Smartplug Time?

[walldog]

With several boat fires in the news recently and with one at Roche already suspected of an electrical cause, maybe it is time to revisit the Smartplug thread. Here are a couple of pictures of a potential tragedy averted by finding this damage in time.

When connecting and disconnecting shore power, be sure that the breaker on the dock is off, the main breaker on your panel is off, and or the power selector rotary switch is off. In other words, never plug or unplug with any voltage on the plug or receptacle.

http://www.smartplug.com/marine_30amp.html

I do not have any financial interest in Smartplug. Only have interest in the safety of my boater friends.

 

[bluestreak]

We follow the same procedure when hooking up an RV to the power pedestal.
Breakers off before plugging in the RV.
Even though my rig only uses the 30 amp outlet, I turn off ALL breakers in the pedestal.

 

[JamesTXSD]

We have always cut the power at the pedestal when plugging in or unplugging the boat. Last year, our standard power cable had that burn; checking the boat, there was a matching burn. We retrofitted a Smart Plug, and I definitely feel it is a superior connection. More metal making contact when plugged in, and a more positive connection. A door over the connection when plugged in. I also made another cable with the Smart Plug and a 15 amp connection to use at our dock at home.

From the sounds of it, the fire on the 85' Ocean Alexander at Roche Harbor was from an electrical connection inside the boat, likely in the galley area. $8M up in fire and smoke. I doubt a Smart Plug would have made any difference there; but on our size boats, the potential for a problem lies in that exterior connection.

Anyone I've talked with who has done a Smart Plug retro-fit wouldn't go back to the standard connection.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[baz]

Before anyone here wants to rush out and buy a Smartplug, just be aware that shortly Smartplug (if not already) will be selling newly designed plugs/connectors. I had been discussing usage and feedback experiences several months back with the SmartPlug Founder Ken Smith here in Seattle and he was kind enough to want to send me the new plugs/connecters for free and to send feedback to him and his team. He had indicated July 4th for the new designs, but that has gone by, so I'm waiting. I will be calling him today to get a status on the new plus/connecters progress etc and will post here what I learn. Stay tuned. 🙂

The recent boat fires in the Seattle area (July 4th fireworks presumably) and the Roche Harbor 85' boat fire and subsequent sinking with 1600 gallons of diesel are real lessens. It was only a few months back when a 50' boat docked at my marina's guest slip had some kind of electrical issue and caused the dock-side power pedestal to blow up in front of my very eyes -- I was some 75' away just reviewing the guest boats from the shoreline. The Marina spent a month or so rewiring/redesigning the whole guest dock electrical service because of this incident.

[EDIT]
Spoke with Ken Smith and he indicated the 'new stuff' is about 60 days out. "Things always take longer than you think..." said Ken. I'm still set to receive the new stuff for testing in about 8 weeks time. 🙂 He was very positive/excited about the new moldings and internal wire clamping designs. Ken also mentioned that the 85' Roche harbor boat was brand new and had not been sold, and that the issue was an internal electrical problem.