I bought my boat last August, and at the time it was not plugged in at the dock. The surveyor said I should replace the AC sockets with GFCIs, and that I did not have a battery charger, but otherwise there did not appear to be any issues with AC power.

Well thus far I have managed to not plug in anytime. I sail or check the boat at least once a week, and that often includes running the engine for a half hour or so... apparently enough to keep the batteries happy.

I have a charger on the way from Defender (backordered) and will install that when I can, but I keep wondering if it really is such a good idea to introduce both galvanic and AC potentials to the boat when things have worked so well without. (I do have a galvanic isolator).

One clear advantage is that AC will provide backup power should a leak develop... that is once I put in a 12v bilge pump. (right now the bilge is bone dry and I like it that way... I only have a manual pump)

So I keep wondering... do I really want to "plug in."