How much do you shut down when you leave the boat?

[Jim Cate]

When you leave home, do you open the service breaker?

Nope, and I don't turn off the plumbing, either. Yours is an inept analogy which has zero bearing on the discussion.

Besides the electrical fire issue, I agree that the possibility of damage to onboard systems from nearby lightning induced surges is real. In fact, the only lightning damage we've ever had was during a rare marina stay with connected shore power. We had just cleared in from New Caledonia into Bundaberg Port marina, and a small thunderstorm came by. There was a single strike on the nearby big tin shed of the fishery co-op (perhaps 500 meters away). The ensuing surge took out our battery charger, which was the only thing connected.

Jim

[ronstory]

Interesting. Now I'm curious. What normally happens or is the cause of electrical failures? Is it the charger or something different?

Agree that if lightening is the cause that's hard to counter.

[ronstory]

Ok, did some searching around and the biggest culprit in a boat electrical fire appears to be the shore power cable to socket connection in the boat.

I believe we all have seen the those shore power cables with the scorched terminal sockets. I guess it's finally time to by a Smartplug conversion kit.

[Pelagic]

Originally Posted by ronstory

Ok, did some searching around and the biggest culprit in a boat electrical fire appears to be the shore power cable to socket connection in the boat.
.

Without a doubt, the main culprit
Even the Smartplug, which is much better than the twist types, eventually gets brittle in the tropics.

I finally gave up and made a waterproof connector box in the engine room.
I just snake the power cord via the fresh air intake and it takes me about a minute to connect