Mermaid
Senior Member
I will never understand why a lot of marinas poo-poo liveaboards. There are so many who do not allow liveaboards. I have to say...we are your first set of security eyes. We are your first responders. Often, we are your preventative action.
Thursday night, as I was about to go to bed, when I turned on both switches in my stateroom (in every room, one set is DC and one set is AC). Because I live on my boat and know her intimately, I immediately noted that the DC set was just "off" a hair in brightness. THAT concerned me. It was late, so I went to the pilothouse and confirmed with the gauges that I was still "in the green" on the house bank, so being the hour it was, I turned off the breaker to the battery charger and went to bed.
The next morning, I had plans with friends to go lobstering. I turned the breaker on and took a look at the remote panel on the pilothouse dash and noticed the "lights" weren't right. I went into the genny room and noticed the green lights were not "on" on the charger itself. I assumed the fairly new charger had taken a crap. Nothing I could do about it at that time, so I turned off everything 32-volt, with the exception of the bilge pumps. I didn't have time to mess with it, and since it was a Canadian product, I knew I couldn't just run out and buy a new one that day. I turned the breaker back off.
Next day, I got up bright and early and started my troubleshooting. I turned on the battery charger breaker (it's a 220v, 32 volt charger) and the remote panel at the pilothouse dash began burning. Shut it all down. Went back into the genny room and disconnected the wires that went to the remote panel. Everything went back to normal, and now, I have 32-volt DC power without the smoke and potential fire.
I have to wonder what would have happened had I not been here, not been even so familiar with my boat to notice the ever so slightest bit of dimness to know something was wrong. Every boat owner leaves the battery charger on, right? I mean...who turns off the life line to your bilge pumps when you're away? I wonder if being a liveaboard may have stopped a marina fire from starting. I'm glad I don't have to wonder the outcome today. My marina, Dinner Key Marina, in Miami, welcomes liveaboards, as all marina should, and I am grateful for being able to live HERE.
I pay a surcharge to be a liveaboard. It should really be the other way around, but I don't care. I am the first to report to management of a water break, leak in the pump out vacuum system, or criminal activity. And they are very apprciative. It's a City Marina, so it's not like they have the ability to give liveaboards a discount. At the same time, when I see a water fountain coming up on the pier, I make surer my tanks are topped off because I know water is about to be shut down for repairs. I'm also the boat known to people having been caught in a row boat between me any my neighbor, as being locked and loaded. You show up banging against my boat at 2AM...and that will get a cap in your ass. Funny, how they NEVER expect that as they start rowing backwards as fast as they can with full apologies. LOL
Thursday night, as I was about to go to bed, when I turned on both switches in my stateroom (in every room, one set is DC and one set is AC). Because I live on my boat and know her intimately, I immediately noted that the DC set was just "off" a hair in brightness. THAT concerned me. It was late, so I went to the pilothouse and confirmed with the gauges that I was still "in the green" on the house bank, so being the hour it was, I turned off the breaker to the battery charger and went to bed.
The next morning, I had plans with friends to go lobstering. I turned the breaker on and took a look at the remote panel on the pilothouse dash and noticed the "lights" weren't right. I went into the genny room and noticed the green lights were not "on" on the charger itself. I assumed the fairly new charger had taken a crap. Nothing I could do about it at that time, so I turned off everything 32-volt, with the exception of the bilge pumps. I didn't have time to mess with it, and since it was a Canadian product, I knew I couldn't just run out and buy a new one that day. I turned the breaker back off.
Next day, I got up bright and early and started my troubleshooting. I turned on the battery charger breaker (it's a 220v, 32 volt charger) and the remote panel at the pilothouse dash began burning. Shut it all down. Went back into the genny room and disconnected the wires that went to the remote panel. Everything went back to normal, and now, I have 32-volt DC power without the smoke and potential fire.
I have to wonder what would have happened had I not been here, not been even so familiar with my boat to notice the ever so slightest bit of dimness to know something was wrong. Every boat owner leaves the battery charger on, right? I mean...who turns off the life line to your bilge pumps when you're away? I wonder if being a liveaboard may have stopped a marina fire from starting. I'm glad I don't have to wonder the outcome today. My marina, Dinner Key Marina, in Miami, welcomes liveaboards, as all marina should, and I am grateful for being able to live HERE.
I pay a surcharge to be a liveaboard. It should really be the other way around, but I don't care. I am the first to report to management of a water break, leak in the pump out vacuum system, or criminal activity. And they are very apprciative. It's a City Marina, so it's not like they have the ability to give liveaboards a discount. At the same time, when I see a water fountain coming up on the pier, I make surer my tanks are topped off because I know water is about to be shut down for repairs. I'm also the boat known to people having been caught in a row boat between me any my neighbor, as being locked and loaded. You show up banging against my boat at 2AM...and that will get a cap in your ass. Funny, how they NEVER expect that as they start rowing backwards as fast as they can with full apologies. LOL