Female socket on boat for mains connection?

[fredrussell]

Deleted, unhelpful!

 

[steveeasy]

Most boats, including mine, have this on board, preferably in a sheltered spot

Industrial Connectors IP44

And this on the end of the cable

Industrial Connectors IP44

Definitely one of the cheaper ways to improve safety on board

That is a death trap like that for anyone who may touch the cable

 

[wonkywinch]

Most of my sailing has been on modern day Beneteau, Bavaria & Jeanneau made from 2000's to 2023. All of them without exception are fitted with the Marinco connector. I don't like them either, they are fiddly to make a good connection, many people aren't aware of the twist to lock as it will connect without doing this (poor design) and of course I've heard of the fires but why are the big AWB names still married to them?

Top tip, even if you have the correct male/female arrangement is to always connect the boat first so when the cable goes live, it's already plugged in safe and won't electrocute the fish etc.

 

[Boathook]

Most boats, including mine, have this on board, preferably in a sheltered spot

Industrial Connectors IP44

And this on the end of the cable

Industrial Connectors IP44

Definitely one of the cheaper ways to improve safety on board

Wrong way round Stemar. See post 3.

 

[wingcommander]

And please don't do what my pontoon neighbour did. Of out for a couple of hours sail ,left shore plug connected ( yes plugged in live)!! , just coiled up the flying end dumped on pontoon. One coil had flipped over and hanging over the edge. Had to rush over and unplug before the slinky effect took over.
Not yet had a chance to let him know how close to disaster it was

 

[Iliade]

The

And please don't do what my pontoon neighbour did. Of out for a couple of hours sail ,left shore plug connected ( yes plugged in live)!! , just coiled up the flying end dumped on pontoon. One coil had flipped over and hanging over the edge. Had to rush over and unplug before the slinky effect took over.
Not yet had a chance to let him know how close to disaster it was

Workmen at our club tied my live shoreline out of their way while working on the pier at ~HW. Then the tide must have inexplicably retreated... Resulting in live bare wires in the river!

Just a thought, is the socket on the o/p's boat a power outlet, rather than the inlet?

 

[Refueler]

And please don't do what my pontoon neighbour did. Of out for a couple of hours sail ,left shore plug connected ( yes plugged in live)!! , just coiled up the flying end dumped on pontoon. One coil had flipped over and hanging over the edge. Had to rush over and unplug before the slinky effect took over.
Not yet had a chance to let him know how close to disaster it was

Unfortunately there are marina's that do not provide mains to each berth and then you get the scrabble to get a socket ... one marina I used had 6 power outs in a hut at end of jetty for over 40 boats .... it was common to walk the jetty and find who was not out sailing - but cable still plugged in ...

Yes People are that selfish.

Hopefully the shore providing the power has decent breaker that throws should cable end go in the water ... Saying that - does not mean I accept or condone the practice .. having been subject of such limited power, but I never left cable connected.

At my home mooring though - I do as the pontoon is 4m wide ... cable is coiled well inboard of edge ... and would need a hurricane to dislodge. It is never casually thrown down.

 

[Refueler]

The

Workmen at our club tied my live shoreline out of their way while working on the pier at ~HW. Then the tide must have inexplicably retreated... Resulting in live bare wires in the river!

Just a thought, is the socket on the o/p's boat a power outlet, rather than the inlet?

Trying to visualise .... LW or HW ?

 

[Neeves]

Welcome to the Forum. It offers a wealth of knowledge - it is often 'self correcting'

It helps in any thread to provide pictures.

Jonathan

 

[Plum]

Most boats, including mine, have this on board, preferably in a sheltered spot

Industrial Connectors IP44

And this on the end of the cable

Industrial Connectors IP44

Definitely one of the cheaper ways to improve safety on board

If you have this setup on your boat you are trying to kill someone

 

[xyachtdave]

Most boats I've seen use the Marinco flush mounted male connector. Shore power is then a Marinco female to Commando male in 16A…

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Do a search for boat fires connected to these sockets, i'd never, ever, use one or fit one. I've replaced lots of them, usually with heat damage.

Try: Inlets and Accessories | Energy Solutions

I’ve had one on my boat (fitted by me) for 15 years and no problems at all but have heard people have had issues.

