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Have you got a problem you can’t seem to fix? Get help identifying the cause of that frustrating onboard electrical issue. If you plug into shore power at a marina you should have your boat checked for earth leakage current. A silent killer called Electric Shock Drowning (ESD) claims lives every year, particularly at marinas. Sadly, many of the victims are children. This is why swimming is prohibited at most marinas and why many are upgrading their dockside shore power receptacles. You may have already encountered a tripping issue when you connected to one of these on your travels. Here is why?
Electric Shock Drowning results from exposure to electric currents in the water which incapacitate swimmers causing them to drown. The source of this electric current is usually a faulty electric connection on a boat docked at the marina. Almost all ESD deaths occur at freshwater marinas such as those on rivers and lakes. The fault current can be as small as 15 milliamps (by way of comparison it takes 360mA to power a 40W light bulb) and usually does not cause any onboard problems so hence goes unnoticed by the boat owner.
All ‘new’ boats are required to have an Electrical Leakage Circuit Interrupter (ELCI) breaker fitted onboard in the shore power circuit. These are a special GCFI type breaker designed to trip if AC leakage current exceeds a safe threshold. Having an ELCI breaker fitted is likely to become a future regulatory and marina requirement across North America. To install one into an older boat is relatively straightforward, cost effective and should be on every boat owners upgrade list.
Further information on ESD can be found at: