Boating Basics - Electrical Panel Explained

[@Jillygupple]

We just bought a 95 SeaRay 440 and this video was fantastic at explaining the switch panel. It's the best basic explanation video I've seen by far, so thank you so much for posting this! Four years later and you're still educating us boat newbies.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Wonderful, so glad you found it helpful! Lots more like this one on my channel, so I hope you'll get a chance to see a few more insights that I've shared from our Sea Rays. I'll look forward to hearing from you on some of those. Cheers and happy boating 🤓

[@mbsalin]

Great video. Very thorough. I’m new to boating and this was a great intro. Thanks👍

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Glad you like them! I have a few more 'upgrade/repair' videos coming up soon, so I hope you'll get a chance to watch them, as well.

[@TKAATT]

Just bought a 2006 Sundancer 340 and you’re right, basics here are the same. I should’ve recorded this when I picked it up. Awesomely helpful video, thanks!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Glad it helped! Check my 'How I Did It' playlist for lots more videos like this. Cheers, Paul.

[@bobpike6727]

Thanks for sharing fellow boater!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Happy to help, glad you found it useful! If you're interested in seeing more of my boat projects,take a look at How I Did It - Boat Repairs & Upgrades: kzbin.info/aero/PLKhjT5kr2l2GpE-r5PjPvMtaRygCEb_si

[@jamessteele7097]

I've owned a cruiser for almost 10 years, and just upgraded to a newer (much larger) boat. I never understood anything "electronic" and for the most part never had a problem. I figured if I was plugged into shore power 100% of the time, and on a generator the rest - that was powering the boat. I guess not! Thank you so much!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

So glad it helped you out!!

[@AudiTwin]

This video was very helpful thank you

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Glad it was helpful! If you have some times, be sure to check out my entire 'How I Did It Boat Repairs & Upgrades' playlist from other projects I've done on the boat (kzbin.info/aero/PLKhjT5kr2l2GpE-r5PjPvMtaRygCEb_si).

[@clarkbettycom]

I am lucky to have found this video. It plays right into a problem I having with my 1995 330.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Glad I was able to hep you out! Be sure to check all of my 'How I Did It' videos to see lots more repairs and upgrades to this boat, as well as our previous 400 Sedan Bridge. #SeaRay

[@chrisdavis4508]

You are the most helpful guy on here thank you

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Glad to help!! Check my channel for lots more boat repairs & upgrades videos :-)

[@SailingwithMaury]

Never heard a toilet described as a favorite toy before.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

😜

[@theruckusdj]

Do you have a video of replacing a 30 amp breaker?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Hi Steve. No I don't have a video on that project, but I've swapped out breakers on a couple of our previous boats in the past and it's a very straightforward job. Just make sure your power is COMPLETELY disconnected from shore power before starting the work ⚡

[@HairBands80s]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo Where is the location of the breaker? I have the same boat and no power on line one whether from shore of generator.

[@WhatYachtToDo]

Awesome. We get a lot of questions about this subject. Might have to do one for ours! 😎

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Looking forward to it.

[@alialbloushi8973]

Well done buddy A lot of valuable information 👍🏽

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Glad it was helpful!

[@003937]

I’m thinking about buying a boat I love your videos very knowledgable

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Glad you like them!

[@kingtut616]

Great video and very helpful. thank you. Question...Do you know where the inline breakers are between the batteries and the charger?

[@trucking604]

So when you are connected to shore power, you turn the AC side on? And when you’re running your engines or running the boat, you turn on the DC side?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

When we are hooked up to shorepower, we turn on the main A/C breakers (the two 30 amp breakers). As for the DC side, all of those switches stay in all of the time, all season long, as many are required to run certain systems (water pump, toilet pump, cabin lights, etc.) which are exclusively powered by the on-board batteries. Same as you would have in your car, with the lights, stereo and more having its power source coming from the battery. Now, this vessel (as well as our current and prior boats) also has a built-in generator which allows us to use all of the A/C powered items while away from a shorepower hookup.

[@markburley4901]

Good refresher video for all of us Paul!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Might be a good one for some of the First Mates in the audience. I know that the whole shore power/battery power thing is a little confusing for some of the crews in our marina 🙄 Quite humorous, actually 😉

[@davidmenzie6196]

On the AC side if you’re not getting shore power and you’re plugged in how do you check your breaker

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

I'd suspect that it's an issue on the receptacle on shore. A simple multimeter will determine that.

[@mrzif0013]

another great vid and info. hey, why does sea ray make the 29' and a 30' boat are they that different?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Not sure what year you're talking about, but Sea Ray had a tendency of changing the model designation over the years fro many of their boats that stayed pretty much the same. Case in point being the 400 Sedan Bridge we had (Boogaboo IV) became the 420, then it was called a 44 later on. Basically the same boa, just went with an integrated swim platform and a few interior design changes to update the look. . .

