shocking discovery

[birdstrike]

I'm cleaning up the mess out of my boat from my last trip and I get zappped by my aluminum boat. Okay, not really a shock, but I can feel a current running through me if I touch the metal boat and metal workbench. I checked with my volt meter and there is current coming off the boat??? I had the battery charger hooked up but there shouldn't be anything grounded to the boat itself. Never had any trouble with the batteries going dead or fuses blowing. What is going on??

[stratos200]

are you underneath a high voltage powerline? if so alot of the times the static off of the line will be enough to give you a good zap...

[Dester]

My guess is you are the path to ground via the metal bench. You arent using any accessories on the boat using the hull as a return?

[birdstrike]

My guess is you are the path to ground via the metal bench. You arent using any accessories on the boat using the hull as a return?

Nothing that I know of. There is a small light that only has one wire going to it, so it must have some type of ground return? It was not turned on at the time. I never use it and will remove it tomorrow. There is a little bit of water in the bottom of the boat and I'm wondering if it is pulling juice out of the batteries through a wire connection that may be submerged. Also, and more concerning to me, is that the battery charger bolts to the metal and may be giving it a chage. Who knows. Electricity is not my strong suit.

[18'stratos]

Re-mount the battery charger. Use plastic or rubber bushings that jeep the charger away from the boat. The bushings should have a head on them so that the screws or bolts don't touch it either.
Dis-connect all the wires to the charger to eleminate it from the problem first.