Glossary

Shore connection

Unit V · Also Shore power, Hook-up

What is Shore connection?

The feed of 230 volts from the grid at the pontoon or pitch into the on-board system — including cable, plug connection, protection and mains monitoring on board.

What matters about Shore connection in practice?

The shore socket is the only part of the system you did not build yourself. Swapped conductors, an interrupted protective earth or a missing protective device are not visible when you plug in — that is what the mains indicator on board is for.

If the cable from the inlet to the shore power unit is longer than three metres, EN ISO 13297 additionally requires a double-pole circuit breaker near the inlet.

What makes a safe shore power connection?

  • A shore power cable with CEE connectors that is fully unrolled.
  • A residual current device on board that trips at a 30 mA difference.
  • Circuit breakers for the circuits on the 230 V side.
  • An indicator that reports reversed conductors at the pontoon socket.

Why is shore power a corrosion issue?

Via the protective earth, the boat is connected to all other boats on the pontoon. Equalising currents then flow between the underwater parts, and anodes dissolve faster. A galvanic isolator or an isolation transformer breaks this path without giving up protection.

What if the pontoon socket keeps tripping?

If the pontoon fuse trips, the total of the loads is usually too high. Do not switch on charger, heater and water heater at the same time, or limit the power. Everything about the setup is on the page shore power on board.

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