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Marina eWof requirements


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For electric vehicles they basically use the caravan approach unless you want a fast charger (high capacity).  Interesting that they can be left unattended.

 

Although they will have all sorts of smarts built into the car. 

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Here: Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010 - http://legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2010/0036/latest/whole.html#DLM2763782, Section 60 (1):

But reg 3 states that nothing in the rules applies to ships, except to pleasure vessels which have a connectable installation.

 

Connectable installation is defined in s7 as one which is designed or intended for or capable of connection to an external power supply that operates at a nominal voltage between 90V and 250V AC.

 

How does this apply to a boat that only has a 12v system?

 

The argument that seems to be behind the present push enforced is that the electrical cord, and 12v charger is a part of the connectable installation.

 

But with this interpretation, every boat is "capable of connection" to an external power supply - whether it is actually ever connected or not - arguably whether is even has an electrical system (it has conductive parts that could be connected to an external power supply.

 

I can't believe that this was the intention. The clear issue that the rules are intended to cover is safe AC power distribution systems.

 

Under the OIA we can request background information and advice Worksafe have on this interpretation. If they have made an unsupported or incorrect decision it can and should be challenged through a judicial review process.

 

The cost of eWofs over all of the boats concerned is massive - it's not enough for the marinas to say that this is our problem. They have the resources (through the large fees they collect) to challenge this.

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How does this apply to a boat that only has a 12v system?

 

It doesn't.

 

A cord and a charger may be connectable, but they're not "installed" so by themselves they wouldn't covered (a screwdriver is also "connectable", but again, not covered!).

 

OIA seems a bit of an overreaction at the moment. You could just have a chat with Peter Morfee. Perhaps you could spell out here what part of the standard you think is incorrect.

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Wasn't surprised that this has surfaced again but disappointing is what comes to mind along with the attitude of the marina association, especially within the Auckland area.

 

Have had several dealings with marina's, boat owners, and inspectors regarding this topic including communicating with Brian Leyland also mentioned.  Several marina's and inspectors were very keen to get a working group together to discuss and come up with a system that would suit all marina's within NZ and above all be safe. But not from Auckland it seems.

 

I'm sure we can remember one marina in particular and inspector in Ak insisted that it was a requirement that all boats with a temporary lead such as the Ebox had to have an EWOF.  How wrong were they and this is stated in the letter from P Morfee.  And remember the arguments about a 16A-10A lead also mentioned in this letter.

 

A marina can require a client (boat) to meet certain requirements and this is good but having an EWOF will not solve this problem.  Anyone can still buy some cheap crap appliance and leave it unattended causing a fire.  Simple and a fact about boaties.

 

Previous comments on here "started burning through anodes at an alarming rate" are not surprising and i would suggest that it won't be long before we have a "hot marina" if not already.  This will effect boats not only connected to the grid!  When looking at this several year ago one i contacted with a lot of experience with marine wiring replied -

 

"One concern with people being forced into having a permanent installation on their boat, is that they will endeavour to do so as cheaply as possible and may satisfy the electrical regulations, but without proper knowledge of galvanic corrosion and galvanic isolators, run the very real risk of rapid deterioration of hull, skin fittings, prop shafts etc. This can happen to any boat with any metal in contact with the water. Direct connection with the shore earth provides a parallel path for any currents generated anywhere in the shore earthing system to exit to earth through the vessels vulnerable metalwork.   The user may not be electrocuted but that wouldn’t count for much if he drowns when his boat sinks."

 

So in summary i would recommend caution to anyone recommending all metal parts need to be bonded to the boat's earth.

I also understand and can appreciate the problems that can occur within marinas, what i don't understand is where they are getting there information from.

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Wasn't surprised that this has surfaced again but disappointing is what comes to mind along with the attitude of the marina association, especially within the Auckland area.

 

Have had several dealings with marina's, boat owners, and inspectors regarding this topic including communicating with Brian Leyland also mentioned.  Several marina's and inspectors were very keen to get a working group together to discuss and come up with a system that would suit all marina's within NZ and above all be safe. But not from Auckland it seems.

 

I'm sure we can remember one marina in particular and inspector in Ak insisted that it was a requirement that all boats with a temporary lead such as the Ebox had to have an EWOF.  How wrong were they and this is stated in the letter from P Morfee.  And remember the arguments about a 16A-10A lead also mentioned in this letter.

 

A marina can require a client (boat) to meet certain requirements and this is good but having an EWOF will not solve this problem.  Anyone can still buy some cheap crap appliance and leave it unattended causing a fire.  Simple and a fact about boaties.

 

Previous comments on here "started burning through anodes at an alarming rate" are not surprising and i would suggest that it won't be long before we have a "hot marina" if not already.  This will effect boats not only connected to the grid!  When looking at this several year ago one i contacted with a lot of experience with marine wiring replied -

 

"One concern with people being forced into having a permanent installation on their boat, is that they will endeavour to do so as cheaply as possible and may satisfy the electrical regulations, but without proper knowledge of galvanic corrosion and galvanic isolators, run the very real risk of rapid deterioration of hull, skin fittings, prop shafts etc. This can happen to any boat with any metal in contact with the water. Direct connection with the shore earth provides a parallel path for any currents generated anywhere in the shore earthing system to exit to earth through the vessels vulnerable metalwork.   The user may not be electrocuted but that wouldn’t count for much if he drowns when his boat sinks."

