August 22, 2006, Annapolis, MD: The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) is currently seeking comments and feedback on the possible creation of a new standard for high voltage alternating current (AC) & direct current (DC) applications. While ABYC currently has the E-11 Electrical standard, which serves as a guide for the design, construction and installation of AC and DC electrical systems on boats, E-11's scope is limited to DC electrical systems that operate at potentials of 50 volts or less and to AC electrical systems operating at frequencies of 50 or 60 hertz and less than 300 volts.

As power needs, consumption and options on boats increases, builders, surveyors and technicians working on electrical systems are increasingly in need of information and guidance that is outside the current scope of the E-11 standard, and are finding limited resources/documents to assist them in the design, construction and maintenance of electrical systems requiring high voltage alternating current (AC) & direct current (DC) applications.

ABYC is therefore seeking comments from marine industry representatives to determine if the there is an industry need to develop a high voltage AC and DC standard, and if so, if there are sufficient numbers of industry experts who would be interested in participating on a committee that would move forward in potentially developing such a standard. The input collected will be used to determine the industry need and relevance and level of participation for the existence of a standard of this scope.

For further information, to submit comments or volunteer to participate should a project action committee be formed to address this issue, contact John Adey, ABYC Technical Director at jadey@abycinc.org or (410) 990-4460, ext. 29 no later than September 22, 2006.

ABYC has been developing, writing and updating the safety standards for boat building and repair in the United States for over 50 years. ABYC is actively involved with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as well as education and certification programs for marine technicians. These standards are available on CD-ROM, online (Web-STIR) and in printed form. Membership and general information can be requested by visiting the ABYC web site at www.abycinc.org.