Reducing the risk of fire and electric shock drowning in the marina

Hello,

 

I had an interesting meeting today with James D. Shafer of Harbor Marine Consultants, Darryl McNabb, and Charles Draper, Jr of Salmon Bay Marina. I learned about a very simple test that can be performed by non-technically expert personnel, and the information gained from the test could quite literally save QCYC from a 7-figure lawsuit or a fire in the marina.

 

James Shafer travels around the country to train marina owners and electricians about the dangers of improperly wired boats. As he said today, "Marina owners and operators have absolutely no idea whether the boats that come in and hook up to their AC shore power systems are properly wired. When you supply a product that is potentially dangerous (such as electricity) to an end user, courts often find that there is an obligation on the part of the provider to determine whether the product can be used safely. That's why no utility in the US will hook up power to a newly built home or other structure until a third party expert, an electrical inspector, has signed off on the wiring and documented that the structure can safely accept electricity."

 

Shafer went on to explain that a very high percentage of drownings, especially in fresh water result from victims losing muscular control as a consequence of electrical shock. The electrical shocks are the direct result of  AC "leakage" into the water from boats that improperly wired or grounded. Shafer cited one incident where the marina operator (that would be QCYC in our case) was found liable for the death of a victim in an electrical shock drowning case, and damages were assessed at $750,000 (plus legal fees, of course).

 

Shafer demonstrated the test on three boats at Salmon Bay Marina, including "Indulgence". He unplugs the vessel's shore power cord from the dockside receptacle, plugs his testing device into the outlet, and then touches a sensor on the device to the notched tab on the end of the vessel's power cable. When he performed this test on "Indulgence", a light came on. "That light means that your green bonding wire is in place and is doing its job," said Shafer. "Your boat is not leaking current into the marina, and is very unlikely to cause an electrical shock if somebody goes in the water."

 

By testing a second tab on the shore power cable, Shafer was able to determine "Your white neutral wire is working like it is supposed to. Sometimes a boat gets miswired so the neutral and ground wires make contact somewhere, and when that happens there is some additional risk of electric shock drowning but a much more significant risk of fire." (And we are all aware that faulty wiring is a primary cause of boat fires that spread through a marina).

 

Shafer tested two other boats selected at random. One was a junky looking Californian trawler that recently moved into the slip adjacent to mine at Salmon Bay. The indicator light barely glowed at all during the bonding wire test, causing Shafer to conclude "In the same marina, that light should glow equally bright between one properly wired boat and another. There is a bonding system on this boat, but there are some problems with it and a prudent owner would hire a technician to discover exactly where the problems are." The Californian passed the test for the integrity of the neutral wire. 

 

We next tested an older wooden boat. The boat failed the bonding wire test. "There is either no bonding system on this boat, or it isn't hooked up properly," said Shafer. Of more immediate concern to the owner of the marina was the fact that the boat failed the neutral wire test. Not only could the boat potentially shock and paralyze an individual falling into the water, but it represented a fire hazard that could result in a tragic loss of the entire dock and all the boats moored there.

 

I think we should consider testing the boats at the QCYC moorage, and advise the owners of boats that fail either portion of the test. We could perform the test with member volunteer labor and still get accurate results, so the cost of doing the tests would be virtually zero. The cost of *not* being aware of potential electric shock drowning or fire hazards could be enormous.

 

Best regards,

 

Chuck Gould