Boat Dock Electrical - Whos has had a shocking experiance?
 

Just posting this because here at our local lake there are numerous boat docks that are not wired correctly, amazingly we have not had very many fatalities due to this, simple luck if you ask me. But it brings to question, people with docks----are you GFCI protected, are you and your guest protected? If you question this I would for go the expense and have a qualified electrician inspect your dock for problems.

I currently came across a dock that has no independent grounding conductor, and is not GFCI protected at the source, nor are any of the branch circuits protected. Only the lift motors have GFCI protection.

Floating dock have a higher potential for risk since the dock "could be" isolated from ground since the floats are non conductive and the hinge points could be non conductive or the fact that most are anchored at the shore with a large poured foundation that is qualified as and insulator.


LC

Feel free to share the location so I can plan to never visit. Not had many fatalities??? That's horrendous.

Well you typically dont have just injuries when you combine electricity and water. Its a very serious issue and many people just fluff it off. Kinda one of those whats a life really worth, you can have a 40,000 dollar boat dock filled with 100,000 grand worth of water toys and your too cheep to hire a qualified electrician to wire it, instead you get the guys from lowes that says "i can do anything, diddy learned me how"
If your unsure, have it checked out.

I bet you a hundo that every person on here has stepped foot on a dock and it wasnt up to par, a visual observation wont tell you sh*t unless you can see electrons shedding to ground.

Most of the inland reservoirs lay outside of an inspection boundry, so the the homeowner has got to rely on who does the work.

I'm guessing a lot of docks electrical systems are just grand fathered in today's code. I agree thought, millions of dollars tied up at one time invest the money and bring it up to code. Everyone should do there part to be safe, never swim near docks that have shore power in the water, and inspect your shore power cables for cracks and rub warn areas, keep them out of the water as much as you can. I'd hate to be the one in fault.

Ours at PIB public docks are in the air, not a big fan of that but least there visible.

Let me share my experience. I was at my brother in laws home swimming off his dock next to the floating boat lift. I grabbed the rubber hose on the lift and got stuck to it with electricity running threw my whole body. My hand was stuck as in I couldn't let go. I was screaming for help and punching my hand with the other to try and break free. I was finally able to kick my self off. It turned out that the lift was never grounded!!!!!!!

After some deaths at LOTO due to stray current, somebody developed this sensor. I do not know much about it, other than many people are adding them.

http://docklifeguard.com/

Houseboats, or any boat with a generator for that matter, can also put stray current into the water.

If you feel a "tingle", swim away!

Thanks for posting. This is a great idea.

We've had a couple of fatalities in our area over the years. Typically people around here install their own lifts and do their own boat house wiring without paying much attention to code. I remember me and dad discussing this when we built our latest boat house but I need to take another look at it. Will check out the dock lifeguard thing too.

Most deaths arent from electricusion, but from drowning. Grab a hot part and you are paralized, unable to move. Then drown.

Make sure your boat has a galvonic isolator so a short doesnt put voltage back into your ground wire. Shorepower doesnt have GFCI protection. The courtesy outlets do/ should. Another reason why swimming around docks should be avoided. Not for traffic, but fir this very reason. Also why the metal automotive chargers should not be used on your boat in the water. Marine chargers are not just overpriced automotive chargers!