Yachting

Shore power plugs stay out in all weathers, and

water plus electricity is not a happy sum. Check

yours for leaks, or face the tepid consequences

RIGHT: My SSR runs out during my summer cruise,
which means trouble abroad. Time for admin

yours for leaks, or face the tepid consequences

RIGHT: My SSR runs out during my summer cruise,

20 years’ worth of Tom’s cruising tips for skippers and crew have been

distilled into this pocket-sized book, published by Fernhurst Books, at £11.99

SKIPPER’S TIPS

MAY 2016 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com 27

Flummoxed by salty jargon?

Email [email protected]

and we’ll explain it in print

ÔBarqueÕ

Ô BarquentineÕ

This is a three-masted vessel

with square sails on the

foremast only. If she has

more than three sticks, she is

designated by mast numbers,

but just the three makes her a

‘barquentine’. The same goes

for ‘brigs’ (two-masted by

defi nition and square-rigged

on both), and ‘brigantines’

(square on the fore, but

fore-and-aft on the main). If

anyone talks about a three-

masted barquentine or a two-

masted brig, they haven’t

been to the right school!

Sailing-ship rigs are so

often misnamed that

something must be said.

A barque is a three-masted

sailing vessel, fully square-

rigged on main and fore,

with fore-and-aft sails on the

mizzen mast only. A four-

master that is all-square until

the after mast – the jigger –

is a four-masted barque.

Few fi ve-masters were built,

but the name followed suit.

Safe, or fried?

It’s admin time

Ô BarquentineÕ

The chart symbol for vertical

clearance on a bridge is set

in stone as being above HAT

(Highest Astronomical Tide).

The height of HAT above chart

datum can be found in Reeds

Almanac (or the Admiralty Tide

Tables) at the bottom of the

page of tidal predictions for

each standard port.

Overhead cables may be

different. Heights are, once

again, given above HAT, but

note the difference between

‘safe vertical clearance’ and

This is my boat’s Small Ships Register (SSR)
certifi cate. Close examination will reveal it expires
in August, when I, with the Blessing, will be far
away on the high seas. I’ve been caught out by
this once, not being much inclined to paperwork,
so I mention this most years, because you may
not have read my last call to arms.
You’d do well not to let this stuff slip through
the net. I can tell you from my own experience
that the French authorities don’t like it at all and
I suspect that other national representatives
from the ‘Men in Flat Hats Club’ might feel the
same, so take a look at yours before it’s too late.

Bad earth, warm beer

When was the last time you opened up the plugs

on your shore-power line to check them over?

Despite their relative sophistication and cost,

nothing made by man is perfect, and it’s not

uncommon for them to leak, especially if they’re

unlucky enough to be dropped into the drink.

Corrosion then sets in, which, I am informed by a

reliable surveyor who has seen it more than once,

can do a lot worse than interfere with the earth

potential. High-resistance connections here can

lead to overheating which, if it gets out of hand or

happens when you’ve gone home, can start fi res.

A further potentially unwanted spin-off is that a

poor earth at this critical stage in the power train

can damage electrical equipment. Compressors on

boat fridges are particularly vulnerable, which may

be why boat refrigeration often ends up in the skip

years before its domestic equivalent. Shore-power

plugs are not ‘fi t and forget’. It’s easy enough to

take a peep inside at the start of the season to

make sure all is well.

PHOTO: US COAST GUARD

PHOTO: ALAMY

‘vertical clearance’. If the cable

does not carry high voltage

power its physical height is

charted above HAT.

Work this out and you can

proceed with confi dence, bearing

in mind that a cable is not a

bridge and may be subject to

other forces. A high-voltage

electrical cable is marked as

such and the given height may

well include an allowance for

electrical discharge onto metal

masts. So look out for magenta

lightning fl ashes

on the chart.

For high-voltage

overhead

cables, vertical

clearance and

safe vertical

clearance are

two different

things

Electrically

safe clearance

Physical

clearance