On our other boat that lives in a slip, Ranger 23, we have a
permanently mounted charger that we plug in for a night every now and
then to charge the battery. We also have an alternator on the 9.9
electric start outboard on that boat that seems to work reasonably
well. The monty 17, we intend to trailer sail and hope to avoid
marinas and shore power :-)
We thought about getting an AirX wind generator but that would mean
one more thing to have to set up and take down and it is pretty big.
Ultimately I think we will just add a second battery for longer
cruises and just have the small panel charging whichever battery we
are not using. I expect our electricity draw to go up dramatically
when we add the autotiller over the winter.
Chad
On Oct 22, 2007, at 12:17 PM, Howard Audsley wrote:
On removing the hatch. The wiring from the panel could be to brass
or copper strips on the bottom of the hatch flanges. They would
ride on similar strips on the cabin deck. These would be your
contacts. If the hatch is on, it's wired....but it lifts off the
same as it does now. Or wire it to a quick disconnect. Yes, I have
thought about it, just never considered actually building it.
But.....if you did want to build it, I'd add that to get the
voltage right requires a certain number of individual cells. Each
one generates a voltage that accumulates like batteries wired in
series. To fit them into the available room, you have to buy the
right size cells to get the right voltage. In terms of amps, you
get what you get. As I recall from back then, these cells are
fragile. If one is dinged or damaged, it goes dead and the charging
voltage drops. It might be you would have to put a skin of
plexiglass or something similar on the top to protect them from
things like flying blocks or even hail. Things do hit the decks.
But instead of that, I installed a hard wired, 3 stage battery
charger. Guest I believe it is. Very small and it's in the boat all
the time. All I have to do is find a place to plug it in. Tied up
to a marina long enough to walk to a store for beer or go to dinner
is often all it takes. A fully charged battery will last as long as
my ice does.
Howard
On Oct 22, 2007, at 12:00 PM, Chad Parrish wrote:
Great idea about putting solar panels on the hatch cover. I have
a small solar panel that I use to keep the battery topped off but
I just set it outside when it is sunny and hope for the best. The
only issue I really see is that I typically remove the hatch cover
when raising or lowering the mast on our M17. I wonder how long
you would have to run a generator to put a decent charge into a
battery.
Perhaps it might make sense to add a second battery. Our boat is
wired for a second battery but we have never ran into an issue
where the battery went dead in the first place, of course we have
not owned the boat very long either . . .
--Chad
On Oct 22, 2007, at 11:30 AM, Howard Audsley wrote:
Before I'd buy a gas generator for a boat of this size, I'd
consider a solar panel. Less weight, less money and much safer.
At one time many of the universities with engineering programs
were racing solar powered cars. We had one locally. The skin of
the car itself was the solar panel. They bought the individual
cells, wired them together and glued them to the skin. I've
never done much about it, but have always thought the top of the
hatch cover could be used like that. Generally, it's protected
from damage and if the boom is kept out of the way, would get
good sun, and would normally get a lot of sun when underway.
Enough to keep a group 24 or 27 battery charged up for the
minimal electronics these boats normally pack. Put a regulator on
it and it would pretty much take care of itself.
Howard
On Oct 22, 2007, at 11:16 AM, Tom Jenkins wrote:
I looked into adding an optional alternator to my 5 hp Honda,
but the output
is so small that it seemed a waste of money. I plan to buy a
1000 watt
Yamaha generator, which I think can be slipped through the
forward (cabin)
opening of the big port locker and carried upright. The
comparable Honda
generator apparently has no fuel cutoff like the Yamaha, so
draining the
carburetor would be more difficult, but the dimensions and specs
are nearly
identical. One of course has to be careful with the exhaust
onboard, but at
a weight of less than 30 lbs, one of these units would be good
insurance
without undue bulk.
Tom Jenkins
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
Of Jim
Sadler
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 6:01 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: M_Boats: M-15 charging batteries
Any of you skippers carry a small gas generator on board for
charging
batteries?
Are you using outboards that have charging cabilities?
Thanks
Captain James Albert Sadler
skipper sailing vessel Pelican M-15
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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