Electrical Panel updates

I have been doing a bit of thinking about the electrical panels on my boat, and I have a couple of questions that I wonder if anyone has any opinion on.

I currently have 2x 30A 120v connections on the side of the boat, in the wall by the helm on the starboard side, and they come into two completely separate panels inside the boat, one for the AC units and one for everything else.

There are a few things that I want to address in general, for instance, the blueprints for the boat show that there should be fuses at the inlets, and they appear to have been removed, and as far as I can tell, the wiring goes straight from the inlets to the master breakers on each panel.

I am doing some updating with the Air Cons over the winter, hopefully, and one thing that sort of makes everything more complicated is the fact that there are two entirely separate panels.

I notice that other boats will have everything consolidated into one panel, and if this is done correctly, it seems like a better arrangement to me.

So, one question is, is there some good reason why the panels are better off being separate like this?

Again, assuming that everything was breakered and balanced correctly, it seems like there is more flexibility in having only one panel.

What I am thinking of doing is, installing breakers at the inlets (like SeaEric did on his new install) and also galvanic isolation.

Then, and I haven't fully investigated this, but, what I would like to do is consolidate both panels into the main panel, where the left side is one 30A cord and the right side is the second 30A cord.

If this is done correctly, which may mean a new panel, etc, is there any reason not to do this?

I'd also like to eventually bump it all up to 50A, not to run more, but just for heavier duty connections.

Any thoughts?

Hatteras did the two-panel thing because A/C was optional. On my 36 the A/C panel is in the head, and the main panel is in the salon. Both with separate 30A-120V service.

It's my long-term intention to install a 50A-120/240 service and split it to the two panels. However, there is no reason why it couldn't be combined into one panel if you're willing to make the investment. I have no need for 240V on my boat, so this solution works for me. However, if you do decide to install something that uses 240V you'd be better off putting it all in one panel so you can access both legs of the service.

If you re going to redo the panel, I think would balance the loads by having an air con on each legs instead of maxing one side while having minimum loads on the house side. It made sense to do it this way back then when Ir con was optional but balancing loads is better

Switching over from twin 30a to a single 120/240-50 isn’t difficult or expensive if you are redoing the panel anyway. The decision should be based on what is available in your cruising area for that size boat. Twin 30s are less common down in SoFl for instance than single 50 or even twin 50. If that’s the case where you are then you d have to use a pigtail to go from a 50 amp pedestal to your twin 30s. Not ideal

If the shorepower inlet is less than 8’ from the main panel (or is it 10’?) you don’t need breakers at the inlet. When I repowered and rewired my 53 I moved the shorepower inlet (single 120/240-50) from the tow rail to the house side right behind the panel.

I used pre wired panels from Blue Seas System. Pretty good stuff and too expensive. My 53 is a little more complicated and I have a 120v subpanel for house, a second 120v subpanel for the 5 air handlers plus a 240 subpanel the two chillers, air con pumps and glass cook top. Main breaker and rotary switches also from Blue Seas. Plus digital meters for each subpanel showing V, A and Freq. Big improvement from the original Hatteras panel !

Yea that is the thing, the two old AC units max out the one cord, so we only use one, meanwhile the house side is running basically nothing...

Thanks, that is something like what I have in mind.

Basically what SeaEric did with his, but, consolidating it to the one panel.

If you move the breakers for the Air Cond you will have to run new wires from the units to the new location. I went to 50a specifically because 30a wasn't enough to run both units.

Yea, I think I have to run new wires anyway.

Up here, 30A is much more common, so I’ll have to see.

Eric, you kept one of your cruisair setup right, and just replaced the salon unit?

Salon unit is a new self contained. Very happy with it. Aft SR/Fwd SR still the original 3 knob split system. At some point I want to replace it with 2 more self contained.

Another idea. Get an isolation transformer. Feed it 240 and take 120 out of it. Like the later hatteras did.

If you're going to change the AC units you might want to go with 220v units instead of 110v units, saves a lot of amps.
Think you really need to have a grand plan for any switch from 2 x 110v services to 1 x 50amp 240v service.
The new panels are a huge improvement over what was available when most of these old boats were built from outfits like Paneltronics, Blue Seas, etc.
Agree with the previous post about adding an isolation transformer.

Also, get a custom panel made for your dimensions and needs. It won't cost any more.