Electric Fence Energiser connected to the Guard Rails?

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andyalford

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I am considering connecting a small cattle Electric Fence Energiser to the guard rails, via a PIR-activated alarm. Flashing lights and sirens, as well as a deterent for the local boats (I am soon to enter the Philippines and PNG.)

Anyone tried this, or can help me with technical advice?

I am nervous of destroying boat navigation or communications equipment with a 5kV pulse! Could this jump insulation and gaps to (for example) the SSB antennae on the backstay, or lighting cables and speaker cables inside the stainless steel tubing.

Also, need to consider a Gas explosion risk?

Any thoughts or experiences??

Thanks for your help.
 
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You'll be popular if it stuns a local and they fall in and drown!
Personally I think it's a bad idea, electrifying the perimeter of a boat that's surrounded my sea water.
 
andyalford said:
I am considering connecting a small cattle Electric Fence Energiser to the guard rails, via a PIR-activated alarm. Flashing lights and sirens, as well as a deterent for the local boats (I am soon to enter the Philippines and PNG.)

Anyone tried this, or can help me with technical advice?

I am nervous of destroying boat navigation or communications equipment with a 5kV pulse! Could this jump insulation and gaps to (for example) the SSB antennae on the backstay, or lighting cables and speaker cables inside the stainless steel tubing.

Also, need to consider a Gas explosion risk?

Any thoughts or experiences??

Thanks for your help.

Andy Alford
s/y SHAH, Hylas 44 1989
(Currently in Malaysian Borneo)
Click to expand...
Certain snags I can think of:-

1. If boat is GRP, no earth-return and no shock.
2. Rails would have to be non-plastic covered (and 316 is a notably poor conductor)
3. From past experience insulating the live wire is key critical - how good is the stanchion insulation?

Personally I think the EMF pulse will be insignificant if the units are all off.
 
Ceirwan said:
You'll be popular if it stuns a local and they fall in and drown!
Personally I think it's a bad idea, electrifying the perimeter of a boat that's surrounded my sea water.
Click to expand...

It's a good point, and I wouldn't want to tar all with the same brush! But most of the locals I have come across are terribly curious and stand off unless they can see you, and then approach with respect. When I'm not on the boat, I would be confident that if they touched it, they would be soon be onboard. Remember that by this stage a strobe light and an alarm siren are sounding, so I think they'd have realised that they weren't welcome!

In PNG and Indonesia, when you arrive in a remote island, you would always visit the head of the village, out of respect and to request permission to anchor in their water (they see it that way.) The experience is part of the voyage, and with the right attitude, can be a treat. They are generally warning you of the 'scoundrels' that will try to take anything from your decks that are not bolted down. At this point, I would tell them that the boat is alarmed and can 'bite back!' I suspect that they might approve!

This is my theory, but would appreciate to hear contrasting opinions, as I would hate to have been 'tainted' by too many stories of thefts, break-ins and bad experiences.

(I know that the Pirate warnings are largely ridiculous, but a lot of my close sailing friends have personal experiences.)
 
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charles_reed said:
Certain snags I can think of:-

1. If boat is GRP, no earth-return and no shock.
2. Rails would have to be non-plastic covered (and 316 is a notably poor conductor)
3. From past experience insulating the live wire is key critical - how good is the stanchion insulation?

Personally I think the EMF pulse will be insignificant if the units are all off.
Click to expand...

My guard rails are plastic covered, but I've always noticed that everyone that climbs onto the boat grabs the stantions (and always at the top!!) So I think this will the positive will be ok. They are completely isolated, and I can readily connect to the base of each in the likely climb-aboard area. Not to mention the bimini frame which is used by everyone to get into the cockpit.

But the earth return - hmmm... I had thought to put this to a through-hull, but that's no good when someone is standing in a wooden boat wearing plastic flip-flops! Or once they are on the boat standing on the teak deck with their hands on the bimini frame, eyeing up my laptop!

I can tell I will need a gullible crew member to help with testing, if this plan is to ever get off the drawing board. "Does that hurt?" !!!
 
I am sure you will find this is illegal and you could be charged for having it aboard even turned off.

There was a device that put out a sound frequency so intense that anyone within 30 feet would be violently sick and unable to control themselves. Sadly it too was ruled illegal.
 
Having set up an electric fence on land there were two terminals - one to the live wire of the fence. The fence wire had to be totally insulated from the ground.
The ground terminal was connected to a length of bare wire buried in the earth.
The shock was only felt when the victim made contact with live fence wire and earth.

If you really want to go this way you have some interesting insulation problems to solve and need to create a ground for the victim. If you don't solve the insulation problems correctly you may also find your skin fittings disintigrating due to stray current!

Perhaps the good Capt Slocum's deterent would be safer to set up.
 
Hi Andy and welcome

You have several problems to deal with if you decide to use this deterrent,
the first is the legal issue.

second if you or any member of your crew(her on board) forget the system is activated when returning to your vessel the consequences are almost to horrible to imagine.

And the circuit to activate the pulse is almost impossible to complete.

If for any reason a local official decides to legitimately investigate your vessel and put a hand on your boat to knock to see if any one is aboard and gets an electric shock for their efforts, again the out come could be ugly and go down hill from there.

This idea has been mentioned several times before and no one has yet found a good working solution.

If the fear of being boarded is that paramount in your mind then maybe your cruising grounds should be re-evaluated to see if there is some where you feel less uncomfortable with.

Unfortunately it is very hard to find an area that does not have scoundrels who see boats as the free shopping mall from which to help themselves to rich peoples stuff.

Good luck with your plans.

Mark
 
A capacitor wired to door handle etc might be better.Be careful though cuz they can kill.
Another solution would be the kit that toad sell which fills the cabin with dence smoke instantly.guess not much use for deck stuff but it would attract attention.
 
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smoke

Csail has a good point there. google smokecloak. ive seen this in action, not on a boat, in offices its suberb but as for the cost???
 
The earth return would be problematic, not least because any equipment that is grounded may recieve some of the pulse through their ground wires. The ground wires are not switched and I suspect that SSBs, Radars and alternator regulators would not take kindly to such treatment - like a proximity lightning strke?
 
charles_reed said:
. . . . Personally I think the EMF pulse will be insignificant if the units are all off.
Click to expand...

I don't really think you mean EMF (Electromotive Force) but that you mean EMP (Electro-magnetic Pulse)?

And regarding Ceirwan's comments, I will have to be careful if all the sea water belongs to him? :D

Ceirwan said:
. . . . Personally I think it's a bad idea, electrifying the perimeter of a boat that's surrounded my sea water.
Click to expand...
 
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