Shore Power Plug (10/2017)
I had noticed the shore power plug had some blackening on one of the
connectors, so it had been on my to-do list to replace it:
After removing the plug, the damage was revealed to be quite a bit
more than it seemed from the outside. The plastic around that lead
had completely melted at some point (upper left wire), evidence of
severe overheating:
The insulation on the wire also had been close to melting as far as
about an inch away from the terminal, surely a fire hazard:
After
On the Catalina 270 the shore power plug is inside one of the
cockpit storage cubbyholes which is very nice for protection from
the elements but terrible for visibility. One has to try to line up
the correct plugs by feel because there is no way to see what one is
doing. Sometimes it lines up right away, at other times I've spent
many frustrating minutes trying to get it plugged in (which of
course always happens when it is cold and dark - thanks Murphy).
That's why in addition to fixing the melted plug I wanted to take
the opportunity to upgrade to something more convenient and easier
to connect. I installead a SmartPlug connector
instead of the regular style. The shape of the SmartPlug makes it
easy to plug in blindly.
Back to
my Catalina 270 page.