[@Bombero1999]

Hi, great video thanks, I’m new to boating I was wondering if you have a video on how to work the panel like from arriving to your boat , running the dc while plugged to shore , when I’m on the water do I leave the AC shore power on , I don’t have a generator though

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

I don't have anything on that yet, but I will try to make one this season.

[@twarner5]

I noticed your fridge has the hinges opposite of mine (97 330). Also, check and see if your cigar lighter below your panel is wired up to the accessories breaker. You stated your accessory switch was dead in the water.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

That sounds very logical for the accessory switch on the panel. Even though I do t smoke cigars, I think I can check the outlet some other way 😉 If that works, I'll give you a shout out in a future video 👍 As for the fridge door swing, that unit may have been swapped out - yours or ours - or the door may me reversible. I know the Norcold unit in the cockpit has a reversible swing option on them. . .

[@1detroitryder]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo i replaced all of my Cigarette lighter plugs with usb outlets they are cheap and they work great for charging phones and tablets.

[@MatthewOcchipinti]

Does the AC converter need to be flipped on to charge the batteries from shore power?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Yup.

[@bobbymedina1198]

Question for you. How did you determine which bank was for starting and which was for house? I have two batteries tied together for each motor and one battery for the genset. Do you know what bank run the stereo?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Simple: Disconnect one bank and see if the lights still come on!

[@valarierichard2158]

Do you have to have the refrigerator on, on both the AC and the DC panels in order for it to work? In order for mine to work when I'm plugged in I still have to have my DC on as well as my AC. Does this sound right to you?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Just as a matter of practice, both AC and DC switches are on for both fridges, all the time. That way, we don't have to worry about switching over to DC when away from the marina.

[@mopar5447]

Nice and informative. Well done. I see the TV over your head that’s exactly where I want to put our TV on our new boat. do you think you could possibly show where you mounted and ran the power? We had our sea trial and survey done today on our 370 Sundancer the only glitch was low voltage on generator output. may not be a deal breaker.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

That sounds like a good idea. I'll try to get that done for you - and everyone else ;-) Let us know how you make out with your purchase!

[@mopar5447]

That would be great. I have two tv’s waiting. I’ll post video on my channel once in our possession. Thanks!! kzbin.info/door/SE1SZdcokUs9Q09oAAWPEQ

[@mopar5447]

BoatingWithBoogaboo purchase completed at 530pm eastern time today. Going thru all these manuals!! Lol. I posted a quick walk around video on my channel.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Awesome!! You can also post something on my Facebook Page. As for your question regarding how our TV is mounted, I am now editing a video to show that. Should be coming out the Tuesday after next. And, now that I re-found this comment, I'm even including a shout out to you for the inspiration 😁

[@mopar5447]

BoatingWithBoogaboo Thanks Paul. As for Facebook, we got off that year’s ago. Too much drama for us. lol Looking forward to your video tho. Shopping for marina still, (visited no less than 10 in three months) we need a permanent home in 2020 for Summer Wind. It’s like shopping for a second home, will look at a few more this weekend down the shore. Appreciate the shout out as well. Will make Nicole’s day hearing that. Thanks....Rock

[@Domp896]

For the dc panel how does the fridge run off or 120 ac and 12v dc. Does it use an inverter when on the dc system

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Yes.

[@williampopek1050]

I'm a first time cruiser owner. Can you run generator and DC power at the same time while cruising?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Given the fact that many systems on the boat are DC powered - water pump, lights, stereo, toilet pump, cockpit fridge (sometimes), etc. - it's a given that they would continue running, irrespective of the genny running, or even when hooked to shore-power for that matter. Keep in mind that the AC and DC systems are completely separate entities and are meant to run as independent systems. The only time they interact with each other is when the AC side is charging the batteries in the DC side. . .

[@veleiroema]

Should open the panel for us to see inside

[@BobWright1]

So I learned (the hard way) this week that on my 97 330 DA the bilge and sump pumps both operate from the house batteries. When those are dead, even when connected to shore power, the bilge and sump pumps get no power. Is my boat wired differently than factory standard? I learned this because my port and house batteries are both dead (less than a year old) and aren't getting charged. May be investing in a new charger!

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Yes, EVERYTHING that runs off of 12 volt supply requires good battery power. I recently swapped out the factory installed charger with a new smart charger and it's working great!! Pics on my Instagram account already, and stay tuned for (and eventual) video on the installation.

[@BobWright1]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo You are the man! Looking forward to the charger install review. Follow up: apparently had two bad batteries that were covered under warranty and they appear to be charging normally now. Odd that two would be bad, keeping an eye on them. Thanks for the feedback!

