shore water supply

Yes, putting the valve in the cockpit could present a problem if you don't have a self-bailing cockpit. If you do, it should drain anyway. It's your job to see to that. But any valve which requires electrical power to close is going to fail if the electrical power fails (dead battery, shore power out, whatever). So I think a spring-loaded or pressure-actuated valve would be best.

Having the valve at the power post would be best as long as you're willing to put up with disconnecting the cable every time you leave the dock (which is why a wireless link would be nice). I think I'd still put the valve on board, in a location where a failure before the valve won't flood the boat. If you're not worried about appearances you could have the valve on deck right at the fill.

Another idea would be to tape the cable to the water hose with disconnects at each end... So when you disconnect the hose the cable is right there and you disconnect it as well. When you stow the hose the cable goes with it. Then all you'd really need on the boat is the float switch; everything else can be at the power/water supply. That would probably be easiest to install, too.
 
Well....if you have a power failure and the 110v valve at the power tower will not operate....it doesn't matter.....if the power is out....most likely the power to the water pump at the marina is out too....and you have no water pressure to worry about.
 
Unless it's something as simple as a tripped breaker, or the dock is on city water, or the power supply got disconnected, or...

The pressure-sensing valve does have one advantage, it will protect against a blown dock hose. The bilge sensor system won't, unless the water ends up in the bilge.
 
I would imagine the Watts Flood-Safe Auto Shutoff connector could easily and simply be adapted to your vessel shore water hookup to essentially instantly protect your boat against flooding or sinking from that source. Smaller hose with reduced max flow but good protection when used with flow-restricted faucets.

Note that some system pressure regulators mentioned earlier might confuse the shutoff unless the Watts device and regulator specs were carefully coordinated.

Plus, ...since it looks like these are really designed as connectors to single outlets , one would likely have to take care to limit water use to one outlet at a time if it was used for main shore water inlets. But if a 2nd faucet was opened and the Watts valve closed, it should re-open as soon as either used valve was closed to limit total flow & provide sufficient back pressure.

http://www.watts.com/pages/whatsnew/floodsafe_connectors.asp

Interesting marketing video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmfDITN8Qmg&feature=share&list=UUvstduAjL4peDJar-U-8UIg

All-in all, I agree that just filling the on-board FW tank and shutting off shore water is usually best practice .
 
The watts valve should work well for smaller boats with only 1-2 persons and a low water demand, and it looks like it would be the easiest to install, too. On larger boats with more people and fixtures, maybe not.

What comes to mind though is the possibility ov a smaller onboard leak that doesn't trip the valve. 2 gal/min doesn't seem like much, but over several hours it adds up.

On the other hand, if your bilge pumps can't handle 2gpm, you have another problem...
 
IMHO.....the best and safest way to deal with the potential of flooding ( if your inlet is in the cockpit ) .....is to re-plumb the water inlet fitting so the hose and inlet fitting are outside the boat. Then if the hose fails....it falls in the water......problem solved.
 
That solves THAT problem and it's how my boat is set up. But it doesn't solve the problem of a leak inside the boat.

"No job is as easy as it looks" Murphy
 
I like gadets but I have to agree with a few posters just turn the water off evertime you leave the boat or use the water tanks in the boat and refill as needed.
You probably don't have enough water in the boats tanks to ever sink it even with a catastrophic rupture of the freshwater tank or tanks.
Willie your system seems sound enough to me if that's what the RO wants.
Bill
 
Well, every boat I've ever seen will float with the fresh water tanks full. Should they leak into the bilge, the amount of water stays the same, and eventually the bilge pump should deal with it.

For convenience, an electrically operated valve on the dock connected via cable to a toggle switch on the boat, would be about as simple as it gets. When you leave the boat just flip the switch. For people who are too lazy to walk a few feet and turn the water off, or forgetful people like me who would get aboard and then discover the water was still OFF, it might be just the ticket. At bedtime just turn the water off from the boat, no need to get dressed and go out in the rain/cold/whatever just to turn the water off. The float switch would be added security.

But I still prefer simply using and refilling the boat's water supply. Keeps it fresh and it won't sink you.
 
I like hooking a hose up for dock-water when I'm on the boat. My tank is only 35 gallons, so it's somewhat annoying to have to fill it all the time. When I leave for more than a few hours I unhook the hose. I find quick disconnects to be very helpful and they make this task easy. If I'm just running an errand I'll still shut the water off to be safe. I've got a shut-off valve before it gets to the boat in my cockpit (self draining cockpit) I close too, just in case somebody decides to turn the water on at the dock for some reason or another.

So, OP, I agree with you that dock-water is a great convenience. There's just a matter of how much risk you're willing to live with.
 
I have to admit I always somewhat bemused by this issue. And yes, we do turn the dock water off when we leave the boat. But the dangers of electrical fire are just as great, probably greater. So do you "no dock water" adherents also ascribe to "no shore power" as well? Or at least turn shore power off when away from the boat?
 
90% of the time I use solar, so there is no shore power to disconnect. If I'm connected, I'm connected for a reason (usually AC), and disconnecting would defeat that.

But solar or shore power, I still leave most everything ON unless I plan to be gone for a month or more. Then I unplug and turn off all non-essentials (one switch does it). The charge controller, bilge pumps, and alarms are never shut off.

The canoe is never plugged in; it charges itself.
 
I use my tank the only time I use city water hookup is when I travel and plan to spend a few days in the same port and I always shut the valve when not on board. I like to flush the water in the tank by using it I happen to have a 100 gallon tank so I have what seems like an endless supply.
 
I normaly run of the tank but at times I have guest stay on the boat without me there and they don't always remember to monitor the tank level. Hence my question as I was thinking about using shore water for the guest but i would not trust them to turn of the hose either
 
Just had a thought. If your hose is connected at both ends and both ends are shut off, where does the water go when it expands in the sun?? I've had a couple hoses at my house mysteriously burst AFTER l had been using them. I'm never there when it happens, but discover the failure next time I go to use them.

Kurt has an idea by shutting off the hose at the boat. That would at least protect the boat's plumbing from the pressure.
 
This device will prevent that......

hbvb1_000_zps0dd061c5.jpg


Most campgrounds use them to prevent back flow from expanding hoses and hose pressure. I use one on my water supply in my R/V port at my home too...
 
I'll have to look into that. I can understand "backflow" preventer but how do you prevent "forward flow" against the boat or RV?
 
forward flow is prevented by the supply valve being " off ".....
 
You don't need a backflow preventer for that...

OK I found one (labelled "vacuum breaker) in my junk bin and installed it; when the supply valve is turned off it allows the pressure in the hose to blow off. Messy, but it works.

Good idea (one still has to remember to turn off the supply valve though).
 
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