Auspicious wrote in news:a6ff2273-b540-4f0d-b82e-
:

I have wintered at a couple of marinas with home runs from each power
pylon to the distribution panels. The cabling under the docks was
truly impressive. In other places the winter liveaboards and frequent
winter boaters were redistributed in the slips to keep loads on
different distribution circuits. Even so we quickly figured out which
boats we could turn off power to on really cold nights. It's polite to
turn them back on in the morning however.



Ashley Marina in Charleston is impressively wired like this. There are
primary distribution transformers mounted right on the floating docks.
They are huge, much larger than ground transformers feeding many houses.
The hum, in Summer with all the air conditioners flogging away trying to
cool the uninsulated plastic boxes, is very impressive. The docks are fed
with 23,000 volt primaries, which keeps the cabling down to a minimum.

At City Marina, when one of the large powerboats docks to the Megadock, the
duty engineer for the marina tows a little trailer-mounted substation out
on the dock to provide individual isolated power to large vessels. He
plugs it into the high voltage feedpoints along the dock. I think they can
provide 3 phase and single phase 208, 240, 440 and maybe 908VAC service to
some very impressive looking "dock cables".

These power transformers have a CONVENIENT watt hour meter built into the
end of them, of course, for the billing. I'm not sure if they have
remotely readable metering, but that wouldn't surprise me.

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
easolutions...
I've recently had an interesting, perplexing, and disturbing situation
come up. I connect my boat in the usual way to the dock box supplied A/C.
It can easily sit for a week (without me visiting) or more during the
colder months here, especially during the holiday season between late
November and early January.

I believe it's a 20 am circuit. In any case, I have very modest A/C
requirements when I'm not on the boat, namely, maintaing the two bilge
pumps and keeping the two batteries (starting and house) topped up. I have
a newish 30 amp rated cord, and the charger is very new, as well as the
batteries. Haven't had any problems aboard, as far as circuit tripping or
even a fuse popping. I tested both bilge pumps, and they work fine,
dumping the small amount of water without a problem.

In the last month, I've arrived at the dock to find that the dock box
switch in the off position three times. The first time I chalked it up to
me forgetting to switch it on when I arrived back at the slip. The second
time to my neighbor perhaps switching it off by mistake. However, the
third time I did some checking. My neighbor didn't do it (hasn't been to
his boat in over a month), the marina hasn't been working on the docks
(check with the maintenance guy), and I haven't been there to forget
(unless I forgot going, which is unlikely LOL).

When I spoke with the maintenance guy on the phone, he went down to take a
look, then tried to claim that it was an old cord (it's less than two
years old, shows practically no weather wear, and the terminals look
fine - no charring/pitting - on either end). The boat connection is secure
with a ring lock, so none of that flies. I'm fairly certain that no one
else who has a boat has even been around this last month, except for
possibly the rich guy on the end tie who rarely leaves the dock.

So, I'm left with a couple of possibilities... either someone has been
deliberately turning off the A/C (not necessarily maliciously) or
something in the box is tripping the switch. Am I missing something? Could
it be something else?


1. If the switch in the dock box is also a circuit breaker you should be
aware that some of these are very hair trigger and if you have fitted a
large charger with a transformer in it the current to build up the flux in
the transformer can be very high for a couple of milliseconds and some
breakers will trip at that point. I had this trouble on my boat which ,
having come from USA, has a lot of 110v stuff on board.
I fitted a 2:1 transformer to run it off 220 volts and it tripped all power
to the whole of the dock finger every time I connected. Spoke to the
transformer manufacturers and they said this transformer (rated 21/2 kw.)
takes 300 amps for a few milliseconds before it stabilises. They said this
is a common problem in marinas where boats are fitted with isolating
transformers.
Acting on their recommendations I fitted a'current limiter', which seems to
be a capacitor about the size of a quarter, in series on the input side and
problem was solved.

2. Sometimes people come to the marina to work on their boat and find that
there are no vacant sockets available for plugging in their tools so they
are apt to unplug someone at random and may forget to switch back on when
they go home. Perhaps it was the maintenance guy you refer to and he is just
putting up an excuse by blaming your cord.

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Capt. JG" wrote in
ons:

"Larry" wrote in message
...
Marty wrote in newsZ-
:

Larry, you are a devious son-of-a-bitch! :-)

Cheers
Martin



Thank you!....

He's probably made an enemy on the dock. They can do more to you
than an emeny on usenet...



Is that another conspiracy theory we should check out? LOL

They're all friends of mine...


With your ****ty attitude, if you were on the dock, you'd be a prime
suspect.



What ****ty attitude is that Larry? Please be specific if you can.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Interesting... it was actually something the maint. guy mentioned (without
me prompting) saying that that didn't happen.

"Auspicious" wrote in message
...
On Dec 19, 9:09 pm, Larry wrote:
He's probably made an enemy on the dock.

