AC Panel vs Lightening Strike

Question:

Hi Jeff, I am a first time boat owner of a 1990 Cruiser 2570 Holiday Yacht.  I had it hooked up to my shore line panel. One day we had lighting and the power went out. Now, my shore panel is not powering up.  Could it have a fuse or circuit breaker located somewhere? - Willie

Answer:

If your AC panel is more then 10 feet from your AC inlet on the boat, you should have a double-pole breaker that protects the AC wiring inside the boat until the AC panel. Older boats, might not have this AC breaker protection between AC inlet and AC panel. Also, ensure your AC connection from the AC inlet to the AC panel doesn’t have any AC devices like an inverter/charger inline. Sometimes an inverter/charger is installed in between the AC inlet and AC panel and this too, could stop AC from reaching the panel. Lastly, it’s possible your battery charger got a AC spike from the lightening strike, and you should inspect that as well.