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Docks and Swimming

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9089 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/08/2012 : 12:15:48

The beginning of a new BoatUS article:
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Seaworthy - Electric Shock Drowning
Conscientious parents, who would never image letting their children go boating without a life vest or ride in a car without securing their seat belts, often have no qualms about letting them jump off of a dock into fresh water. What these parents don't realize is that 120-volt AC electricity that finds its way into the water from faulty wiring on the dock or a boat will be fatal to anyone in the water. In a one-week period this past July, there were four children and one young adult who were killed in separate electric shock drowning (ESD) incidents at docks on freshwater lakes.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
The article goes on with the grizzly details. Many drownings in the past are now suspected to be due to this problem--it leaves no obvious signs of cause, other than drowning.

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage before going over to the Dark Side (2007-2025); now boatless for the first time since 1970 (on a Sunfish).

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 08/08/2012 : 15:20:12

Growing up, I spent summers at the family cottage on an island in the St Clair river where swimming off the docks was, and still is, a popular activity. More than a few docks were equipped with diving boards and slides. Some people even bathed everyday off the docks to prevent overloading their septic systems.

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 08/08/2012 : 17:05:41

And all was well and good until shorepower entered the picture. A small wiring mistake can come with a very big price.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 08/08/2012 : 17:26:12

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Dave5041
 And all was well and good until shorepower entered the picture.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Cute...Actually, shorepower entered the picture a very loooong time ago.

Edited by - dlucier on 08/08/2012 17:26:56

putzmeister
Navigator

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100 Posts

Response Posted - 08/08/2012 : 17:34:09

And other places, things:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7379271n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9089 Posts

Response Posted - 08/08/2012 : 21:15:57

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by dlucier
 Actually, shorepower entered the picture a very loooong time ago.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">...which is part of the problem--old wiring systems. Another part is the many types of electrical faults in boats that allow shore power to enter the water. In salt water, it dissipates rapidly in all directions. In fresh water, it looks for a better conductor, which is YOU (since you're mostly salt water).

Ya, Don--cute. I'm happy you had such a blissful experience--maybe you can comfort the people who lost their children last month.

I have long believed every marina should be professionally tested for stray current on an annual basis--it takes almost nothing to do. (We test at my condo.) Boaters will benefit from avoidance of severe electrolysis. Swimmers, boat bottom cleaners, people who fall off the dock or boat, etc., will benefit in... ummmm... other ways.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 08/08/2012 21:17:12

glivs
Admiral

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USA
836 Posts

Response Posted - 08/09/2012 : 04:24:19

What caught my eye is how installation of GFCI fixtures has essentially eliminated the issue in Europe. Appears to be a no-brainer...little cost and huge benefit, yet the U.S. industry has not adopted this ????

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 08/09/2012 : 05:36:38

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Stinkpotter
 Ya, Don--cute. I'm happy you had such a blissful experience--maybe you can comfort the people who lost their children last month.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Dave,

My "Cute" comment wasn't directed at you for bringing the topic to light or the deaths that occurred, but rather was in response to Dave's "And all was well and good" after my post. If you feel it was directed at you, then I apologize.

Edited by - dlucier on 08/09/2012 05:51:07

DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts

Response Posted - 08/09/2012 : 05:53:45

It would be virtually impossible to keep up with the millions of docks that have electric. If we implement the GFCI fixtures now it'll be 60 years before all the old stuff is gone. A personal tester would do the trick.

Edited by - on

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9089 Posts

Response Posted - 08/09/2012 : 07:26:56

Funny how safety apparently matters so much more in Europe. We have about a dozen marinas here in Mystic, and plenty of licensed electricians who can test them in the short time it takes. Unfortunately, because boats are often the source of the problem, the evidence may be transient.

Don: I think I was reacting more to what I took as a repudiation of the problem in your first reply. In retrospect, I doubt that's what you meant. In fresh water, the danger is in fairly close proximity to the fault--fresh water is a poor conductor, which paradoxically is also the cause of the danger. Private docks away from marinas and with no shore power are much more likely to be safe. Marinas, on the other hand, should forcefully ban swimming. (But they can't ban falling off a boat.)

By comparison, my condo association is aware of a very low voltage in the salt water around our dock. We have had it tested extensively, and it isn't from our shore power or even our buildings--it's apparently from the power company, possibly from hundreds of yards ashore (180 Hz, not 60). It's proving very hard to find, but salt water makes it both more wide-spread and less dangerous to creatures including ourselves.

Edited by - Stinkpotter on 08/09/2012 07:28:43

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 08/09/2012 : 08:58:26

So, how do you test for stray voltage? Is it as simple as a VOM w/ 1 probe in the water and the other to ground?

Edited by - jerlim on 08/09/2012 08:59:14

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5909 Posts

Response Posted - 08/09/2012 : 08:58:27

I haven't studied every state's laws, but I believe GFCI's are now required by all or most building codes. But, existing electrical systems are not usually required to be upgraded to meet new standards as they evolve. If, however, the existing system is substantially modified, then such upgrades might be required.

All the docks at my marina are currently being rebuilt, and all new shore power electrical systems are being installed from scratch, and all will be protected by GFCI's, and I am told Maryland building codes require it.

I'm not an expert on the mechanical aspects of electrical installations, but it wouldn't seem to be too difficult or prohibitively expensive to retrofit a marina with GFCIs. I would hope that many would consider it a reasonable expense to do so voluntarily, in order to reduce potential liability. I would hope, too, that insurance companies would induce marinas to do so by offering reductions in their premiums or similar incentives for doing so. It's nice to know that, in the future, when a storm surge causes the water level to rise above the electrical outlets, the system will automatically shut down.

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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9089 Posts

Response Posted - 08/10/2012 : 06:17:57

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by jerlim
 So, how do you test for stray voltage? Is it as simple as a VOM w/ 1 probe in the water and the other to ground?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">I think that's it--at intervals all around the dock.

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