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Dock water and power

WaterH

WaterH

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
602
Messages
3,134
Loc
North Florida
So I need to run power and water out to the end of my dock. My immediate plan is to put a plastic junction box at each end and run a cable box to box. Later I can worry about going form the box to the pole and box to some kind of marine socket for boats to plug into. I plan the same with water. Run a single tube with a fitting on each end.

On the waterline, from what research I’ve done, I need black poly tube. I was going to run Pex, but I guess it’s no good for UV. The fancy decking I bought lets a lot of light through. I need to get stainless hangers and screws. I will probably install a hose spicket on the dock end right away. On the beach end, I may just run garden hose to it temporarily.

I’m less sure about what I want for the electrical part. It appears that marine plugs are only 110 volt. So do I need or want to run 220 out there? From what I found, I want 50 apps of 110 power for a big boat. 30 amps might be enough. I’m sort of thinking I want 60 amps, so I can have two 30 amp sockets. Would it be smart to run two alternate 30 amp lines that could be wired to get 220? Not sure what kind of cable. Don’t really feel like running in conduit, but not sure what would be proper. I assume they make a cable that can be run outdoors in salt environments.

The dock is 230’ long from the beach. It is also going to be around that same distance to get to the pole or well pump.

Any comments or suggestions?
 
Just drop the power cord into the water and run the lights and outlet wire into the water. This will save you on copper. Reset the breaker when it trips. This is just your neighbors dock trying to steal your power until you get your connection right. :beer:

Wouldn't 1" pvc work for both?
 
Salt water right?

Stick a bare hot in the water, salt water is conductive, run the neutral through the metal dock frame. That'll save you a ton in wiring. All kinds of ancillary benefits too. Instant trespass deterrent. You'll get in great shape too, really working your core, jumping from boat to dock and back. Run a lead from the dock frame that you can drop in the water, all kinds of fish will just float to the surface, if you do it right, they may not even need cooked afterward.
 
bad zuki said:
Just drop the power cord into the water and run the lights and outlet wire into the water. This will save you on copper. Reset the breaker when it trips. This is just your neighbors dock trying to steal your power until you get your connection right. :beer:

Wouldn't 1" pvc work for both?
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Screenshot 2024-10-01 123808.jpg
 
I'm an electrician and I wouldn't fuck with it. :laughing:



There's a whole section of codes surrounding boats and houseboats. Generally it's something you'll find a few guys specialize in and most know nothing.

Since you're on the coast I'd find the local guy that is primarily doing boat power and pay what he asks. This also puts him on the hook for inspections and insurance issues.
 
WaterH said:
I’m less sure about what I want for the electrical part. It appears that marine plugs are only 110 volt. So do I need or want to run 220 out there? From what I found, I want 50 apps of 110 power for a big boat. 30 amps might be enough. I’m sort of thinking I want 60 amps, so I can have two 30 amp sockets. Would it be smart to run two alternate 30 amp lines that could be wired to get 220? Not sure what kind of cable. Don’t really feel like running in conduit, but not sure what would be proper. I assume they make a cable that can be run outdoors in salt environments.

The dock is 230’ long from the beach. It is also going to be around that same distance to get to the pole or well pump.

Any comments or suggestions?
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Small boat 110 probably but when I was captaining yachts around the east coast and the Caribbean most all shore power was 220, usually 50A sometimes 2 x 30 A. The pedestals would have 110 outlets.

So perhaps check what the shore power requirements are for the potential boats you are wanting to purchase. Some small powerboat with a cuddy cabin I am sure 110 will be fine. Anything bigger than about 30' and I would be making sure of the requirements. Several of the larger yachts I captained drew a lot more than 220/50A service. I left that to the engineer on board, but some of our systems could only be powered by our generators at some of the smaller islands, 3 phase shore power was not common until at least post Andrew.

This is why most yachts have those unique and expensive plugs on the shorepower cords, to keep the idiots safe.

Obviously some of the posts are in jest, but stray current is no joke. It may give you tingles if weak enough, or worse if stronger, but the smallest current that you won't even feel will eat those expensive props or drives if your sacrificial anodes are not recently serviced.

This is one task I would at least consult with an experienced marine sparky
 
You need a marine/dock electrician. Don't fuck with this job yourself. Too many ways to screw it up and if done incorrectly people can get hurt. What will the power be for? How big of boats do you expect to dock here and for how long? 30amp will cover a lot of boats as long as they aren't picky, 50amp if they want to run fridge and a/c at the same time. Also most boats needing shore power will have a generator perfectly capable of handling an overnight stay. So you need to be asking yourself the questions I posed.
 
KarlVP said:
While you're at it, why not a shitter pump with a macerator? Charge $30-$40 a head to dump their tanks?
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redneckengineered said:
You need a marine/dock electrician. Don't fuck with this job yourself. Too many ways to screw it up and if done incorrectly people can get hurt. What will the power be for? How big of boats do you expect to dock here and for how long? 30amp will cover a lot of boats as long as they aren't picky, 50amp if they want to run fridge and a/c at the same time. Also most boats needing shore power will have a generator perfectly capable of handling an overnight stay. So you need to be asking yourself the questions I posed.
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This is not a commercial affair. It’s only for my boat(s). Maybe I would let a friend use it occasionally. Not sure about your numbers. The fridge and AC doesn’t use 50 amps on my house. The yachts I’ve looked at don’t have a generator capable of 50 amps and they can run everything on the boat.

You guys remind me of the Chilton manuals for my vehicles. Every time I look in them for help on a job, it says “this is a job for professionals and not suitable for the home machinic.” So I put the book away and go do the job and it turns out fine.

Muckin_Slusher said:
Does Harbor Freight still sell these?

Untitled2225.jpg
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There are guys on the yacht forum that recommend a garden hose. They said they just replace it every 5 years.
 
WaterH said:
This is not a commercial affair. It’s only for my boat(s). Maybe I would let a friend use it occasionally. Not sure about your numbers. The fridge and AC doesn’t use 50 amps on my house. The yachts I’ve looked at don’t have a generator capable of 50 amps and they can run everything on the boat.

You guys remind me of the Chilton manuals for my vehicles. Every time I look in them for help on a job, it says “this is a job for professionals and not suitable for the home machinic.” So I put the book away and go do the job and it turns out fine.



There are guys on the yacht forum that recommend a garden hose. They said they just replace it every 5 years.
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Well then send an extension cord and a hose and call it good :confused:
 
WaterH said:
“this is a job for professionals and not suitable for the home machinic.”
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Is that job leaving you and your friends fried? Did you attempt any research before asking the question? You made it pretty obvious that you don't want to do the job correctly, so what is the point of responding to this post we the right answer?
 
M92PV4U said:
Is that job leaving you and your friends fried? Did you attempt any research before asking the question? You made it pretty obvious that you don't want to do the job correctly, so what is the point of responding to this post we the right answer?
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Ya instead of asking and going against sound advice I vote next time he just do it his own way then post and take the criticism.

Now you got me wondering about chickens and shit :lmao:
 
Lot different setup if you just need to plug in a battery tender for your John boat or power a battleship.

With 450+ ft of wire, voltage drop is going to be the main issue.

For water, if it's that far, not going to have great output with a garden hose.
 
XtremeJ said:
Obviously some of the posts are in jest, but stray current is no joke.
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Not just to people. I saw pics years ago of a steel sailboat that had been plugged into shore power with some grounding issue somewhere in the combo. - it cooked all the zincs off the hull & ate a hole in the steel before they caught it :lmao:
 
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