More likely that someone has a heavy electrical load and is tripping
one of the main breakers at the distribution panel. The power pylons
are wired based on the assumption that not all pylons will be
supplying full power at the same time. I don't know what the
conventional ratios are; it would not surprise me if ten 30A outlets
are fed by a 100A distribution circuit. If someone is plugged into two
30A outlets (charger/house/water heater on one and heat pumps on the
second) and regularly drawing a total of 50As it wouldn't take very
many other smaller consumers on the same circuit to trip the
distribution breaker. Through a couple of electric heaters into the
mix and the loads get big.

I have wintered at a couple of marinas with home runs from each power
pylon to the distribution panels. The cabling under the docks was
truly impressive. In other places the winter liveaboards and frequent
winter boaters were redistributed in the slips to keep loads on
different distribution circuits. Even so we quickly figured out which
boats we could turn off power to on really cold nights. It's polite to
turn them back on in the morning however.

Just a thought.

sail fast, dave



--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:11:11 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

Interesting suggestion. I think it's probably maint. crew that won't fess
up, since they've been doing a lot lately. I was thinking it would be nice
to get notified when it goes out. I'm betting there's some device on the
market that could email me, but it's probably expensive.

Do you have WiFi internet available at the dock ?

If so you could rig a web cam.



Unfortunately, it's spotty at best right now. However, that'll be changing
supposedly come summer.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"IanM" wrote in message
...
Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:11:11 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

Interesting suggestion. I think it's probably maint. crew that won't
fess up, since they've been doing a lot lately. I was thinking it would
be nice to get notified when it goes out. I'm betting there's some
device on the market that could email me, but it's probably expensive.

Do you have WiFi internet available at the dock ? If so you could rig a
web cam.

Or if not, a still camera *could* be rigged to take a photo on power
failure. If there is WiFi, install something like Skype or other VOIP
solution hooked to a hailer as well.

"{siren} **STAND** **AWAY** **FROM** **THE** **DOCK** **BOX** {siren}"

If you are lucky and it is a person they might be so startled they fall
off the pontoon :-)

But seriously, take the lead off and open each end for a full visual
inspection. Any rust staining or other buildup on the plastic insulator
between the pins *MUST* be cleaned off, if it doesn't clean up well
replace it. Dead spiders removed etc. Any signs of water penetration and
you'll need to either replace the plug or line socket or at least make
sure the rubber boot is sealing properly. If you have to disconnect any
wires, be sure you know where they go and reassemble with a very little
silicone dielectric grease.


Are you talking about the lead inside the box or the cord that runs to the
boat.

I like the siren idea! LOL

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Edgar" wrote in message
...

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
easolutions...
I've recently had an interesting, perplexing, and disturbing situation
come up. I connect my boat in the usual way to the dock box supplied A/C.
It can easily sit for a week (without me visiting) or more during the
colder months here, especially during the holiday season between late
November and early January.

I believe it's a 20 am circuit. In any case, I have very modest A/C
requirements when I'm not on the boat, namely, maintaing the two bilge
pumps and keeping the two batteries (starting and house) topped up. I
have a newish 30 amp rated cord, and the charger is very new, as well as
the batteries. Haven't had any problems aboard, as far as circuit
tripping or even a fuse popping. I tested both bilge pumps, and they work
fine, dumping the small amount of water without a problem.

In the last month, I've arrived at the dock to find that the dock box
switch in the off position three times. The first time I chalked it up to
me forgetting to switch it on when I arrived back at the slip. The second
time to my neighbor perhaps switching it off by mistake. However, the
third time I did some checking. My neighbor didn't do it (hasn't been to
his boat in over a month), the marina hasn't been working on the docks
(check with the maintenance guy), and I haven't been there to forget
(unless I forgot going, which is unlikely LOL).

When I spoke with the maintenance guy on the phone, he went down to take
a look, then tried to claim that it was an old cord (it's less than two
years old, shows practically no weather wear, and the terminals look
fine - no charring/pitting - on either end). The boat connection is
secure with a ring lock, so none of that flies. I'm fairly certain that
no one else who has a boat has even been around this last month, except
for possibly the rich guy on the end tie who rarely leaves the dock.

So, I'm left with a couple of possibilities... either someone has been
deliberately turning off the A/C (not necessarily maliciously) or
something in the box is tripping the switch. Am I missing something?
Could it be something else?


1. If the switch in the dock box is also a circuit breaker you should be
aware that some of these are very hair trigger and if you have fitted a
large charger with a transformer in it the current to build up the flux in
the transformer can be very high for a couple of milliseconds and some
breakers will trip at that point. I had this trouble on my boat which ,
having come from USA, has a lot of 110v stuff on board.
I fitted a 2:1 transformer to run it off 220 volts and it tripped all
power to the whole of the dock finger every time I connected. Spoke to the
transformer manufacturers and they said this transformer (rated 21/2 kw.)
takes 300 amps for a few milliseconds before it stabilises. They said this
is a common problem in marinas where boats are fitted with isolating
transformers.
Acting on their recommendations I fitted a'current limiter', which seems
to be a capacitor about the size of a quarter, in series on the input side
and problem was solved.

