[MHml] Query - shore power in marinas

[Capt. Catfish]

I'll try to add something useful here, but after what Mr. Fish said, its 
hard to say.  Couple of things that truly are meaningful to watch out for 
come to mind:  whenever being concerned about shocks, you could do a lot 
worse then kill yourself- that is- after the damage wish you were dead! 
 Burns, muscle damage, brain damage, spinal cord damage- you get the idea- 
are all apparently possible.  Haven't firemen been shocked and lived only 
to be vegetables?  Of course maybe a different voltage/current combination 
then what you might find on some boats, but in the past I have worked on 
Mr. Fish's boat electrical system and I can tell you there was enough 
volts/current (220vac system) to do some serious damage!

Another thought to consider is that most dock power systems are usually in 
some state of disrepair and this includes the grounding system.  Ever since 
I read about the electrical distribution problems found in most marinas, 
I've been asking dock maintenance folks I run into about the the dock 
electrical system and I can't report good results.  Usually they blame the 
corrosive/weather environment as difficult to keep up with.  Just look at 
the dock lighting- exposed bulbs or wires, etc, and it will give you an 
idea.  I read recently about how the ground potential between boats can be 
quite significant. In practical use, boats aren't necessarily sharing the 
docks common ground- even if "plugged in," and then boat ground systems, 
like the dock, are not always up to specifications, or even close.

So the tip here is that there is a good chance that many boats in a given 
marina are generating stray electrical fields around their boats.  In salt 
water, the water is a much better conductor then our bodies, and the water 
carries most of this stray current to the bottom or causes the common 
electrolysis problems we find on thru-hulls, etc.  In salt water, there is 
some minimal risk swimming around the vessels.  Fresh water is a different 
story.  The fresh water doesn't easily conduct the current and our bodies 
are much better at it, so stray currents will find your body and flow 
through it.  For this reason, the report I read discouraged anyone from 
swimming in any fresh water marina with power hookups!  So maybe the same 
can be said for fresh water bathtubs with blow dryers!

Simon, better use sea water in that bathtub, and become a salty dog!


-----Original Message-----
From:	Rodgers, Simon [SMTP:SRodgers at skandia.it]
Sent:	Monday, January 28, 2002 5:52 AM
To:	'multihulls at steamradio.com'
Subject:	[MHml] Query (a bit off topic)

Hi all

Yesterday I was working on the corroded Through hulls and general electrics
of my boat and a question occured to
me, and I thought someone here may know the answer.
Given that electricity seeks the shortest path to earth (mostly)

if you are sitting in the bath (in your multihull) and drying your hair,
when you decided to dip the hairdryer in the
bathwater to give it a good clean.

why would the electric current kill you, if your heart was above the water
line in the bath. ???

I am just going to get a life now

	Simon
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