GFI not installed

[Ron Hill]

Guys : I don't believe that a household receptacle would know the difference between solid or stranded wire!!

If you have trouble with the stranded wire, just tin the end before you attach it to the screw.

A thought

[KWKloeber]

ABSOLUTELY not an approved method to wire a receptacle - neither National Electrical Code or ABYC. But what the hell do we care about electrical codes?

ABYC -all terminations MUST be with a properly crimped wire terminal, no wire simply twisted around a screw.
NEC - no stranded wire on a receptacle terminals, GFCI or otherwise.

YBYC, but please make your insurance carrier aware so you don't affect everyone else's premium if there's a claim for a fire.
AND let your dock neighbor know as well so they can decide de whether to move (or have the marina move you.)

This is electricity we're discussing not a half-assed, Rube Goldberg, jackleg (insert other appropriate adjective) clamp on a potable water line (insert other non boat/human-life threatening noun.)

[waughoo]

I am with Ken here.  The captive fork terminals are what I use for all wiring when going from the boat's stranded copper to the terminal screw on an outlet.  To me, the logic isn't any different than putting a ring terminal on a 12v wire to land it on a terminal buss.  I wouldn't ever wrap a 12v wire around a terminal block screw; and that's ONLY 12 volts!!! We are taling about 120v here. Convenience isn't worth the risk to me.  The standards are set due to experience with things that went wrong.  Why tempt fate.

[eisjeff]

Thanks all. All good information. I have changed the GFI, taken everything connected to the GFI off the circuit, checked all the connections including the connection to the boat, but haven't checked the entire length of the main cable coming from the boat to shore connection to the distribution center on the boat. That will be my next step in the spring once the boat is uncovered.

[Noah]

The problem I found with the GFI's I have used with screw terminal connections, is that screws are held captive. They will only unscrew out to a certain point then stop and cannot be removed to slip on a ring terminal. In that case, fork crimps are all that work.

[KWKloeber]

Noah you're much wiser than I was!!!  Where were you when I needed that tip.

They came out with a little persuasion and the right screwdriver - but what an FnPITA to get em back in.  I believe 12 receptacles (put duplex AC and duplex DC receptacles within 3' of anything/anywhere w/o needing to ever use an ext cord in every place I'd ever use a plug in + the TV.) I think I used rings only because that was the original and what I had on hand. Never again!!

[Ron Hill]

Then use a fork connector and solder the tip where the wire comes out of the crimp!!

A thought

[KWKloeber]

Then use a fork connector and solder the tip where the wire comes out of the crimp!!

A thought

Ron

Re: fork, One's Boat, One's Choice, but personally I use only heat shrink terminals -- so there's "no wire coming out of the crimp" to solder. 
I don't want corrosion potentially getting to a conductor when the only time it will have eyes-on, is if a problem occurs.

I may be missing why one would need to solder a properly done crimp (w/a controlled cycle tool that is.)

[Ron Hill]

Ken : I've soldered every connect on my C34 that I can get to!!  The best electrical connection is a soldered connection!!! 

I've NEVER had an electrical connection problem since!!!

My thought 

[KWKloeber]

Ron

So are you using Stakon terminals (so that you have an exposed front end to solder) and then heat shrinking the back side?

I'm interested in data that a soldered terminal has lower resistance (for the range of currents we are talking about) than a properly done (controlled cycle crimped) adhesive-heat-shrink terminal and that the non-AHS terminal provides as much wire strain resistance as the AHS terminal.  Have you done any (resistance) readings of your soldered v. crimped terminals?

I'm all for soldering a battery cable lug but looking for some justification to go outside the norm for low-current terminals.  Does solder add anything to a solid hunk of metal that's the result of a proper crimping?
 
(photo courtesy Rod Collins)

[Ron Hill]

Ken : I slide a short piece of heat shrink (inch?) up the wire, solder the tip end and then slide the HS down over the crimp to the solder and hit it with a heat gun.  On an existing crimped terminal, I use a small dab of "electrical liquid tape" - to seal things up.  On a closed end terminal, I drill a small hole for the solder to flow in. 

A few thoughts