Electric Shock Drowning

Piers

Piers

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Following my previous thread about 'Earthing a metal boat' it's led me to Electric Shock Drowning. Just googling for this subject shows many horrible and sad stories, mainly from electricly leaky boats in marinas. And it doesn't look as though it's limited to steel hulled boats since any metallic part of a boat which happens to become live for whatever reason, can cause leakage.

https://www.electricshockdrowning.org/esd--faq.html

https://www.electricshockdrowning.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_shock_drowning

Piers
 
Probably not panic time just yet. To keep a boat on (most) UK rivers etc the boat has to have a Boat Safety Certificate (BSS Certificate) and a River license. No BSS no License. Part of the BSS, I believe, is that the boat must have an RCD fitted in the mains supply on the boat. So if a live fault occurs the power goes off and can't be restored until the fault is fixed.

However boats kept on sea marinas don't need any tests in the UK. Fortunately sea water is much more conductive than river water and electric shock drowning is a much lower risk.
 
Last edited:
kashurst said:
Probably not panic time just yet. To keep a boat on (most) UK rivers etc the boat has to have a Boat Safety Certificate (BSS Certificate) and a River license. No BSS no License. Part of the BSS, I believe, is that the boat must have an RCD fitted in the mains supply on the boat.
Click to expand...

Not a reason for failure. From the BSS requirements.
"Advice for owners – it is strongly advised that a Residual Current Device (RCD) is installed to provide
appropriate electric shock protection on a.c. systems."
 
Croftie said:
Not a reason for failure. From the BSS requirements.
"Advice for owners – it is strongly advised that a Residual Current Device (RCD) is installed to provide
appropriate electric shock protection on a.c. systems."
Click to expand...

that's amazing - I thought the RCD was a must have these days.
 
seastoke said:
how do you know your rcd trips at the right times no one ever has them tested
Click to expand...

You should test your RCD yourself regularly................ that's why they have a test button. Pressing the button simulates a fault current that should trip it
 
VicS said:
You should test your RCD yourself regularly................ that's why they have a test button. Pressing the button simulates a fault current that should trip it
Click to expand...

Not a proper check it just tests the mechanism
 
Not only an RCD, but also interconnection of the bonding circuit to the earthing circuit. High voltage electrical leaks into fresh or brackish water are worse than into seawater because the electrical flow stratifies at the surface, where the swimmer / faller inner is.

The best explanation of this phenomenon I have found is in Nigel Calder's Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual.

A lot of folk do not like connecting the bonding circuit to earth because of fears of accelerated electrolytic corrosion, and an AC leakage will melt your zincs, props, stern gear faster than anything else, if the protective circuits are not working properly. For these reasons I routinely drag shore power cables out of the water when I see them immersed when wandering around a marina.

Apparently though it is OK for boatshow boats to run their cables through the water - that is of course until a damaged cable becomes immersed and a show visitor dies when he accidentally falls in !
 
Piers said:
Following my previous thread about 'Earthing a metal boat' it's led me to Electric Shock Drowning. Just googling for this subject shows many horrible and sad stories, mainly from electricly leaky boats in marinas. And it doesn't look as though it's limited to steel hulled boats since any metallic part of a boat which happens to become live for whatever reason, can cause leakage.

https://www.electricshockdrowning.org/esd--faq.html

https://www.electricshockdrowning.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_shock_drowning

Piers
Click to expand...


Looking at the pic on this link
https://www.electricshockdrowning.org/esd--faq.html
it shows 2 faults
1) a short in the live to case pf the appliance which is also connected to a metal hull of fitting in the water.
2) It also has a break in the earth connection to the mains supply.

I have 2 protection and monitor devices.
1) is a neon connected between the incoming earth line and the incoming live line. This is green in my case and must be lit otherwise it shows then is a breakin the incoming earth line.
2) the other is a RCD with a trip current of 20mA

I also have a red neon between the incoming neutral and the incoming earth line. If this is lit then is a phase switch in the mains supply ( swap in the live and neutral incoming line)

I also use on of these to check the the RCD trip point

s-l300.jpg
 
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