She's electric

Not the most exciting post to start the new year with but here we go! Now I know you already know that I'm a clueless owner but I have to say I am totally, completely, 100% clueless when it comes to electrics... enter my dad who has all the knowledge and has proofread this post to make sure I sound like I know what I'm talking about (thanks dad!)

As you may have guessed having electricity on the boat is a pretty important aspect, so how do you get electrics on a boat, and what happens when you're out on the broads? Let's start with when the boat is moored up.

Mains Shore Power

When moored up at the marina the boat is hooked up to mains power using a 3-pin plug at either end. These plugs are IP44 rated which gives it protection from water spray. Quick side note to mention that for obvious reasons you need to be careful when hooking these up and that in heavy rain they can let water in which can trip the electrics.

For me, most of the boat runs off mains electricity and I can run anything up to 10 Amps at the Marina. Now, if you're anything like me then you probably wouldn't think much about how many amps your everyday household items use, start living on a boat and you will.

Things like kettles, fan heaters, and hair dryers can each use up to 13 Amps! Plug them in all at the same time when you have a limit of 10 Amps and you guessed it, the power trips. I can't tell you how many times I've tripped the electrics because I've forgotten what I've got plugged in and then had to do the walk of shame to flip the switch back on again. If you're thinking about living on a boat, a caravan or you're just generally interested to learn about what household item uses what, then this handy guide is fantastic.

Battery power

So what happens when you're not moored up to mains power? Batteries! I've had to have this explained to me multiple times by my dad as my brain has difficulty processing it.

Under my sofa, there are a whole host of goodies, one of these goodies is a box containing 4 batteries (see the image either below or next to this)

As far as we can tell, 3 out of the 4 batteries are charged up from the mains shore plug-in via the battery charger. These produce 12V DC (direct current) which powers all of the lights on the boat as well as the pumps. There is also an inverter under the sofa which takes the 12V DC and converts it to 240V AC (alternating current) which powers a little section at the front of the boat where my TV is. Simple right?!

The 4th battery, we think (boat people please correct us if we're wrong), is like a car battery and is used to start the engine, this battery is charged up only by the engine's alternator. This is why it's important to run the engine at least once a month for roughly 30 minutes to keep this battery topped up.

Protection of the electrics

It’s worth mentioning that all of the electrics are protected by fuses, for me, these are located under the dashboard. I have a multi meter on the boat to check fuses as well as voltage, which is definitely worth investing in. My boat also has a trip switch located at the stern (the back) of the boat. It’s also worth mentioning that for about 4 months I didn’t know this was here and on one frosty morning had a panic when the power tripped & I couldn’t get it back on again. This ended up with me calling my dad at a ridiculous time in the morning for his assistance (sorry dad!)

I think that covers pretty much everything with regards to electrics on the boat so I'll leave you with a couple of useful equations my dad sent me: P (watts) = V (volts) x I (amps), V = I x R (ohms), or I = V/R

Now, I probably should have chosen something cool like AC/DC for my music recommendation but I'm going to go with Oasis - She's Electric. Next week I might take you through the process of redecorating one of the rooms on the boat.