Using only one shore power cord

[buddybear]

Recently was on my friend's Catalina 355, he had put the Y adapter on the stern so he only had to use one cord for his shore power. My boat came with 2 cords and the Y at the pedestal. Is there a reason why you should not use only one cord?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[jssailem]

Y adapter

Depends on what you are trying to accomplish.
My thoughts are thus.

Your Setup	Adapter Type	Best Location	Reason
Dual 30A inlets on boat + 50A dock	Standard Y Splitter	Near the boat	One long cord + short split = cleaner & safer dock
Single 50A inlet on boat + two 30A docks	Reverse Y Combiner	Near the pedestal	Must plug into two separate dock outlets

 

[rpwillia]

I keep a 50 to 30 adapter on my boat ( I only have on 30 amp connector on my boat) which is handy when the only slip available has a 50 amp connection.

 

[colemj]

If you only need 30A service, then one cord will suffice. The problem on many boats is that the dual 30A cords feed different branch circuits of the AC panel, which is often split into "high loads" and "low loads" or similar.

If you only need 30A, and you only need it on one branch circuit of the AC panel, or can parallel the branches, then you only need one cord.

Mark