Shore power-newbie question

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babbles

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A family member has recently bought a boat and has it in a marina and will be using mains power. He needs a 32A-16A fly lead.
Hes tred various outlets and is struggling to find one locally so was going to order online. I've seen one online with following specs 32A Fly Lead-32A (Plug) to 16A (Socket) 110V, 240 V, Black.
He was given a loan of one so he knew what he was looking for but the one he has borrowed states it is
200-250V
Is it ok to buy the 100V, 240V or will he need one that is 200-250V
TIA
 
Welcome to the forum!

It all depends what sort of shore power connection the boat has. Some have the euro-type connectors (similar to what you’d find at a campsite or on a caravan in the UK), while others have Marinco-type, which is an American-standard push-in-and-turn connection. (We have the latter).

The Marinco connectors are originally designed for 110v, so come with different thickness cables, depending on the current-rating (in basic terms, 110v will need double the current (A) as 220v so cables are made of higher-gauge wire to accommodate a similar overall wattage as a euro cable).

If your friend looks at the socket on the boat and it has a blue casing with three round pins, it’s Euro-type and a hook-up cable from a camping shop should do, as long as they also incorporate a trip breaker. If the socket has three flat pins with one having a 90 degree bend, it’s probably Marinco.

Hope this helps you to find something suitable. Any boat electrician will also be able to advise. There are a few who are members of the forum. Try searching for Paulrainbow, for example.
 
babbles said:
A family member has recently bought a boat and has it in a marina and will be using mains power. He needs a 32A-16A fly lead.
Hes tred various outlets and is struggling to find one locally so was going to order online. I've seen one online with following specs 32A Fly Lead-32A (Plug) to 16A (Socket) 110V, 240 V, Black.
He was given a loan of one so he knew what he was looking for but the one he has borrowed states it is
200-250V
Is it ok to buy the 100V, 240V or will he need one that is 200-250V
TIA
Click to expand...

A link to the one he's considering would be useful.

Might also be useful to know what lead he currently has, if any. If he already has a 32a lead, but only has access to 16a supplies, he could simply change the shore power connector to a 16a one. Although that would mean he wouldn't be able to use a 32a supply if one became available.
 
Last edited:
Most south coast marinas use the ubiquitous 16a blue 240v sockets, with an occasional similar but larger size 32a. Assuming you don't have Air-con, then most boats will happily run most things on 16a.

Simple enough to make a lead up, I would use Arctic rated cable, which means it won't become brittle when cold, and it is important not to have male plugs (the plug has the exposed pins) on both ends of the same cable.

This Ebay seller offers loose plugs, sockets and made up cables all with 16 amp ends.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/240V-16-...hash=item2a9b73730b:m:mkpdmWiTiDWglQGOwRvtTKA

I also carry a 32a plug to 16a socket on a short piece of cable, so if I do find myself with only a 32a socket I can simply get the adaptor cable out. Perfectly safe to reduce from 32a to 16a, assuming you have further MCBs to the onboard distribution circuits.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16A-32A-...=40178400202097dc8c5c74e14433af7f48edeeb61a49
 
Hiya, I'm hoping this thread is still active. I have just brought a boat in the UK and it has air con. It has the twist on connector on the transom rather than the plug in type. At the other end is a larger 32a plug which I'm sure you al know what I'm going to say, it doesn't bloody fit in the marina sockets. Serves me right for buying a UK boat with air con. Any ideas or suggestions please
 
paulc1978 said:
Hiya, I'm hoping this thread is still active. I have just brought a boat in the UK and it has air con. It has the twist on connector on the transom rather than the plug in type. At the other end is a larger 32a plug which I'm sure you al know what I'm going to say, it doesn't bloody fit in the marina sockets. Serves me right for buying a UK boat with air con. Any ideas or suggestions please
Click to expand...
The reason your boat has 32a is likely to service the air conditioner/s. If you don't want to use these then changing to a 16a blue commando plug will likely resolve the problem so you can plug into the atypical marina 16a Commando (Niphan) blue socket.
 
Our bollard has a socket for the larger 32A plug so there are marina berths out there with the larger sockets while other bollards have the smaller sockets. We have a converter ie a short length of cable into with a 32A plug on one end and a 16A socket on other. We plug our normal 16A plug in to socket and the 32A into bollard. You might ask your marina for a converter to borrow or to move to berth with 32A socket -I guess they can change the socket on the bollard to fit your plug given the marina fees involved ie upsize the socket given our pontoons have both.
 
ashtead said:
Our bollard has a socket for the larger 32A plug so there are marina berths out there with the larger sockets while other bollards have the smaller sockets. We have a converter ie a short length of cable into with a 32A plug on one end and a 16A socket on other. We plug our normal 16A plug in to socket and the 32A into bollard. You might ask your marina for a converter to borrow or to move to berth with 32A socket -I guess they can change the socket on the bollard to fit your plug given the marina fees involved ie upsize the socket given our pontoons have both.
Click to expand...
You can have any size of socket and plug but may be worth remembering the supply will be limited by the capacity of the circuit breaker fitted. Some marina outlets may only have 6 or 10 amp breakers. Also they may be restricted by cable size and upstream components such as breakers and fuses!
 
Indeed , it’s just a shame if a simple task to replace the socket marinas don’t respond to needs of its owners even if the amperage would seem to fixed particularly given the high unit costs for the actual electricity .
 
babbles said:
A family member has recently bought a boat and has it in a marina and will be using mains power. He needs a 32A-16A fly lead.
Hes tred various outlets and is struggling to find one locally so was going to order online. I've seen one online with following specs 32A Fly Lead-32A (Plug) to 16A (Socket) 110V, 240 V, Black.
He was given a loan of one so he knew what he was looking for but the one he has borrowed states it is
200-250V
Is it ok to buy the 100V, 240V or will he need one that is 200-250V
TIA
Click to expand...


Is the boat in The USA or in Europe ???
 
ashtead said:
Indeed , it’s just a shame if a simple task to replace the socket marinas don’t respond to needs of its owners even if the amperage would seem to fixed particularly given the high unit costs for the actual electricity .
Click to expand...
It may not be so simple . In the attached picture it would not be possible to fit a larger 32 amp socket in either position. In any case what would be the point of the expense if the power available is limited by other factors? Far cheaper for the user to fit the correct size plug or use an adaptor!!
Bollard.jpg
 
Refueler said:
What about various marinas like metered cables ?? Just asking.
Click to expand...
They were the ones who would get a bit cross with me just plugging in an adaptor for whatever weird socket they had installed. I don’t think there are many marinas with metered sockets left now it’s become so easy to monitor each pedestal remotely.
 
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