79 Hunter 30 battery placement & aft end layout

[Ben Jammin]

Roland, that would be great! Next on my list after I can run the engine and steer the boat at the same time, is to replace much of the electrical. I hate the location of the panel near the sole, so I was planning on relocating it. I saw an ad for an H30, I think in Oregon, that had the panel on top of the nav panel, so I was going to try to replicate that.
That would be a great item for the owner upgrades section, as I imagine many owners would want to do it also.
Ben

 

[Ben Jammin]

I mean, on top of the nav table.

 

[ggrizzard]

Ben,
I haven't taken any pics yet, but I will this week if I can figure out how on my
I pad clone.
I too am considering the DC/AC switch panel move to the Nav table. Problem is, I don't want to start the disassembly process until I find a good cabinet shop locally who can make the panel cabinet properly and back me up if I screw up the process. But I agree, it's something many of us have thought about and would make a great "Owners Mod" chapter.

 

[ggrizzard]

OK Ben (and you other lot): Here are some pics of the quarter berth modification.
Sorry for the quality... Best I can do at the moment.

 

[Ben Jammin]

Ggrizzard, it looks very finished. Maybe I'm missing a ceiling or other interior parts in the QB area, but mine looks nothing like that (except the Gray port). I can't see how it comes out, but that sounds like a big plus too.
Here are some pics from the ad for someone else's '79 Hunter 30. Overall the boat looks exceptionally well set up, but I really like the slide out nav table, and of course the relocated and expanded electrical panel.

 

[Roland5048]

Ben, here are the pics from my panel mod.

Pic #1 Overview
Pic #2 New Panel
Pic #3 Under the Q - Berth
Pic #4 Four 6v. GC batts wired in series to form house banks 1 and 2. These are wired to the selector switch shown in pic #5.
Pic #5 Selector switch wired to #1 on sel switch at the nav station. Group 24 starting batt wired to #2 on sel switch at nav station. This gives me six different configurations for batt. use.
Overkill for this boat? Probably, but I haven't ever run out of juice.
Hope this helps.

 

[Ben Jammin]

Roland, thanks for the pics! I don't think that's overkill, seems like a solid cruising setup to me. For overkill see the post by Gorilla Toast, he's got twice the battery and less boat! Is there something else between the fuel tank and tranny (where many of the other '70s H30's have their batteries)? The batteries should stay cooler where you have them and they are lower and easily accessible for maintenance, but off to the side of centerline and taking up locker space. Everything is a tradeoff, right?
The panel looks great! I figured on having mine a little farther from the hull to give space for wiring behind it. Did you have any issues packing all the wiring in there?

 

[Roland5048]

Nothing between the tank and tranny. That leaves good (?) access to the shaft. Off center with the water tank on the same side does put more weight to port but has not been an issue since they're pretty low in the hull. Could have put more space behind the panel but that is where the lip on the headliner is so I just attached to that. It's cramped but doable. That's a good observation, however. Might have to mull that over for a while.
Tape on the batt charger breaker is because, while the wires are hooked up, they are not yet connected to an outlet. Don't need to create an accidental short. Going to put in a dedicated outlet when the weather cools a bit. Nov., maybe.

 

[Ben Jammin]

I retract my statement about the overkill by Gorilla Toast. His system seems overkill for my situation and the way I plan to use my boat, but it may be perfectly sized for his scenario.

Oh yeah, winter is the time to get outdoor work done in FL. I've lived several places in FL, West Palm, Key Largo, Gainesville, Melbourne, and even Plant City, so I know what you mean. Here in San Diego I can work anytime (darn, no excuses)!

Speaking of battery chargers, now I'm trying to figure out where to put the 40A Sterling Procharge I just got. It's footprint is about 8x11". There was no battery charger in the boat when I got it, so I have no idea where the stock location is. I'm thinking I'll put it on the outside of the engine compartment wall above the quarter berth (close to batteries if I put them in the stock location by the fuel tank). Maybe that's another plus for Roland's setup, the charger goes in/on/under the nav panel and is still close to the batteries.

