[Public-List] Shore Power location

[Don Campbell]

I redid my shore power about 14 years ago to comply with a surveyors 
statement that it did not comply with ABYS standards and so was 
dangerous. I used the same place on the boat but it means that a 50' 
cord can be a stretch if the shore power source is not really close. 
That said, I am happy with where it is / was,  just starboard of the 
compass mount in the bridgedeck. There was a requirement that the cord 
be fastened to the fixture with a threaded ring. It helps if you use a 
GFI for the first recepticle and go from there,  so all downstream 
fixtures are GFI protected.
     There is not much reason that an AC current ought to affect the 
compass. First the wire ought to be copper and non-magnetic and then any 
field of force arising from an AC current ought to be self cancelling. 
On the other hand, if there is DC current in the area, then the current 
is unidirectional and the ensuing  field of force may affect the compass 
because it will be magnetic.
     If there is any leakage from the AC current to the hull then you 
can get accelerated galvanic action and zinc dissappears in a hurry. 
Even if all you provide is a ground circuit, that is enough to cause 
major troubles. Just be sure you isolate whatever you do so this does 
not happen. The current leak may be in your neighbours wiring but finds 
its way to your ground circuit and goes back to the ground  system on 
land  via either the white wire or the bare copper wire. Neither is what 
you want. I would recommend Nigel Calder's book on wiring.  (It is also 
tough to get AC wire that is tinned and in a bundle. If you can get just 
black and white and green , then use that but not less than 14 gauge, 
preferably 12 gauge if the cord you use is 12 gauge, and if it is a 30 
amp cord , thn it ought to be 12 gauge wire. There is no fuse or breaker 
for the short stretch of wire that goes from the connector to the fuse 
panel and so that ought to be able to carry 30 amps or whatever the 
normal shore power that you are able to hook up to is without melting). 
Once at the breaker, then you can go to whatever fuse or breaker you 
like and wire from there accordingly. The main thing is to have any 
circuit protected to the usage that you wire for and the current draw 
that is required for that circuit.
     Enjoy the cockpit repair. I did that 14 years ago too and had to 
re-glass the whole floor. Before the fix, if I stepped on the floor , it 
would hit the gas tank!
Don

On 11/22/2011 9:26 PM, Ben Craig wrote:
>                  I'm doing some cockpit repair this winter and was going to
> update my shore power receptacle which currently is located in the cockpit
> well just to starboard of the compass.  I would be interested to know if
> anyone has had success with other locations.  It seems that its affecting my
> compass deviation.
>
>
>
> Ben Craig
>
> Winsome #601
>
>
>
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