| You have a boat that has two 30 amp shore power | | | | go with little effort. You keep them put away until you |
| cables going to it. That is such a pain. They never look | | | | need them. The cables you use at your dock should |
| cool. They get tangled up and they become a tripping, | | | | have the excess on the dock, not on the boat. That |
| thus safety, issue. When you look at your panel, you | | | | way when you leave the boat you have a quick |
| see why you need two. Half usually runs the House | | | | disconnect and connect and not having to drag |
| and maybe an air conditioner. The other is usually the | | | | excess lines off of the boat. |
| main power source for the remaining A/C units, if not | | | | But right there is the rub. Most of us are used to the |
| all the A/C units and pump. It may also run a water | | | | concept of putting the splitter on the dock at the |
| heater,. But why does it have to look like there are a | | | | Pedestal running the two 30amp lines down the dock. |
| bunch of extension cords laid out across the back of | | | | No matter how hard you try, it looks sloppy and also |
| your boat and across the dock? I'm talking about a | | | | becomes a hazard and maintenance problem. With the |
| boat that does not have a Cable Master or other | | | | splitter there, you have to connect the cables to the |
| mechanical retrieval system. I'm talking about the old | | | | end and they usually end up laying on the ground. I |
| fashioned, hand to hand way of operating your power | | | | know that they have the connectors to lock them |
| cords. I see people try to hide them, organize them, | | | | together but believe me, it really does not make it |
| use tie wraps, bungee cords, Velcro and many other | | | | water tight. So now you could have open connections |
| disguises and organizers. | | | | laying on a wet dock, grass, pool of water and you, |
| How it looks on your dock can depend on your setup. | | | | your family, friends, dogs or cats are possibly going to |
| When you are at your home dock, you usually have | | | | walk into an electrically energized wet environment. |
| the ability to set it up the way you want. You probably | | | | How about this. Change the splitter from the dock to |
| have a pedestal with two 30 amp connections or that | | | | the boat and run a single 50amp cable from the |
| pedestal will have a single 50 connection and you have | | | | pedestal to the boat. Looks cleaner. You are plugged |
| a splitter breaking down that 50 amp male into two 30 | | | | directly into the socket that is at a safe height. Less |
| amp females. Either way, you have two cables running | | | | Tripability so it is safer and now you only have one line |
| down the dock, across to your boat and connected. In | | | | to wind up. In addition, when you travel, most docks will |
| some cases, you don't have a choice because the | | | | not have two 30 amp connections so you have to |
| boat connections are either outside or far apart. But, let | | | | drag the splitter up on the dock and put it all together. |
| say you have a boat that the two 30amp boat | | | | A single 50 amp at a rental dock is usually cheaper |
| connections are inside a cabinet as is with most Sea | | | | then two 30 amps anyway. This way, you pull one |
| Rays. With them, you have an access port that the | | | | cable out of the boat to the dock and connect it. It is |
| cables run through and connect to the inlets that are | | | | cleaner, safer and quicker. |
| right next to each other. | | | | So consider this when you are looking at your |
| Lets just talk about placement. I always recommend | | | | electrical requirements and how you connect to the |
| that you have a second set of cables for travel. That | | | | shore power. I think you will find it the way to go. |
| way, your dock is always set up for you to come and | | | | |