Shore Power Hook-Up Location

[nebulatech]

Hi all! My question is for both A27 and A25 owners who have shore power hookups installed. Where is it located on your boat?

I'm in the parts ordering phase of my electric system and I want to install a shore power connection. Conventional wisdom suggests that electrical connections should be covered from rain and falling water, but on a boat water can come in sideways. I know the standard Marinco/Hubbell cables have locking rings and are fairly water tight. I've seen shore power connections right on the side of the deckhouse before as well. Is there a preference of starboard over port? In my cruising on other people's boats, the shore power was usually on the starboard side, and we almost always dock starboard side to the slipway. This may be just because the power was on that side.

Bonus question: What type of charger/inverter do you use?

As always, thank you to everyone for your observations.

[WillieC]

Smartplug only, and I don't even have shore power. Our lefthand prop walks the stern to starboard, so we prefer starboard tie. If I ever do install shore power, it will depend on my prop walk at that time. Not that I'll ever give up on the MD17C, just yet...

[DesertAlbin736]

Our shore power entrance is on starboard side such that it's accessible from & next to the DC distribution panel inside the head compartment. A galvanic isolator is spliced into the green safety ground wire which is cross connected to the 12V negative ground bus which in turn is connected to a bronze bonding plate on the outside of the hull. In 2016 I overhauled & upgraded the then-antiquated & obsolete 120V shore power system. Hot, neutral & safety ground wires go to a Blue Sea Systems ELCI breaker panel mounted on the bulkhead under the helm station in the cockpit with dual 30 amp main breaker & five 15 amp breaker positions of which two are in use, one for a ProNautic battery charger & another for a GFCI outlet circuit with three outlets, one in the cockpit, one in the head compartment, and a third on the front wall of the hanging closet in the main cabin. We don't have a hard wired inverter installed. All 120V shore power wiring is marine grade boat cable.

Click on photos for zoom view.

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[LopezMike]

For what it's worth, the shore power connector on Caprice is on the port side of the cabin. It only feeds one outlet in the aft bulkhead of the galley. Not that it all matters much to me as the only time we use it is when Caprice is on the trailer next to the house.

We tend to dock on the port side as the heater exhaust is on the starboard side and would rather not offend any dock walkers with the stink on start up. Caprice is CW rotation and walks to port on backing and stopping. It's not so good on stopping but great when having to back away from a dock. Onto other hand, the helm is away from the dock when docking on starboard. Not so good. I just allow for it. Doesn't make or break my day.

[DesertAlbin736]

Oh, and this was what the shore power was like before the upgrade project. How's that for effing scary? Before this photo it had an old fashioned screw in fuse before I put this mini breaker in as a temporary solution.

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[DesertAlbin736]

We tend to dock on the port side as the heater exhaust is on the starboard side and would rather not offend any dock walkers with the stink on start up. Caprice is CW rotation and walks to port on backing and stopping. It's not so good on stopping but great when having to back away from a dock.

You can do spring lines & rudder kicks in forward, helm to port, to swing the stern out to starboard & then back away & get enough way on for the rudder to help back straight until there's enough room motor ahead & shallow turn to starboard without the the stern swinging in too far & hitting the dock or other boats.

[NickScheuer]

I installed A Marinco exterior shore power socket on the port side of the pilothouse. A Blue Sea circuit breaker panel is located above the galley counter. No more extension cords with strip sockets running around on the cabin sole. I didn't have enough room for an AC circuit breaker panel in the same compartment as the existing DC circuit breaker panel in the head.

[nebulatech]

So that's two votes for the Blue Sea Systems. I've never had to replace a marine panel before, never really paid attention to brands. DA, Nick, what made you choose Blue Sea Systems? Their site is pretty nice with a good selection.

[LopezMike]

Getting away from shore power stuff a bit here but after moving from a seven ton sailboat to this A-25 means that I no longer bother with spring lines and such. Just one long firm shove and if I don't move smartly she leaves without me!

[nebulatech]

Hahaha!

At my local boat ramp, the prevailing winds are sometimes quite strong and work in concert with the tides to hold you to the dock. I've had to spring off with even a 19' center console.

[NickScheuer]

Originally chose Blue sea for the DC panel a couple of years ago due to listing in my West Marine catalog. Went to Blue Sea website for the AC as a matter of course. They gave me some tech consultation over the phone for the AC.

