Good links Capt. Bob! Anyone who isn't reading Don Casey should start. This Old Boat by Don Casey, and Powerboat Reports Guide to Powerboat Gear: Take the Guesswork Out of Gear Buying by Dan Dickison deserve a spot on the shelf next to Chapman Piloting.
Mark,
I'm not going to say whether what you are suggesting would work. I'm not insured for giving helpful advice, particularly when it violates code.
I will say why I would recommend against this approach, and give you a solution that will work and be safe.
Why it is not a good idea: your boat side is 30 amp. The house side you are suggesting using is maybe 20 amp, but, probably 15 amp service. There is a very high likelihood that a load or two will flip on aboard the boat that are well in excess of this, like the fridge, A/C, battery chargers, et cetera. In theory (mark those words), the breaker in your house would flip and nothing bad would happen. In practice, it might not flip before the wire or a connection on the house side caught fire. Further, the 15 or 20 amp service on the house side, and it's breaker, are designed to handle the inrush current for loads that size (physics applies everywhere, even electricity, oversimplified: it takes more to get the ball rolling than keep it rolling-->inrush current). The inrush current from your A/C or fridge, particularly old units, may be a great deal of current, causing voltage drop along the house wiring end (it isn't sized for that load) resulting in low voltage at the boat side, which may damage equipment, to say nothing of the fact that it might melt the insulation right off the wires in the house, out of view, and down the road, that causes a house fire. I can go on with more reasons but, suffice to say, what you are considering is high risk, and could void the insurance on your home should something bad occur, and that might just be the least of your worries at that point.
So, what can you do? You can wire your house for this service. My apologies for the quick disclaimer, I'm an engineer, not a licensed electrician, obey local codes, get a permit, et cetera.
Anyway, add a couple of 125V/30A outlets to your house. It usually isn't very difficult. You can go to your electrical box, kill the main, disconnect one breaker, pull the breaker, take it to the home store, and ask for two 30 amp breakers like it. Also pick up a couple of boxes and outlets, like this one:
http://dogbytecomputer.com/hubbell-305c ... tacle.htmlAdd your new breakers to the box, they usually just snap in. The 30A breakers will go in just like the 15A you pulled for a sample.
The outlets may have to be purchased from an RV dealer, as they are marine/RV and not common in homes. Run 10 AWG wire from the new breakers, neutral bus, and ground bus to your new outlets. The outlet boxes should be mounted firm, like on a piece of 1/2" plywood.
Now you have full electrical service at your home, you can wake up on a fishing day with your batteries charged and fridge cold: very luxurious.
About home-owner's permits, they are a great idea. Not just because they are required but, the electrical inspectors are happy to help (if you are friendly). They will make multiple trips to your home and tell you exactly how to do it (sort of). Wiring in a couple of outlets is not like trying to add a deck or addition. The building department is very helpful on this sort of thing. You head down to town hall, tell them what you want to do. They aren't actually allowed to help you but, they will show you samples of other peoples permits if you ask. Same on your home, they can't tell you how but, if you snap in the breakers, pull the wire, and mount the boxes, and stop there, the inspector is fine with that. He/she will look over the job and let you know if you've got it right. Then you make the final connection and they sign you off. They can't tell you how to do it but, they can tell you if you've got it wrong or if you've got it right. So, a bit of conversation will get you all the info you need.
Also, down in the electrical department of the home store, they CAN tell you how to do it, so that is a source of info as well. Go there first, building department second.
