Storm Surge And Yacht Club Electrics

[NozSpark]

I went to our yacht club to see the damage that the storm surge had caused,,, the water had come to above the waist line on the yard, but thankfully the workshop hut only had 10" of water,,, the DB is at 12" (lucky)

However there are 3 electric boxes on the yard,, all of which were below the water level and had been filled with water, unfortunately they are only meter cabinets so everything got soaked and is trashed.

The SWA is glanded into the bottom of the cabinet (not how I'd do it) so the end of the SWA will have taken in sea water,,,,

What do you recon is the prognosis for the SWA????

 

[Sidewinder]

Rip it out & bin it.

(That's a full stop above, by the way, as I don't feel there is any more to say! )

 

[NozSpark]

That's nice and to the point,,,, cheers

TBH those were exactly my thoughts especially as the armour is the functional earth :|

However it is going to be a right PITA to rewire the SWA as there are boats everywhere,,, we had our annual lift out at the end of October!

Some had been lifted off their blocks and had fallen like dominoes onto other boats thankfully only paint damage from what we can tell,, however we did lose some tenders up the river,,, right up to where you've stayed Sidey,, also some out on the rock perch

 

[Sidewinder]

If the armour is the earth, then it is a no brainer mate, got to be ripped out, unless you can get your insurance company to guarantee it will be OK against your say so for the next x years, it WILL fail, it has already had it's injection of  cyanide, it is just for the cable it was a weak solution that will take a few years to act!

 

[NozSpark]

I've already told them that it has to be an insurance claim,,, it is going to cost a few £k to fix properly and I don't want to be writing the club cheque to sort it out (I'm the club treasurer,,, they trust me with the money :slap )

I've already disconnected the supplies to these boxes, I think I'll write them a danger notice to make sure that it gets fixed correctly by the insurance co's contractors

 

[Sidewinder]

You do that Noz, and use the science to back up your findings, if the open ends of the SWA were submerged, then if the Ins Co contractor won't replace them, then get a guarantee off them that they will last over 10 years following salt water contamination, else the Ins Co will replace them FOC at the contractors expense, whether they are still trading or not.

Remember it's YOUR kit, that's why YOU pay insurance.

 

[binky]

any milage in cutting back a foot and splicing new length of cable in - not having come across submerged SWA, I was just wondering how far water may penetrate into the cable?

 

[septiclecky]

I've already told them that it has to be an insurance claim,,, it is going to cost a few £k to fix properly and I don't want to be writing the club cheque to sort it out (I'm the club treasurer,,, they trust me with the money :slap )

I've already disconnected the supplies to these boxes, I think I'll write them a danger notice to make sure that it gets fixed correctly by the insurance co's contractors

Don't take it the wrong way but if you are doing the work and signing the cheque is there not a conflict of interest which would be picked up when an audit of the accounts are done?

 

[NozSpark]

Nope, because anything I do is at the committes request and all cheques require a double signatory anyhow

 

[kme]

I wouldn`t cut `em back mate - capilliary action will draw the moisture up the cable - its likely to have penetrated quite a way down.

If you can get a lot of the SWA, it might be worth going back 5 or 6 metres - but, as stated above, you need to be certain that the moisture didn`t reach to the point you (eventually) choose.

You`re the guy signing it off - so its whatever YOU are happy with. 

In that position, I`d want it all replaced.

 

[roys]

I persume it was not a double sealed 'deluge' type gland that was used, something like what is used offshore.  If so it might be OK.  However going by the sounds of the thread it doesn't sound like the case.

 

[NozSpark]

If the armour is the earth, then it is a no brainer mate, got to be ripped out, unless you can get your insurance company to guarantee it will be OK against your say so for the next x years, it WILL fail, it has already had it's injection of cyanide, it is just for the cable it was a weak solution that will take a few years to act!

Well, we've just had a reply from the insurance...

Repair the immediate faults and and future problems with the cable will be covered under this claim..

I replied to our secretary that..

A. Who will pay for the periodic testing of the cable?

B. Will the insurance co. take on full responsibility for the cable in regards any future public liability and/or H&S claims

C. It puts our members at risk

Not happy

 

[ProDave]

And what happens if you change insurance company?

Will they STILL say they will cover it under "this claim" even if in the future when the further claim arises, they are no longer your insurer?

What if they cease trading before that happens?

 

[NozSpark]

Lets just say that its a country wide agricultural insurer so I think they'll be around for a while yet....

We have been given the go ahead to get quotes to replace damaged equipment, so I've got a wholesaler to get a price from Romec for an IPX6 enclosure with IPX6 sockets, I'll also be pricing for heavy duty duct and new SWA sub mains, I might have to price for a crane to move some boats and someone to do the groundworks

as IMHO the cable is damaged

 

[binky]

cost it as is required to fully re-install a safe system. Don't get greedy and bung on extras, but I certainly wouldn't go down the half a job route that the insurers want.