Shore water supply inlet

[CADude]

Peggie, I am contemplating installing a shore water supply inlet on my 2015 38’ Beneteau sloop. I live in San Francisco, but sailed her down from the Bay Area to LA this past autumn and now find myself staying on the boat for longer stretches when my better ½ and I go down to LA…and I’m getting very tired of manually filling the tanks after just two ‘Navy showers’. Although I didn’t order the boat with this feature (no pressure-reducing inlet, piping, shut-off valves, etc.), the boat’s Jabsco pumping system did come with a manifold that the fresh water piping would hook into. As such I have 5 questions: 1) What are the good/bad/ugly in hooking up to shore water, 2) What type of piping should I use (the Beneteau factory installed a dark blue opaque slightly flexible cold water pipe throughout the boat), 3) Do you have any recommendations on the inlet brand I should use (Shurflow, Jabsco, etc.)?, 4) Do you have advice on automatic shut-off valves (Solenoid?) that would close the water flow when the bilge float switch is activated by rising water, 4) Are there any ‘best practices’ for this kind of project if I go forward, and 5) What question(s) am I missing? Advice/Experience appreciated.

 

[sail sfbay]

I have one installed on a Hunter 46 transom which is and convenient since the boat is docked stern-in and one installed on aft port and starboard side of a powerboat for convenience depending on how the boat is docked. We use it all the time when docked and ONLY when on the boat.

1. Good - no need to frequently refill water tanks and cycle water pump when docked. Ugly - leaving shore water supply ON AND not disconnecting shore supply hose (SAFEGUARDS: always turn shore water supply off, depressure and disconnect hose from the boat with quick disconnects) when away from the boat AND leaving sink plugs in place and sink thru hull valves closed when on the boat.
2. Hose - same hose as the pump discharge or hard piping. My systems use hose.
3. Shurflo or Jabsco flush mount with pressure regulator and internal check valve in plastic or chrome. Sailboat was Hunter factory installation, and my powerboat has Shurflo, which I installed.
4. Shutoff valve - not required, but good safeguard in the event of a hose connection leak or other cause when shore water is on.
5. As shown in the diagram below, the Hunter 46 shore water supply enters at the transom through a water connection (12) regulator/check valve (13) then tees into the cold-water line to the transom shower (11), which is downstream of the water pump. Happy to show you the installation since I am close by.

shore

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

The first thing I would recommend is having a look at a book entitled "Six Easy Ways to Sink Your Boat".

I think you'll find that installing shore water in your boat is at the top of the list.

PS: unless you can absolutely guarantee you can adhere to @sail sfbay 's suggestion #1, and I think you know that's impossible.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

The first thing I would recommend is having a look at a book entitled "Six Easy Ways to Sink Your Boat".

I think you'll find that installing shore water in your boat is at the top of the list.

PS: unless you can absolutely guarantee you can adhere to @sail sfbay 's suggestion #1, and I think you know that's impossible.

Couldn’t find a book by that title but in searching, it appears by whatever means the author quantified risk, shore water connections are the #10 cause, sailing being somewhat more likely to cause sinking.

Make of it what you will.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

Couldn’t find a book by that title but in searching,

I would have been quite surprised if such a book had been written but I did find this one:

But given that "Six Easy Ways ........... " has not yet been written, I suggest someone write it now. And consider placing shore water supply near the top of the list.

shore water connections are the #10 cause, sailing being somewhat more likely to cause sinking.

I seem to remember (from some unknown source) that most boat sinkings occur at docks or moorings when boats are left unattended. And many of those sinkings are in some way connected to hose failures.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

While my above posts were half written in jest on a drizzly, cold and foggy day here, I actually hit on something rather interesting:

30 Ways To Sink a Boat { ...and 29 to prevent it } | Boating Mag

The top 30 preventable disasters, and what to do to keep them from happening to you.

www.boatingmag.com

when I mentioned actual book "30 ways to sink a boat ................ ". It's not a book but an interesting essay on the many ways to sink a boat with a few good witticisms. All of the items can be found on this site (except those intended for powerboats) but they're collected here in one place. He's also of the opinion that most boats sink while tied up (unattended). I can believe that.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

I've got to get a hobby ..................... for winter months .

After looking at BoatUS, they had this to chart:

Keeping Your Boat Afloat

An analysis of a year's worth of sinking files reveals the 10 most common reasons that boats end up under the water.

www.boatus.com

So there must be some truth to it. Quite impressed with BoatUS' published material. And from someone who knows first hand. Will definitely spend time going through their archives.

I also came upon mention of shore water supply on a boat with the same caveat, you've got to shut off and disconnect when away from the boat.
Obviously, as if someone could forget something like that !

 

[sail sfbay]

Same issue on an RV, all of which have a connected potable water supply and many a connected black holding tank flush water supply. I practice the same procedures...........before leaving the campsite unattended shore water supply is turned off, sink drain plugs are removed (always), both gray tank flush lines are open to the sewer AND black holding tank flush hose is disconnected from shore water supply (can you image what a mess would look like if the black holding tank backflowed from the toilet?).

Same issue at the house ..........outside water turned off and sink and tub drain plugs removed whenever we leave it for any length of time to mitigate the risk of water damage. Just call me risk adverse.