Trojan Boat Forum

Hello All, I want to put another A/C outlet near the lower helm on my F30. I want to use this for the bass boat charger when on shore power. I have a spare 15 amp breaker already wired. My question......is there anything special about A/C outlets on boats? I know my current setup uses several ground fault plugs so all A/C in the cabin and head are ground fault. Is it simply a matter of getting a outdoor plug and installing it.....or does it have to be "marine"?

Thanks............John

hey John,
all the outlets on my boat are standard, with the exception of the one thats in a cabinet out on the deck, which is a ground fault, with spring covers. Im guessing if the circuit is breaker protected you can use most good quailty outlets. Ive never heard of Marine outlets. but I would def use a ground fault, or outlet covers if they could get splashed or wet.

Make sure you use marine grade wire

prowler, what is the diff, between marine grade and lets say direct burial wire?

The marine grade ( like ancor) is made to flex and stand vibration
house hold wire can break under vibration or flexing .

gotcha

Thanks guys....spare breaker is wired with ancor marine wire (whole boat is) so I'll get an outdoor ground fault socket and I'm good to go..........John

does anyone know the standard of marine wiring and what gauge is required where on a boat.as well i have a small breaker panel on the exterior of my sea raider(i`m assuming for the shore power (ac/dc) conversion). is this common? as well as a good place to buy marine wiring as i`m having a hard time finding places in canada.
Rob

you should know the current that you plan to have in your wiring to know how to properly size the wire. this would be true whether ac or dc power. i have purchased wire and accessories from this ebay seller and felt it was a good price. heres a link to his ebay store. keep in mind if you install a gfci to the first receptacle in the branch circuit then all receptacles on the load side will also be gfci protected. this is much better and cheaper than trying to install gfci breakers all over the place.
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Genuinedealz__W0QQ_armrsZ1

Yea, it's all standard recepticles. My entire breaker box was re-wired about 15 years ago and it's a standard GE breaker box. I still have a extra 2 slots for more space inb the panel.

captainrob1985 wrote:as well as a good place to buy marine wiring as i`m having a hard time finding places in canada.Rob

Where are you located in Canada?

I am located in Courtice Ontario, its an hour east of Toronto on lake Ontario but when the boat is in the water it`s in Newcastle, If there is a waterway up to georgian bay i`ll cruise up there next summer.
Rob

On AC the wire size is dependent on the breaker and amps. On the DC side wire is dependent on amps and distance between the source and the item it is wire to. AC and DC on boats use stranded wire as opposed to solid wire. As stated earlier due to breakage. Also a GFI breaker if hooked up properly will make down stream breakers GFI protected also but you have to go through the GFI properly to insure protection.

Earlier this season I put in 2 GFI protected AC sockets that were purchased from Defender Marine. One in the aft cockpit, one in the head. I covered these with stainless steel spring loaded and gasketted covers. I didn't realize until I had the first one installed and live that there is a tiny green light on the corner of the sockets indicating the socket is live when there is power to it. Cool little feature.
To the one in the aft cockpit I plugged in white rope lights, ran them around the perimeter of the cockpit hidden under the overhang, hooked up to a remote wireless on off switch, so that when walking back to the boat at night, after going out for dinner or whatever can use the remote to turn them on. Provides a really nice soft light, not the bright harsh light on the fly bridge overhang above the sliding door.