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John Wentworth John Wentworth is offline
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First recorded activity by BoatBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 67
Default Danger of electric shock from batteries in small boats?


"ronwagn" wrote in message
ups.com...
I am thinking about equipping my large inflatable kayak with a trolling
motor to get me upriver. That way I don't need a partner.

What happens If I get everything wet, or it rains? Could I get killed
by electroshock?!

All the best,

Ron Wagner


The risk of electric shock from a 12 volt battery is minimal; even in a
worse case scenario your body would provide sufficient resistance to the
electric charge that current would be very small, probably less than one
milliamp. It's the amps that hurt you, but there must be sufficient voltage
present to drive those amps. Ohms Law provides a way to calculate current
flow if you know the voltage and the resistance. Current (amps) go up as
resistance (ohms) goes down; divide voltage by resistance to get current
flow.

Look at http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_1/chpt_3/4.html