Three yacht fire in Miami Beach…

The videos showed the fire in the middle of the day and on the pier the fuel dock is on. Fire started on an Azimut Grande. Other 2 boats were caught on fire by the Azimut. My guess is Miami Beach Marina's 208 volt or less shorepower would be my first guess.

Oh give me a break.
208ACv does not not cause fires. Stupid people and poor maintenance dose.

Would like to see a follow-up on which insurance companies (if any) paid claims & which looked to avoid paying for reasons such as over 12 months since fire equipment not inspected.

I think it absolutely can in some cases. There have been an unusual amount of yacht fires at Miami Beach Marina over the years. When Volts go down, amp draw goes up. So say you drew 90 amps at 229 volts, at 208 volts you'd draw 99amps from the same 100amp cord. Same thing goes for various circuits inside of the boat. Most of these boats run close to the maximum amperage the cords supply (in the daytime anyways when A/C's are cranking). Low voltage/high amp draw causes shore cords to get hot, wiring to get hotter than normal and electric motors to run slightly hotter, usually not an issue until it is an issue. I've seen 198-200 volts there sometimes during the middle of the summer.

Hmmm… the article is from March 2025 covering a fire up on the river

This looks like it was written by a 5 year old but at least it s the right fire. Note how the “video show the yacht catching fire” according to the headline… . Investigators should know the cause quickly since the moment was caught on camera

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/miami/news/miami-beach-yacht-fire-12272025/

That video just wasted too much time in my life. Interviewing tourista bystanders? I'm shocked to discover that they were shocked. Shocking.

I had a relatively new shore cord burn up on 198-200V while running 60-70 percent rated power aboard a prior vessel. Why these marinas cut corners and use a 208v output transformer for single phase is beyond me. 208v will never survive the long run and neighboring loads. Even when you pull in at 10am and register 204v, check back at supper time and watch the meter dip well below 200v when the marina as well as the local consumption is spiking and all voltage is dipping. Big strain.

I can excuse a small marina in some backwater having inadequate shore power but Miami Beach Marina? For the money they charge??

so happy that we have 480 here in the grove. A single cord, no adapter and all the power we need!

Yes, too often the nicest places are the most disappointing. 480v is certainly a failsafe for me as well.

208Vac is a product of later high voltage, 3 phase service.
On or near the dock is a big transformer (WYE or Star *) that converts this service to usable single phase dock service.
The 115/120Vac service looks great but combining any of the three legs makes the 208Vac because of the slight wave timing (phase) issue.

Normally, this high service voltage to dock voltages, transformer conversion, make lots of current. It is current that makes things run and maintain voltage levels.
Big fat (expensive) power cables make this happen.

And here is the rub, undersized power cables running down the docks from these transformers.
I have witnessed this in two different marinas in Jax. Underestimating the current loads for a full dock. Purchasing the bare minimum cables for these loads.

Then, more resistance in the shore power to boat cables. Then more resistance in the boats shore cable connects.
Then a hot day whit every AC running max and not cycling any.
This strangles the current trying to flow and voltages read even lower on the boat at the end of the dock.

I should of included CHEAP people in this above comment.

Rule #1;
Try to dock as close to these big transformers.
Rule #2;
Try not to tie on the end of a busy dock, on a hot day.


*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta–wye_transformer

The transformers reducing the local grid voltage to 480 so that Wye can hand you 480 can just as easily be upgrade to a 240v output per leg. That would make certain that you're receiving at least 225V at your pedestal some 1000 feet later...

A home marina I used for several years had this issue. 208V per leg at the main panel. 204V per leg with a mild load at the pedestal after a 400 foot run, which was around 201V by the time my own gear wasted some on that final 90 feet or so. My boost transformer worked its ass off to keep up.

I went into the main electrical room, found my circuit, installed a buck boost 208V to 240V 25KVA that I found for $700. End of problem. I had 230+V at the pedestal...and then the owner sold the slip I was renting...

The problem with the marina's Wye transformer is none of the 3 phases* are in perfect phase with each other. Not 180° as in our home but 120° from the top to bottom of the 230v wave.
Pretty 115 signals but broken 230v signals. The result is usally 208v.
The current is still there.

Phase shift is just a start of confusion, try to understand RMS or Peek to Peek levels*, when and how to use them.

I am not an expert. I'm not trying to be.
IMO, not to call out anybody but there are no experts on this thread.
Just a bunch of big hearted brothers. Some are also just lucky not to have curly hair.

What I'm trying to point out is there are just to many variables involved with Vac at home, business or at the old and new marina docks.
My comments above are just small samples of the confusion among most of us.
If you really want to loose your mind, try to make sense of the reading below.



*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-phase_electric_power
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_mean_square
https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/tools/peak-to-peak-voltage-calculator/
https://www.allelcoelec.com/blog/Un...nfigurations,Advantages,and-Applications.html
https://electricianu.com/120-vs-208-vs-240-vs-277-vs-480-why-all-the-voltages/

I really wish the better docks would just offer reliable power year round. They charge enough, state they offer a great deal but poor electrical service from the dock is just plain poor business.
Then, We would not have to attempt any mods to keep our boats cool.
We don't have to worry about these volts and current thingies.
See post #12
Better power cables would have cost a fraction of the wire job more, with less worries later.
But what can you do, move to another penny cheap dock with the same issues.

Oh, Cape Marina told me it was O K to run my gen-set on their dock. The dock power there sux.

Never again. https://capemarina.com/

Well the beauty of concrete fixed docks like at Miami Beach Marina is the docks last decades and decades, and they are probably 40 years old. Well, once built they don't realize or think, or go, hey our wiring is 40 years old, perhaps it's time to rewire our dock. As long as it works, they just keep using it. Summer time on a nearly full dock, I've seen less than 200 volts on many of their docks/slips. It's not like that marina isn't nearly full or they don't charge enough. I was there over a holiday weekend like Labor Day and they charged us $17' per foot per night, every night plus electric.

Cape Marina- yeah I've had issues with their electric out by the fuel dock.........Problem is they're the easiest overnight stop in Cape Canaveral on a delivery.

Used to be our stopping spot also.