One of the luxuries of keeping your yacht slipped is convenience, atmosphere and safety, most marina's offer the best of convenience, limiting your next outing to planning and enjoying the coast. With convenience comes utility power, known as "Shore Power." Most larger vessels come ready to power up, offering easy accessed receptacles to receive shore power, however, some do not, especially older models or smaller craft.
Those that do come with shore power wired in, leave owners to buy the appropriate power cables to run the length of the vessel. Shore power can be expensive in many ways, i.e., cable cost, electric bills, maintenance and adding plugs. So what do you do when your vessel is not wired for shore power? My best recommendation? HAVE THE LOCAL MARINA INSTALL IT! I would end this post right here, if not for those of use who sometimes enjoy a challenge. So for those up to the task, or at least you think you are, I will offer my suggestions. Shore power can be difficult to install, keeping in mind the need to keep everyone on your vessel safe, install must be done right or accidents can be fatal.
Those that do come with shore power wired in, leave owners to buy the appropriate power cables to run the length of the vessel. Shore power can be expensive in many ways, i.e., cable cost, electric bills, maintenance and adding plugs. So what do you do when your vessel is not wired for shore power? My best recommendation? HAVE THE LOCAL MARINA INSTALL IT! I would end this post right here, if not for those of use who sometimes enjoy a challenge. So for those up to the task, or at least you think you are, I will offer my suggestions. Shore power can be difficult to install, keeping in mind the need to keep everyone on your vessel safe, install must be done right or accidents can be fatal. Shore power is extremely convenient, so its worth the cost and headache. To wire your own vessel for shore power you have to wear several hats, an electrical engineer, designer, plumber, carpenter, installer and captain. First priority is to come up with a design based on your vessel, every yacht is different within reason, you must sit down and draw out your plans to wire the boat. Start at the most logical place, the electrical panel and battery charger. All leads back to the fuse panel and with a properly drawn out diagram, installation will flow much easier. You must decide where on your vessel plugs will be installed, at every turn keeping safety at the forefront, never abandoning "safety first" mentality.
You are wiring your boat for 110 capability so safety is now passed the 12 volt rule, you are venturing into waters that can prove hazardous, so plan accordingly, in fact I am going to stop advising you right now and give you a website of those smarter than me, they will help you get started wiring your boat today. Just remember my advice, you can save considerable money installing shore power yourself, but if you have the budget, let the pros at your marina do what they do best, good luck
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