Well, I don't have a high end charger... and I don't run ac when I'm not on
the boat.

2. Sometimes people come to the marina to work on their boat and find that
there are no vacant sockets available for plugging in their tools so they
are apt to unplug someone at random and may forget to switch back on when
they go home. Perhaps it was the maintenance guy you refer to and he is
just putting up an excuse by blaming your cord.


This is what I think.... he's probably aware of it right now. :-)

The plug next to mine is typically empty, but it's possible someone needed
both.

It's a mystery of the sea I guess.



--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
easolutions...
I've recently had an interesting, perplexing, and disturbing situation
come up. I connect my boat in the usual way to the dock box supplied A/C.
It can easily sit for a week (without me visiting) or more during the
colder months here, especially during the holiday season between late
November and early January.
snipped to end


There's no mystery. Somebody is shutting the switch off because Gaynze is a
condo commando and his demeanor at the dock is likely no different than his
demeanor in his neighborhood. Somebody is hoping his boat is really really
leaky and might sink without an operational bilge pump.

Ask yourself this question: Who in their right mind would want a chronic
complainer like Gaynze on their dock? It's a wonder he hasn't complained to
the power company demanding they remove the unsightly outlets, switches and
wires.

http://www.sailnow.com/ardenbluffs/


Wilbur Hubbard

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
easolutions...
"Larry" wrote in message
...
"Capt. JG" wrote in
easolutions:

either someone has been
deliberately turning off the A/C (not necessarily maliciously) or
something in the box is tripping the switch

When a breaker trips from overcurrent, it needs to be "reset" by pushing
it
into the off position, or pushing a popout button on some breakers.

You talk as if the breaker has just been switched off as you said nothing
about having to reset the breaker before turning it on.

Yeah, there was no resetting. It's either on or off, and the maint. guy
mentioned the "possibility" of it tripping. I think it's bs.


So, I'm thinking deliberately turning it off...saving the marina $$$, a
motivation unto itself.

They have no motivation, as far as my boat is concerned. The guy across
the walk from me is power hog many times over by comparison.


To turn the breaker off requires a finger to push on one side of the
breaker toggle handle. Coat that side with greasepencil lightly so it's
not very evident. Make the coat smooth so we can see that fingerprint of
the SOB that's flipping the breaker on you. That will let use at least
see
"SOMEONE" is flipping it off.

Office supply places also have a permanent staining red ink that won't
wash
off. It's available in non-drying printer's ink like they put on a press
with a roller. It takes months to "dry". You could coat the toggle with
that then casually watch marina people's fingers for the indelible red
stain....


I would do this, but I'll just end up with a red finger. LOL


I was thinking of getting a lock for the flip up cover, but I don't think
the marina would like that too much. I'm going to talk to my neighbor and
see if I can use his A/C connection for a while. He doesn't have anything
plugged in anyway. His switch was on when I got there... just mine was
off.

For the next couple of weeks, I asked the maint. guy to be kind enough to
check it from time to time, which he agreed to do. They don't have much
interest in having someone's bilge pump fail after a rain and end up with
a boat on the bottom.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com



We had an issue with AC problems at our marina. When the demand was high,
certain 110v items wouldn't work or would work right - seems the power
thinned out to the rest of the boats on our circuit. Obviously I'm not an
electrician.
I might suspect the power hog guy you mentioned. Maybe his ceramic heaters
won't work will the wifes curling iron was plugged in and he decides your
boat doesn't need the power.
What about putting a lock on the box for just a few days? If it's tripped
when you open it you'll know.

"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote in message
anews.com...

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
easolutions...
I've recently had an interesting, perplexing, and disturbing situation
come up. I connect my boat in the usual way to the dock box supplied A/C.
It can easily sit for a week (without me visiting) or more during the
colder months here, especially during the holiday season between late
November and early January.
snipped to end


There's no mystery. Somebody is shutting the switch off because Gaynze is
a condo commando and his demeanor at the dock is likely no different than
his demeanor in his neighborhood. Somebody is hoping his boat is really
really leaky and might sink without an operational bilge pump.

Ask yourself this question: Who in their right mind would want a chronic
complainer like Gaynze on their dock? It's a wonder he hasn't complained
to the power company demanding they remove the unsightly outlets, switches
and wires.

http://www.sailnow.com/ardenbluffs/


Wilbur Hubbard


I wouldn't be so quick to turn the breaker back on without venting out the
bilge and boat first. Any gas fume build up plus a faulty sparking circuit
on board may send Jonathan a couple of hundred feet into the air.

Maybe upgrade the circuit breaker to an arc detection type.

If you want to catch the guy try this:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...quest id=4437

The pictures taken by these are very good unlike the cheapo webcams.

After you catch the guy at the boat you can use it at home.