New 895 Sport AC Power only works on shore power?

[capnsteve]

Hi folks, 

Recently took possession of an 895 sport. Loving it so far but also still learning a lot about the boat. The manual leaves...a lot to be desired, so thought I'd try here with what I think is a pretty straightforward question. 

It appears none of the AC sockets on the boat work when not connected to shore power. Is this true? Have folks made changes to enable this? 

Thank you!

[mjbwa]

Unless you have a generator or inverter installed the AC outlets will only work when hooked to shore power.

[sapient]

There are two separate circuits on almost any boat: AC and DC.

Once you are off shore power, the boat’s AC outlets need a new power source: AC generator or inverter to convert the DC stored in your boat batteries to AC. In addition, many folks also install solar panel on the roof of the boat to add juice to these batteries.

Usually there is also a switch / breaker to switch between shore power and inverter.