 

[Refueler]

I’ve had one on my boat (fitted by me) for 15 years and no problems at all but have heard people have had issues.

As I posted earlier ... I know many MoBo's that have Marinco and similar ... like everything today - there are knock-offs as well ...

I've never seen any problems with them - but there are numerous reports of such. I put it down to mis-use .. like many things - there are ways good and bad to use ...
Neighbour who moored at my place with his MoBo - had such Marinco ... nice looking flush fitting - but we could not get a plug to fit ... only online ... so we ended up with trailing cable ... not best solution of course.

But I must say that given the simplicity of the Blue "Caravan" cable system - I don't know why another system is used ... especially when considering that often a Mobo will have larger demand on the cable system ... all those Cocktails and Partys they have !!

 

[Boater Sam]

Most boats, including mine, have this on board, preferably in a sheltered spot

Industrial Connectors IP44

And this on the end of the cable

Industrial Connectors IP44

Definitely one of the cheaper ways to improve safety on board

Totally wrong way round! The cable should have a free socket on the end and the boat a male socket with the pins exposed.

 

[Poignard]

As I posted earlier ... I know many MoBo's that have Marinco and similar ... like everything today - there are knock-offs as well ...

I've never seen any problems with them - but there are numerous reports of such. I put it down to mis-use .. like many things - there are ways good and bad to use ...
Neighbour who moored at my place with his MoBo - had such Marinco ... nice looking flush fitting - but we could not get a plug to fit ... only online ... so we ended up with trailing cable ... not best solution of course.

Even if he didn't get electrocuted the trip hazards might have done for him.

 

[Refueler]

Even if he didn't get electrocuted the trip hazards might have done for him.

Look at the decking rails ande you will see many ropes etc. Photo was taken during a sort out of gear ...

 

[billskip]

The plug on the cable you attach to the source of 230v should be male, and the other end that you attach to the boat should be female - once you have attached the cable to a power source, the cable is live.

I think we can all agree a "live" male plug is really a no no /dangerous....however one needs a male plug and a female socket....and this can be difficult to achieve safely in some circumstances.
Eg boat A does not have any facility on board for generation of high voltage and shore power is wired in for convenience the boat is safer with the boat connection being male as when unplugged there will be no electricity.
Boat B has a generator and or an inverter that is wired up to the main circuit therefore possibly if not switched isolated will make the shore socket/plug "live".....so it depends on the existing installation if no generated/inverter 220v then a male is ok....but if 240v can exist at the boats receptacle (plug or socket) then the safe connection is a problem

 

[Bodach na mara]

Replying to the original question, yours is not the only boat with a female socket for shore power input. I've seen several myself and my own boat has one and it is WRONG and DANGEROUS. Even worse is that many of them use a male plug on each end of the long shore power connecting cable. Refueller's suggestion of a SHORT connecting cable with a male plug on each end is my own solution because I have found it impossible to get the proper male connector to mount on the hull. All the bulkhead mounted connectors that I have seen are angled so that they point downward to shed water but there is no room in the location on the combing to mount an angled connector. Hence the compromise. At some point I will mount one inside the cockpit locker and fill in the hole left when I remove the offender.

 

[Boater Sam]

Try a caravan flush mounting one. Saying you can't find one is no excuse for creating a dangerous installation.

 

[PaulRainbow]

this is what is fitted to merry fisher motor boats as standard, up to 32A
which seems massive to me

perhaps they are used constant at max power and then over heat / poor installation ?


View attachment 169449

See the several posts above describing how rubbish the Marinco shore power system is.

 

[PaulRainbow]

Replying to the original question, yours is not the only boat with a female socket for shore power input. I've seen several myself and my own boat has one and it is WRONG and DANGEROUS. Even worse is that many of them use a male plug on each end of the long shore power connecting cable. Refueller's suggestion of a SHORT connecting cable with a male plug on each end is my own solution because I have found it impossible to get the proper male connector to mount on the hull. All the bulkhead mounted connectors that I have seen are angled so that they point downward to shed water but there is no room in the location on the combing to mount an angled connector. Hence the compromise. At some point I will mount one inside the cockpit locker and fill in the hole left when I remove the offender.

Look at the Ratio plug and socket previously mentioned. It's straight and it's also waterproof, whether the plug is in or not.