[nebulatech]

It seems like its pretty good stuff. I'd like to research the competition a little bit, but I'll probably follow suite with you.

I'm almost done putting the galley back together, then I'm going to demo the head. That's when I'm going to plan my electrical system. One thing I don't like is that there is a huge hole right above the electrical panel where the compass used to be. I have a new compass to go in the space...

[nebulatech]

I decided to follow DA's example and put the shore power inlet receptical on the starboard wheelhouse side. Like WillieC, I have a left hand prop with no real reason to change it, so I will probably prefer docking on the starboard side, but that location makes it easy to just run the shore power cables over the coach roof for port side docking. I ordered a Marinco stainless inlet today. I'm planning on purchasing the Marinco shore power cable with the newer EEL connector. The site I plan to buy from has them on backorder.

I also decided to go with Blue Sea Systems. I phoned them up today with some questions. Extremely knowledgeable and friendly! I'm not quite decided but I think I'll install both AC and DC panels in the main cabin over the top shelf between the companionway and the head.

Thanks to everyone for their help! Your experiences and advice helped me make a choice I feel comfortable with.

[DesertAlbin736]

Guys are giving me a boating "jones" withdrawal. Cancelled our summer plans due to COVID & now it's too hot out for the lake. Up to near 110 yesterday & 108 forecast for the rest of the week. Whatever outside ambient temp is add 10 to 20 for what's inside the cabin. Just opposite what those in cold climes go through in winter.

[Desertboater]

When replacing the 12 VDC and 120 VAC systems on our Albin 25, the following were very helpful.

Books:

Don Casey - "Sailboat Electrics Simplified"

Nigel Calder - "Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual"


Web Sites:

1) Marine How To - Do It Yourself for Boaters:

https://marinehowto.com/

Especially his articles on wiring termination techniques: There are numerous other articles, including several that caused us to change the shore power connection to a SmartPlug.

2) Blue Sea Systems (bluesea.com) - lots of useful tools such as voltage drop and fuse sizing as well as great marine electrical products.

Especially the support/reference section with Battery Management Wiring Schematics, Fuse Sizing, etc. There are several PDF files that can be downloaded, including the Correct Size Wire and Fuse - Wire Size Chart in color.

3) A good online store selling tinned boat wire, adhesive crimp terminals, custom made battery cables, etc. I have used both of these with good results (suspect they may be the same dealer since the web sites look very similar).

https://www.genuinedealz.com/

https://www.bestboatwire.com/

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Some suggestions if you are going to start by ripping everything out.

Wire is cheap compared to your time - choose the next larger size wire compared to what the wire sizing calculator says. This results in lower voltage drop. Size the fuse for the smaller wire.

Wire for critical loads, mostly electronics such as the radio and chartplotter, should be sized such that the voltage drop from the battery to the load is less than 3%. Again, wire is cheap so size for even lower voltage drop if you can - i.e., use 14 gauge rather than 16.

Battery cable size is also a place where going to the next larger size reduces voltage drop. The battery cable on our boat would get warm after cranking the old engine due to the high current draw. The 00 cables that are now in use do not warm up.

A ratchet crimper will give better results since you can't do a 'light crimp' - the crimper will only open after a proper crimp force is applied.

USB charging ports can be very helpful with all of today's phones, tablets & iPads. Blue Sea makes very good ones. We have 4 in various places - did not put one in the head however.

An Automatic Charging Relay, such as a Blue Sea Systems ACR, is a good idea.

If you are going to have a large house battery bank for extended 'away from a marina', wire the alternator charging cable to the house bank rather than the start battery. Read up on ACRs to fully understand why.

If you are going to be in salt water

- Use tinned marine wire rather than copper wire purchased at your local hardware store.

- Use adhesive crimp terminals and adhesive heat shrink tubing to weatherproof all terminations. Custom battery cables can be ordered with adhesive heat shrink tubing installed.

- Use Blue Sea Systems Marine Rated Battery Fuse (MRBF)Terminal Fuses to protect your battery cables starting from the battery itself. The two

The attached wiring schematic was helpful in planning our wiring project - the 3 switch approach may be over the top for many, but it is sailor proof (For example, there is a START switch and a HOUSE switch so the grandkids do not get confused).

Hope this helps.