Boat Hoists - New Code Requirement

[Christopher-W.-Becker]

All,

This is a little off topic, but may save someone out there. The 2005 National Electric Code has added a requirement for a ground-fault circuit-interupter on boat hoists.

210.8 Ground-Fault Circuit-Interupter Protection for Personnel

(C) Boat Hoists. Ground-fault circuit-interupter protection for personnel shall be provided for outlets that supply boat hoists installed in the dwelling unit locations supplied by 125-vol, 15- and 20-ampere branch circuits.

NOTE: The outlet has to be GFCI. Some boat hoists have the GFCI in the cord to the operating motor but the code says the outlet.

Thought all you "do-it-yourselfers" would want to know this. Hope is helps and possibly saves someone who goes to put on in this spring.

[Mikeski]

A GFCI supplied circuit should be used for all lighting and electrical equipment on a dock and near the water's edge. The cheapest way to do it is to put a single GFCI receptacle upstream of all the equipment on the circuit so it protects all the devices downstream. The receptacles are cheaper than the breakers.

Just an FYI the way these things work is they compare the current on the hot side to the current on the neutral side of the plug, if they are not equal then some current must be going down a stray path. This stray path could be a human body with a foot in the water. When a slight imbalance is detected the unit trips out.