Let’s talk about something we all know: water and electricity don’t mix. And yet, I keep seeing this mistake made on boats. The photo below was taken from on board a brand new sailboat. The large stud you can see in the center of the photo is one of the keel bolts on the boat. OK, we have some ground wires attached to it—not normally current carrying, and there to maintain earth ground potential with the water the boat’s floating in. Fair enough. But the yellow and red connectors at the top of the photo are indeed going to have current flowing through them from time to time, and those certainly aren’t water-tight connectors.
I realize this whole issue can be a real challenge on today’s modern, shallow sump boats. There simply isn’t much room to isolate these cable runs under the floor boards from whatever water ends up in the low point of the boat. All I can say is that more thought and effort need to be put into this wiring faux pas. Those connections are pretty much guaranteed to end up soaked in water sooner than later and will create a problem for whatever device these cables are feeding.
It’s not only the connections themselves that pose a risk but also the wires themselves. Moisture can degrade the insulation on these wires, leading to shorts, ground faults, or even fires. Even if the wires are sealed in conduit, water can still find its way in through tiny cracks or openings. And remember, the bilge is a humid environment, which can further accelerate the deterioration of electrical components.
Bottom line: Keep this stuff out of your bilge, folks. No ifs, ands or buts.
