sub pnl. for a private home ower boat dock

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dvolsr1

Member
Location
oak ridge tn.
i had finished putting gfci in a garage and the homeowner ask me to look at his pnl. that had been installed somewhere in the 1990s to see if everything was up to code.here is what i found .#1.a 110 v recpt. mounted as first stepped on dock and a shower mounted above it.12/2 uf or nm type underground from main pnl approx.360 ft.to 1st recpt. then exposed cable run under dock to a 2nd recpt.no gfci on either#2.two #2wire red&black with a #2 bare wire used as the gnded.conductor (netural) run in pvc &no egc pulled.In the pnl. is a 50amp 2pole bkr. and a 30amp sp. bkr.both are feeds to twist lock type outlets to pwr. boats elect.pwr. the neturals and gnds. are tied together in pnl. and a #6 bare gnd. runs from shore gnd. rod to mounting post for pnl. but is not tied to pnl. note:the plummer who put the shower in did the electrical work. After researching the 2008 code, before 1999 you did not have to isolate the netural. here is what i plan to do#1isolate netural( bare wire)and id with white tape#2replace each bkr. with a gfci type bkr.#3since there is not a egc i would tie the electrode conductor to pnl.#4 I am disconnecting the feed to the two recpts. and putting a gfci outlet at pnl . even though it may have been legal when installed i feel this change is safer especially when they used a bare wire for a netural and not isolated and around water. any comments
 

mgookin

Senior Member
Location
Fort Myers, FL
I like the GFCI's in the panel before it leaves the main building for the dock. Around here in FL we get several kids killed in a given year from dock wiring, then we go a couple years without any, then it seems to start happening again. It's not the receptacles on the dock, it's the wiring under the dock. The conduit and insulation are subject to wave action, salt water, sunlight, impact from floating debris, etc. and where you are you'll have ice too.
 

cpinetree

Senior Member
Location
SW Florida
Maybe you could put the gfi for the 15a 110v receptacles near the panel, that way all the receptacles will be protected before they reach the dock.

You do not need gfi protection for the boat shore power receptacles.
It may be a good idea, but it could also cause problems if the boat is moored at the dock for an extended time and the breaker has tripped, causing the bilge pumps not to work, no refrigeration, no AC, etc.
The 50amp shore power should be 4 wires, and the 30amp 110v should be 3 wire, using #10's for hot, neutral and ground.

I am not real sure what you are trying to do because everything runs together and you use #1 #2 etc throughout the paragraph then double back on it.:?
 
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