SUGGESTED ELECTRICAL INSPECTION STANDARD
FOR MARINAS AND YACHT CLUBS
The Yacht Club shall establish and maintain an inspection
program that will ensure that all devices that connect Members’
boats to the Marina’s AC electrical system are in good and
serviceable condition, and that these devices do not present the
risk of fire.
This inspection routine shall apply to all boats that are
connected to the Marina’s AC electrical system, whether in open
or covered moorage, or in boathouses. The inspection shall
include the devices that connect boathouses to the docks, and
the wiring of the boathouses themselves.
Standards to which all boats, boathouses and connection devices
shall comply are those published by the American Boat & Yacht
Council (ABYC) E-11, AC and DC Electrical Systems on Boats;
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70, National
Electric Code; NFPA 302, Fire Protection Standard for Pleasure
and Commercial Motor Craft; and NFPA 303, Fire Protection
Standard for Marinas and Boatyards.
Inspection of vessels and connecting cords shall be conducted by
a qualified Marine Surveyor or Marine Electrician, who shall
possess a Marine Electrician’s Certification from the American
Boat & Yacht Council. Inspection of boathouses shall be
conducted by a Licensed Electrician, or by a member of the local
Fire Department. A written report shall be completed for each
vessel and boathouse inspected, and these reports shall be kept
on file in the Yacht Club office.
Each vessel’s connection devices shall be inspected annually.
Annual inspections shall be carried out between the end of the
cruising season and the beginning of cold weather, when most
boats have returned to their moorings, but before they have
begun to present winter heating loads to the Marina. Any boat
that enters the marina under a new Moorage Agreement during the
winter heating season shall be inspected within 15 days of its
entry into the Marina.
A major reason for this inspection routine is to document the
condition of each boat’s Inlet Receptacle, the device on the
boat’s exterior to which the shore power cord is connected, and
the condition of the mating end of the cord itself. This cordto-boat connection is subject to wear-and-tear damage from the
activity of connecting and disconnecting the cord, and it is
also subject to damage from wet winter weather, and it is a
major source of fire in marinas. If the connection between the
cord and the boat is even slightly damaged, it will create heat
that can eventually result in fire.
The inlet receptacle shall be carefully examined by shining a
bright light into the device and visually inspecting the three
prongs where they protrude from the plastic base of the
receptacle. In some older boats, the plastic base from which
the prongs protrude may be made of dark-colored plastic. This
type of receptacle, even if undamaged, shall be replaced with a
receptacle that has white or light-colored plastic that secures
the prongs, because the lighter colored material will make it
easier to detect heat damage should it occur.
Any sign of darkening or charring at the base of the inlet
prongs shall result in the vessel being immediately disconnected
from the Marina until the damaged receptacle, and its mating
cord end, are replaced. Any such darkening or charring, or any
sign of elevated temperatures at the receptacle or cord end,
shall also signal the need for further inspection. The rear of
the inlet receptacle and the wires which enter it shall be
inspected, and all connections shall be proven tight. Also, the
wires between the receptacle and the vessel’s master circuit
breaker shall be inspected and replaced if necessary, and their
connections to the circuit breakers shall be proven tight.
In addition to the annual inspections, and pursuant to the
Standards mentioned above, the following rules regarding the use
of electrical devices shall be implemented by the Yacht Club and
complied with by all vessel owners in the Marina:

All cord-to-boat connections shall be secured with properly
deployed locking rings to prevent moisture from entering the
connections.

All heat-generating devices shall be plugged directly into
permanently installed receptacles. Extension cords shall not
be used in these applications. Cords for such devices shall
not be tightly coiled or bundled while the devices are
connected.

Reflector-type heat lamp bulbs shall be prohibited.

Devices that hold heat sources and are secured to the vessel
by spring-type clamps shall be prohibited.

Domestic water heaters shall not be left energized when the
vessel is unattended.

Electric heaters that are controlled by thermostats shall be
prohibited in engine and tank spaces aboard gasoline-powered
boats. In the case of engine block heaters, the thermostats
that control the heaters shall be outside the engine and tank
spaces.

Engine block heaters on twin-engine boats shall be connected
in such a way that only one block heater is energized at a
time. This can be accomplished using a “no-freeze” thermostat
in conjunction with timers.

Unprotected light bulbs in machinery and tank spaces shall be
prohibited.

If electric heaters controlled by thermostats are used aboard
vessels with propane systems, valves shall be closed on all
propane storage bottles before those heaters are energized and
the vessel is left unattended.

Thermostatically-controlled electric heaters shall include a
“no-freeze” setting that will turn the heater on just above
freezing temperatures, and this setting shall be used when the
vessel is unattended. Heaters of the dual-wattage type
(normally 800/1500 watts) shall be used on the low wattage
setting when the vessel is unattended. Unattended use of
heaters above 1500 watts shall be prohibited. Only one
thermostatically-controlled space heater shall be used on a
vessel, regardless of the vessel’s size, when the vessel is
unattended.

Heat sources shall be secured so they or the heat they
generate cannot come in contact with any flammable materials
or surfaces. This may include, but may not be limited to,
attaching a forced-air heater to the center of a piece of
plywood or sheet metal that will prevent it from sliding up
against a surface if the vessel is rocked in its moorings;
making sure a heater is not below or near curtains, bedding,
clothing or other flammable materials; making sure that
anything near the heater is secure and cannot tip or fall on
the heater if the vessel is rocked at its moorings.