Has anyone added shore power to their Hunter 22? Our boat slip has electric and I would like to add shore power to our boat. What hardware is needed? (Power inlet, wiring, 110/120 plugs, for panels? ...) Since we sail in a small inland lake close to home, a lot of time will be spent in the slip. I'd prefer not to run the power cord through a hatch.
Shore Power
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Nigel Calder
Do a search for books on the subject by Nigel Calder. I think that you will find it helpfull and necessary. You want to make sure that you do it correctly as you don't want a fire or electrocution.
Do a search for books on the subject by Nigel Calder. I think that you will find it helpfull and necessary. You want to make sure that you do it correctly as you don't want a fire or electrocution.
Did years ago on a smaller SJ-21.
Used one of them inboard battery charger conectors (3 prong male 120V) with a snap on rubber flap. Drilled a hole on the port side of cabin and installed the connector hooking it up in the inside to home grade copper insulated copper wire. Installed a dual receptacle in the bulkhead. Notice that no breaker box was used as no appliances or load were permanently plugged in. I relied solely on the shorepower breaker as you would using an extension. I rigged an extension cord by replacing the male plug with a 30AMP adapter. The female plug would plug in to the battery charger connector which was used. Make sure you tie the extension to deck as the female plug has no lock on it. If you want to get fancy and run inboard battery charger and have more receptacles then go with marine 30A connectors and install a breaker with a ground system.
Used one of them inboard battery charger conectors (3 prong male 120V) with a snap on rubber flap. Drilled a hole on the port side of cabin and installed the connector hooking it up in the inside to home grade copper insulated copper wire. Installed a dual receptacle in the bulkhead. Notice that no breaker box was used as no appliances or load were permanently plugged in. I relied solely on the shorepower breaker as you would using an extension. I rigged an extension cord by replacing the male plug with a 30AMP adapter. The female plug would plug in to the battery charger connector which was used. Make sure you tie the extension to deck as the female plug has no lock on it. If you want to get fancy and run inboard battery charger and have more receptacles then go with marine 30A connectors and install a breaker with a ground system.
I agree with cavitating. Get Calder's book (the #1 book in all sailors library), and Don Casey's "Sailboat Electrics Simplified" (ISBN 0-07-036649-7). This is one project you want to do right. As the gas commercial says, "Electricity and water don't get along well together." I'm going to install shore power on my H260 this summer. Some things you want to make sure you use... Marine grade, tinned wiring An A/C C/B panel GFCI Outlets (at least one per circuit) Pay special attention to the grounding requirements mentioned in the books above. Current leakage (it's a A/C thing) is a thing you have to worry about. If you check the archives, there was a thread in this forum on this issue.
If it doesn't have it already
I would recommend ground fault protection on the pedestal at the slip where you plug in if possible.
I would recommend ground fault protection on the pedestal at the slip where you plug in if possible.
Small Boat Shore Power
You may get some ideas for your project from this link: http://kobernus.com/hunter260/electric/electric1.html
You may get some ideas for your project from this link: http://kobernus.com/hunter260/electric/electric1.html
Do it Right
Nancy, As Deucer said Electric and water don't mix. Naturally, with a small boat you won't need an elaborate system but you want a few outlets so you don't have to run extension cords. I found Don Casey's book great. I can't comment on Nigel Calder's book because I don't have it. You DO NOT want to use copper wire that is used for house wiring. You will need certain protection measures in place as have already been mentioned. Just installing a plug on the outside of your boat and running wire to an outlet is a disaster waiting to happen.
Nancy, As Deucer said Electric and water don't mix. Naturally, with a small boat you won't need an elaborate system but you want a few outlets so you don't have to run extension cords. I found Don Casey's book great. I can't comment on Nigel Calder's book because I don't have it. You DO NOT want to use copper wire that is used for house wiring. You will need certain protection measures in place as have already been mentioned. Just installing a plug on the outside of your boat and running wire to an outlet is a disaster waiting to happen.
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