When working on a boat with 120 volt or 240 volt AC wiring, what is a good way to get killed?
Even if you disconnect all the shorepower plugs to the boat you can still be killed the instant you start working on the AC wiring… all you need is to have the batteries connnected to the inverter, and leave the inverter on! Inverters produce the same power that is supplied by dock shorepower plugs, and it can kill you just as quickly. Many inverters are wired directly from the batteries, and so turning off the battery main switch will not disconnect them. Often inverters are mounted in hard-to-find places and connected only to one adjacent wall plug (often at the nav station so it can be used to charge a laptop computer). Many boat owners may not be aware they even have an inverter because many inverters have a built-in battery charger… and the owner may not be aware of the inverter function because they’ve only used it for a battery charger. Before working on boat wiring make sure you’ve identified all DC and AC wiring harnesses, all shorepower plugs (many boats have 2), located
