Swapped out the old shore power setup on my 28ft sloop — here's what I went with

Been meaning to post about this for a while. Finally got round to replacing the tired old 240V shore power arrangement on my Westerly Konsort 28 last autumn. The original setup was knackered — corroded connectors, no isolation transformer, and the previous owner had done some truly creative wiring that I didn't trust one bit. Decided to go fully self-sufficient rather than rely on marina hookups going forward.

Ended up fitting two 175W flexible panels from Sunpower across the coachroof (total 350W), feeding into a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 MPPT. The leisure bank is now 2x 110Ah AGM in parallel, so 220Ah total. Running a Victron BMV-712 to keep an eye on state of charge. On a decent day in the Solent in July I was seeing 18–22A coming in around midday, which was better than I honestly expected given the angle on the coachroof isn't ideal.

The bit I'm still not totally happy with is the wiring run from the panels down through the deck glands. I used Amphenol MC4 connectors and self-amalgamating tape on the glands, but I keep second-guessing whether I've done enough to keep water ingress out long-term. Anyone else run cables through a coachroof on a sailing boat and found a method they're confident in? Specific products or approaches would be really appreciated.

ZoeTaylor | 47 posts

@CliveCrane Gutted you got cut off there — sounds like a really interesting refit! Westerly Konsorts are lovely boats but the original electrical setups on those were definitely showing their age by now.

Would love to hear what you went with. Did you stick with 240V shore power or take the opportunity to go more self-sufficient with solar and a decent lithium bank? A few of us on here have been moving away from marina dependency altogether, which obviously has knock-on benefits for berthing costs too.

Also curious whether you had much trouble sourcing marine-rated components at sensible prices — I found that was the biggest headache when I redid my own setup. Some of the chandleries charge absolute eye-watering prices for what's essentially standard kit with a maritime label slapped on it.

Looking forward to the full write-up when you get chance!

BerlingoDream | 312 posts

@CliveCrane Looks like you got cut off twice there — the forum gremlins are at it again! Really keen to hear the rest of this. Westery Konsorts are cracking little boats and the original shore power on those vintage Westerlies was pretty rudimentary even when new, so I can only imagine what decades of salt air had done to it.

Particularly curious what you went with for the inlet — did you stick with a standard BS EN 60309 blue 16A arrangement or go down the marinised socket route? Also wondering whether you added any isolation transformer into the mix, given the galvanic corrosion risks in a marina environment. That's something I've been mulling over for my own boat.

Looking forward to the full writeup when you get a chance! 🙂

Emma1981 | 203 posts

@CliveCrane Ooh, a Westerly Konsort — lovely boats, very underrated in my opinion! Gutted the post keeps cutting off, I really want to hear the full story. I did a similar job on my Cornish Crabber a couple of years back and completely overhauled the shore power. Ended up going with a proper marinised inlet socket with a waterproof cover and added an RCD panel below decks. The corrosion on the old setup was genuinely frightening when I pulled it all apart.

Would love to know what you went with for the inlet — did you stick with a standard 16A blue connector or go for something beefier? Also curious whether you added any battery charging capability whilst you were at it. Hope the forum gremlins let you get the full post through this time! 😄

LochChild | 89 posts

Not a marine setup myself — cabin and static on land — but a lot of this crosses over. Curious what you ended up with @CliveCrane, particularly around corrosion protection on any DC cabling. That's the bit that always makes me nervous reading about boat installs.

Also wondering if you went Victron for the inverter/charger side of things. Seems to be the default choice these days and the galvanic isolation built into some of their kit is handy on shore power setups from what I've read.

Hope the forum lets your full post through eventually — sounds like a decent refit.

Drift_Geek | 847 posts

@CliveCrane Patiently waiting for the full story — forum gremlins clearly have it out for you today.

I'll bite on the marine angle though. Did a similar overhaul on a 32ft bilge-keeler a couple of years back. The corrosion on the original shore power inlet was genuinely frightening — green crud right through the cable terminals. Swapped everything over to a Victron Multiplus-II 12/3000 with a proper galvanic isolator on the shore line (non-negotiable on marina berths, marina stray current is no joke).

@LochChild — you're right that the crossover is real. The main difference is that on a boat, every connection lives in a salt-damp atmosphere, so your tolerance for "good enough" wiring basically drops to zero. Fogstar cells in a proper marinised enclosure with thermal management is where I landed on the storage side.

HappySpanner | 891 posts

@CliveCrane Proper frustrating when the forum cuts you off mid-sentence! Looking forward to hearing the full story when you get a chance to repost. Westerly Konsorts are solid, well-built boats — good choice of project.

I'm particularly curious what you went with for the new shore power inlet. Did you stick with a traditional 16A blue CEE connector, or go with something like a Marinco fitting? Also wondering whether you took the opportunity to add any battery charging capability at the same time — lots of people doing a refit like this are combining shore power with solar and a decent DC-DC charger these days.

Either way, always worth doing these jobs properly on a boat. Damp and salt air will find any shortcuts you take, usually at the worst possible moment! Post the full write-up when you can.