Dear Martin
We all hear horror stories of the damage done to motor cruisers and yachts by electrolysis and galvanic action. What is your advice on safeguarding a boat?
Yours truly,
Andrew Smith
Dear Andrew,
You are right about the risks. You only need to watch boats being hauled out for annual antifouling to see the expensive damage done to propellers and skin fittings - despite good sacrificial zinc anodes. More worrisome is the damage you cannot see, for example to the keel bolts of a yacht, because electrolysis can cause corrosion from the inside out.
Even experts disagree on electrical safety. The American Boat and Yacht Council and the US Power Squadron hold opposite views on whether it is advisable to connect the AC earth of shore power to your boat's DC ground.
- Do NOT connect to AC shore power (!)
- If you really must connect to shore AC, then install an Isolation Transformer.
- If you cannot afford an Isolation Transformer or have nowhere to put one then at very least use a Residual Current Device (RCD)
"A marina", it warns, "is a place where the risk of electrical leakage is immense - meaning that it could be a fairly corrosive environment for any boat."
But the real issue with AC power, so temptingly on offer at every pontoon, is not the potential damage to your boat but the risk to your life. We all know that AC can kill, what makes it more dangerous on boats is that shore-side do-it-yourself practices do not apply afloat. There is conflict and confusion between earthing an appliance, earthing the boat and earthing to a shore network.
I believe boat owners need to understand AC safety and I recommend they buy this book and study it.
Yours safely,
Martin
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