buy a few books. You want a list of books, we can do that for you, but the one book that you need has already been mentioned.

What you're saying is "I can't afford to hire professional help." OK, we're with you so far. "I can't afford to buy a book." That's BS, because you can't afford NOT to.

So, here are some alternatives:

--- try www.abebooks.com for used books and any other sources of used books - they be cheepa!!!

--- try the internet for electrical information: the West Marine Advisors and DIY sections are very good, as are the BoatUS Technical Resource sections. And I'm sure you can find these two resources without me providing a link.

--- use the search engines on this and other websites and do some reading - saves a lot of folks retyping what they've already explained

Really, I did NOT know ANYTHING about boat electrical systems or my diesel engine when we bought our boat 11 years ago. I did buy some books, read them, and learned. Much of this "immediacy" from the internet and message boards were in their infancy when I "started out" but I took from them what I could. And I've given back what I've learned.

There was little electrical info then, and much of what I've seen on the internet even today is plain wrong because people seem to have this holdover mentality on boat electrical systems from 1957, or are "scared" of it and have "professionals" do the work.

From a safety perspective, I believe it is critical for boaters to do their own work. Given that, your direction is promising.

But trying to do it without being armed with the information you absolutely do need is ridiculous.

Ross · Sep 18, 2009

Re: Want to learn?

Electricians are required to be licensed to work on land based systems but any jackleg with a handful of tools can call himself a marine electrician. As Stu said, buy some books , get some test equipment, proceed slowly and carefully.
Electricity is a lot like carbon monoxide you can't smell it or taste it but it can kill you.

Napa Ed · Sep 18, 2009

Stu Jackson said:
But can't afford to buy a book?

I didn't read his post as saying that. I thought he meant he'd reconsider the electrician. I would also recommend avoiding a marine electrician.

The proper title is "Sailboat Electrics Simplified" (HA!) by Don Casey. I'm still re-reading it from time to time to slowly absorb the info. The price is still $21.95, same as ten years ago.

Stu Jackson · Sep 18, 2009

Napa Ed said:
I didn't read his post as saying that. I thought he meant he'd reconsider the electrician. I would also recommend avoiding a marine electrician.

He corrected it, and I didn't read book first, either. I take what anyone writes by what they actually write, and boat is not book.

BTW, there IS a QUALIFIED marine electrician in your backyard. Ryan's Electric or Ryan's Marine, very good and trustworthy, but you have to know what you want first. Advertises in the back of Latitude 38. I'd be glad to help you design something and keep him from over-wiring you like the QE2!

Timo42 · Sep 18, 2009

If you are short on cash, buy an hour of a qualified electrician's time to inspect and advise, saves money in the long run and can be very educational.

CalebD · Sep 18, 2009

Nigel Caulder's "Boat Owners Mechanical & Electrical Manual" is also a great book for all things boat related if a bit more costly then the Casey book(s).
Considered to be a must-have bible to boating by many.
Good luck.

Hermit Scott · Sep 18, 2009

Are those round snubbers from west marine? lol I live in a Midas shop. I have a lot of those out back. I am going to sell them on ebay as "steel belted circumferance snubbers"

Do you own your slip on pier 39?

BTW I keep Don Caseys sail boat electrics sijmplified by the can in my shop. I have been reading it through and through for 6 months now. I wasn't very confident about the boats electric system at first. You can electrolosyse your prop away if you do something wrong. Or lightening can seize your engine if it's wired wrong. You have to be concerned with how your radio is isolated and that your electric system doesn't interfere with that. There is a lot to learn about a boat's system that is different from a house. I installed all the electric in my house, but I bought the Don Casey book for my boat. The systems are just too different. Don't worry, Don breaks it down to Seasame Street level.

Hermit Scott · Sep 18, 2009

I got my first lesson in electricity at the age of 7. I took apart a tape recorder and harvested the electric motor. I put a popsickle stick on the end and hooked it up to a AA(1.5V) battery. Then I hooked it up to a 9V. Then I took a light bulb out of a lamp and put the wires down in to the socket.

I haven't gotten much smarter. But the Lord's grace has kept me alive all these years.

Hermit Scott · Sep 19, 2009

Devian said:
Socket replaced and still nothing. I'll try replacing the cable to the dock box itself. If that doesn't work, time for an electrician.

The basic way to trace an electrical problem like you are having is to get a multimeter or even a simple test light and start at the dock shore power box and work your way to your electric box in your boat and find out where you don't have power.

Power

.

Attachments

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.