 

So in summary i would recommend caution to anyone recommending all metal parts need to be bonded to the boat's earth.

I also understand and can appreciate the problems that can occur within marinas, what i don't understand is where they are getting there information from.

:thumbup:  :thumbup:  :thumbup:  Nice one Otto. You covered it exactly as I see it.

My main concern with bringing my boat up to NZS3004.2 to get an Ewof is that it requires all metal parts to be bonded to an external plate in the water and also to the Marina Earth. I don't want to do that, and in fact, I would rather be 100% isolated from the water, as far as practical. Quite apart from the time and expense required to do this, as soon as I bond everything to earth, and another boat has earth leakage that is below 30mA, (So the RCD stays on) my boat is raised to whatever voltage they have leaked into the marina earth. That means all my exposed metal items that are bonded to earth now sits at an unknown potential related to earth. That will fizz everything away like nothing else. Unless the Marina is going to fit Earth leakage monitoring gear, and be proactive about tracking the faulty boat down ($$$$) then all we are going to get is trouble. Like you point out, everyone will try to do this at absolute minimum cost, or themselves, resulting in some well dodgy installations.. Stock up on anodes!!

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Well all this nonsense coupled with the compliance around hull cleanliness is certainly pouring ice cold water on my desire to own a keeler. It all seems too hard.....

 

Feeling quietly relieved at now having the boat on a trailer.  Can plug the battery charger in at home without an issue.

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We will be moving in to Hobsonville for a brief period shortly.  They require an EWOF - "NON-NEGOTIABLE" in their charming guide.  I don't have a problem with a desire for safety, BUT - I don't think I require an EWOF.

 

My boat is all 12V, with a portable battery charger for marina life.  Can anyone advise for certain if an EWOF is required (my reading of the applicable standards, those that are accessible anyway, says that 12V is not relevant to those standards)?

 

Can anyone recommend a sensible EWOF inspector in Auckland, conversant with boats?  Is there one?

 

What a world class s%$t fight this stuff is.  How to remove the "pleasure" from boating.

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Yep, all the marinas are now requiring ewofs - mostly on advice from the Marina Operators Assn I believe.

 

If you don't have a fitted AC system, you have to install one! (And a bonding system etc etc) 

 

The only other option is to not connect, and add solar to charge the batts...this is likely the cheapest solution.

 

More bureaucratic nonsense IMO. I tried to find a single incidence of a boat using a ebox  and certified lead causing a fire (or any issues). I could not find a single case.

 

I'm in the same situation - but here in the Gulf Harbour village marina, there is a 6 month window to allow people to have their boats updated.

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We will be moving in to Hobsonville for a brief period shortly.  They require an EWOF - "NON-NEGOTIABLE" in their charming guide.  I don't have a problem with a desire for safety, BUT - I don't think I require an EWOF.

 

My boat is all 12V, with a portable battery charger for marina life.  Can anyone advise for certain if an EWOF is required (my reading of the applicable standards, those that are accessible anyway, says that 12V is not relevant to those standards)?

 

Can anyone recommend a sensible EWOF inspector in Auckland, conversant with boats?  Is there one?

 

What a world class s%$t fight this stuff is.  How to remove the "pleasure" from boating.

Yes it's a joke.

Even the relevant NZ standard does not require it, and from talks I have had with electrical service providers, the inspectors are turning a blind eye to many of the requirements on the checklist that comes with the standard. If this is the case, why bother? Also, as part of the standard you are required to bond your boat (exposed metal parts and an underwater grounding plate) to the marina Earth. With this in mind, do the Marinas have built in earth monitoring equipment? If the boat next door is sinking a small current into its earth, and therefore the marina earth, and therefore my earth, does the Marina know? Before you ask about RCDs, they are set to go off when a fault current threshold is reached. Generally 40mA. They do not protect your underwater metal appendages!! So if your earthed yacht is connected to the marina and sitting at say 24V, what do you think this will do to the parts immersed in seawater??

The marinas even have the arrogance to put at the bottom of the flier advising that we need an eWOF that "We know nothing about electrical installations so will not enter into technical arguments regarding eWOFs" or something along those lines. The arrogance is amazing..

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If you are going to add an AC system, or already have one, it should (but does not have to!!) include a galvanic isolator. This protects/isolates not only your boat from a fault aboard, but also from the doc or another boat...

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As above, you won't need more than one solar panel to keep the batteries up while sitting in the marina - done.

This!

 

I've got an auto bilge pump and autohelm on the Dragon and a 30watt panel that cost a couple of a hundred dollars is keeping it full to the brim with sparky things

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Thanks all, we will be living on the boat so I will have the battery charger connected.

 

I have made an appointment with Electra-Safe at $105 + GST per hour, will let you know what happens.

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Thanks all, we will be living on the boat so I will have the battery charger connected.

 

I have made an appointment with Electra-Safe at $105 + GST per hour, will let you know what happens.

Good luck. I watch with interest to see what they recommend!

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