"Roger Long" wrote:

I agree with Rosalie that the odds of anything actually happening are
very low but, even at the low level of risk, I agree with Bob's
sentiments as well. We do all sorts of things in boating and other
activities to avoid hazard where the risk is very low. I believe
Rosalie was involved in industrial risk management so I'm a bit
surprised at her sanguine attitude. (There are 10 -20 feet of loose
cord beyond the section that is screwed down.)

You said that it was screwed down every so many feet and didn't
specify how long the end was, or how high the dock is above the water
(or if it is a floating dock). If there is 10 feet of loose cord,
then there is even a greater chance of just pulling the cord out
without getting wet. What is difficult about bending down and picking
up the cord off the dock and pulling the end out of the water? (which
this time of year is too cold to go into anyway)

I have seen a power cord with the end in the water, but it was the
marina end and not the boat end of the cord. (It was in the Bahamas
and the dockmaster didn't seem concerned.) That cord it would have
been difficult to retrieve without going on board the boat.

I thought of saying that it would be a greater risk to a dog sticking
its wet nose into the live end - I didn't think of children, since I
would feel children on a dock should either be old enough to be told
by the parents not to mess with it or be under the immediate control
of the parent. Because if a child falls in, then just the water is
enough of a hazard without adding the unlikely problem of electricity.
I definitely would not allow toddlers out of arms reach.

I don't know why anyone should try to get an electric cord out of the
water if it wasn't their cord. Swimming off the docks is forbidden
in our marina, so they would not be doing that or at least not
legally. The water is a fairly long distance down (depending on the
tide) We have fixed docks and I could not wash my hands from the dock
without lying down on my stomach.

I agree that working divers might have a problem, but I think a
greater hazard realistically was the one mentioned about the
electrical currents eating up the zincs.


All the docks and equipment in this marina were recycled from another
marina that was upgrading it's equipment so I wouldn't put much faith
in the breakers.

BTW there is an upside to this fellow. I wanted to wash of my dinghy
and he also left his hose connected to the outlet that serves six
slips. Nice not to have to get mine out. Not only that, but he left
to valve on so the hose was pressurize and I didn't even have to turn
it on. Did you know that when you leave water pressure on some garden
hose for 3 - 4 days it gets about two inch in diameter? Of course, if
it had burst, he would have deprived the whole row on that dock of
water until someone figured it out.