[@DiT555]

Hello I know the post is old but sybe you can answer. With 2 x30 amp outlets on the boat what shore power outlet should be used 30 or 60? Thank you

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Hi there. With a 30 AMP service, that only refers to the maximum amperage that the on board electrical system can safely manage. Whether it is 15 AMP or 30 AMP, the voltage is the same, at 120 Volts. Therefore, one would plug in to a single 15 amp/120 volt plug (similar plug configuration as one would have in US/Canadian homes), or a single/double 30 amp/120 volt plug (which is unique to that style). The amperage only refers to the maximum load one can put on the system before the breakers trip off. As I mention in the video, our boat is equipped with two, 30 amp lines coming into the main electrical panel. However, for our needs, we have BOTH 30 amp parts of the main panel connected to shore power via a single plug to shore. That happens through what is called a splitter, which allows one to join two plugs together on one side (the boat side) and only one on the other (the shore power connection). But keep in mind that all of the above only ever run from a 120 volt power supply, irrespective of how many plugs you got connected ;-) Finally, to add even more confusion, many folks will refer to the voltage from shore as 110 volts, while others might say 120 volts. There's no difference, only preference of what folks call it, depending on where they grew up. Hope that helps!!

[@DiT555]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo thanks! If the marina is offering power stations at 30, 50 or 60 amp and we have 2 x 30 inlets which one we should take? If we take 30 with the splitter does it mean that each leg will have 15 on it? Or do we need 60 shore power split into two 30? Thanks again

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

@@DiT555 30 amps is 30 amps, period. I think you are getting confused on how electricity works. amperage is amperage and voltage is voltage. What varies is how much DRAW one is putting on the feed. Best learn a bit more about electrical basics before moving much farther. Or not, it's up to you. That said, a 50 amp service is entirely different than a 30 amp system. One COULD make them work with each other, but you would be looking at purchasing splitters for many hundreds of dollars :-0 I would STRONGLY suggest you talk directly with your marina to sort this out. Tell them exactly what you have on your boat and they will point you in the right direction.

[@DiT555]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo thanks a lot!

[@coldnorthadventures5905]

Very well explained I'm going to make an improvement on my Hellberg Rassy sailing boat.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kevinhammer4370]

I just bought the same boat. Batteries are fully charged but many switches in the helm won’t. (They all worked when I bought it). I’m completely lost. I can’t even open the hatch because the switch doesn’t work. Hmmm 🤔

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Not sure what the problem might be, but I'd start with the most basic and easiest things to check and that would be the breakers. When you get into the bilge, you'll find that there's a number of re-settable pop out breakers along the forward firewall. I'm not on board Boogaboo right now, so can't say what they are for, but it's a good place to check. There is also a bunch of the same style breakers on the underside of the dash, towards the port side. . . If you have no power going to the engine hatch lift, one can manually lift the hatch. There is a removable inspection plate on the engine hatch (round) that simply screws out. Remove that and you'll be able to feel around until you locate the hatch lift arm/ram, which has a removable clevis pin. Pull that out slowly - being careful to let the lifting arm/ram slowly and there you go, ready to lift the hatch manually! Fair warning is that the thing is quite heavy, so an extra set of hands might be helpful. Best of luck!

[@kevinhammer4370]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo Yes I looked there and the “control system” seems to be out but it won’t push back in

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

@@kevinhammer4370 I'm not familiar with that one, but it does sound like it thinks it needs to be in charge of something special ;-) Perhaps head over to ClubSeaRay.com, as there's a huge amount of info and insights from other boaters to go though. Try a Google search, including CSR to see what you come up with. . .

[@kevinhammer4370]

@@BoatingWithBoogaboo Thank you sir. Love the videos

[@chrisjordan6627]

Thank you thank you thank you!!!! I’m too stupid to know you have to switch on the AC converter to charge the boat.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

That's too funny 😂 But seriously, you wouldn't believe the questions I get in seemingly basic, common knowledge stuff.

[@joannasunderland1289]

Thank you

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

You're welcome 🙂

[@roberwt]

Just found this video. Came here for the electrical panel, stayed for the dadjokes. #couldbequiteshocking

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

I'm here all week folks! Don't forget to tip your waitress ;-)

[@yumpinyiminy963]

What can you run off your inverter?

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

We've never used it. That said, it's rated at 1,000 watts continuous, with I believe a 1,750 watt peak draw. Only problem is that it would draw down the batteries very quickly, so if we need anything heavy to run, I just start the generator 👍

[@yumpinyiminy963]

I figured it would drain off the house batteries quickly with no motorised regarching or power supply. I thought it would be most useful to run A/C items while cruising. Getting power from the engines alternator charging system. You are starting to see these in many new models of pickup trucks instead of lugging around a generator. This system does require that you engine be running for continual use. I always wondered why they could not put generators on the main engines to supply power to the inverter while underway. Yes GPH would be worse but that's part of boating in the 1st place. I should do more research. LOL:-)

[@danpease8395]

Maybe prudent to re-label circuits that don’t do anything.

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

May be.

[@busterevetts1864]

Well explained ... subsribed now to find out more.. thks

[@BoatingWithBoogaboo]

Thanks!