Shore power (European specs)

Oct 23, 2002
25
Good Day all,
Planning on returning to Europe within next couple of years. If
that comes to pass I dont want to have to totally rewire the boat's
shore power. I know the color coding scheme but not sure how thick of
a wire I need for the European side. The plan is basically to use
which ever standard US vs EU or UK requires the heaviest wire. Then
all I would have to do is replace the outlets and appliances.Any help/Critiques appreciated,
James Ward
Fortunes Lady V1469
Portsmouth/Norfolk, VA, USA
 
Nov 8, 2001
1,818
Hi James

I wouldnt worry too much as there are no checks made on old yachts. So long as your wire is thick enough for any current and you have a correct plug for the European sockets and fit an RCD then you should not have any problems. Most yachts here just have a length of cable with a plug at one end and a four-way socket at the other!

UK is different plugs to the rest of Europe so you may need a couple of different plugs.

UK Spec

Green/yellow = Earth
Brown or Red = Live
Blue or Black = Neutral

Hope this helps.

Kind regardsSteve Birch
 

pszi

.
Mar 8, 2002
7
Hi James,

Due to higher voltage, currents will drop to half compared to the US.
(220V instead of 110V). Lower current means actually thinner cables
(!) so no need for replacement. Normally this means that insulation
should be thicker, but this is never a problem, so I would not mind.

Brgds,
/PSzi, Vega419