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: montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Jim Sadler Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 6:01 PM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com 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 jimsadler@jascopacific.com
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