As the Technical Director at BoatUS for almost 30 years, one of my responsibilities was to read through insurance claims to find out why accidents occur on boats and how they might have been prevented.

These were reported in Seaworthy, the BoatUS marine insurance damage avoidance publication. One of the more troubling findings I encountered was the surprising number of onboard fires at a boat’s AC shore power inlet. The reason for the fires was well known by fire investigators. Instead of being securely bolted like a house connection, boats have to rely on a sliding plug that, over time, tends to wear and corrode. This results in a loser connection that generates excessive heat and causes fires. The latter have destroyed hundreds of boats and even entire marinas.

While at an industry trade show I came across a common-sense solution: the aptly-named SmartPlug. By locking the shore-power cord securely, SmartPlug creates a much tighter connection between the shore power cord and the boat’s AC inlet. It is my hope that these locking plugs will become the new standard for bringing AC electricity aboard recreational boats. It’s a solution that is long overdue.“