Maybe I should start a new thread!

 

[Roland5048]

Ben, my charger is mounted on the outside aft of the nav table above the cushion on the q-berth. Short run to the batts and short run to panel. Make sure to leave enough room for air circulation. Different year models had different nav table setups. Don't know what yours is. I'll try to post a pic of the set-up.

 

[GorillaToast]

 

[Roland5048]

Here's how my charger is set up. Very short runs to batts.
.
Pic #1 Looking at starting batt under nav table. Charger is mounted to the left. That yellow thing.
Pic #2 Looking from the Q-Berth aft. Charger is under the Nav table overhang. Wires are going to the house bank under the Q-Berth and there is a hole for the third set going to the starting batt. This is a three bank charger.

 

[Roland5048]

GT, nice setup.

 

[GorillaToast]

GT, nice setup.

Thanks

 

[Ben Jammin]

Yeah, that does look good. GT's got the same charger I just got I believe (based on Maine Sail's recommendations of course). I would like to have my breaker panel up away from the floor, but it looks like that fits a lot of components in a limited space and still keeps things usable.

 

[pateco]

Hunter sure made some changes when they switched to the 31' My breaker panel and battery switch are mounted just below the companionway directly above the engine. Batteries are located in the starboard lazarette

 

[RAD88]

Have the same boat -
1st problem I see is how do you access your stuffing box with 2 batteries on top of it?
2nd is that batteries hate heat but it might be ok as long as there's air circulation.
My batteries are in the locker under the port Captains berth - the problem there is there's too much weight on the port side - head holding tank, toilet, water tank and batteries.
I like the idea of the batteries in the sail locker. Better weight distribution.
Buy 2 battery cases and screw them down where ever you put the batteries.
I just did an engine swap to a refurbished YSB12 and changed the exhaust elbow to a SS one - no more clogging, and had the fuel tank out - inspected cleaned - 42 year old tank still good as new !
Feel free to ask any questions - Happy sailing with your new yacht.

 

[dLj]

I just did an engine swap to a refurbished YSB12 and changed the exhaust elbow to a SS one - no more clogging, and had the fuel tank out - inspected cleaned - 42 year old tank still good as new !
Feel free to ask any questions - Happy sailing with your new yacht.

Where did you get the stainless steel elbow? I see one in the very new future being needed on my engine...

dj

 

[Ben Jammin]

Can anyone comment on whether they would like to be able to reach the breaker panel from the cockpit? It seems like a pain to climb down into the cabin if you need to flip on deck lights or talk on the radio.

Pateco, That's an interesting idea. I think I could lean into the cabin access the panel from standing in the cockpit. But there's so much overhang of the companionway in my boat, that you'd have to squat down to see things when you're in the cabin.

RAD88, the battery shelf doesn't totally cover the shaft seal. I believe the front edge of the shelf is about a foot above the stuffing box. Well, my boat has a dripless seal, so I normally don't really need to access it anyways (although it's ready to be replaced now). I took some pictures on Saturday, but tipped over my kayak on Sunday, and apparently the omnipotent iPhones don't care for seawater. Guess I'll invest in an Otterbox next time.
I don't know what the Captain's berth is, but if that's the same as the quarter berth, I'm starting to really like that location. I was figuring on making a sheet stainless steel heat shield for the batteries. I don't know where the sail locker is either. Forward of the galley seems like the cables to the engine and breaker panel would have to be quite long (then again, my Miata's battery is in the trunk). Does your boat actually list to port when your water tank is full?
YSB12? You stayed with a thumper? I have the YSM12 (I think very similar). I haven't driven the boat under power yet, but at idle the vibration makes waves in the harbor. I figured I'd look for a 2-cyl if (when) I repower.

 

[pateco]

Can anyone comment on whether they would like to be able to reach the breaker panel from the cockpit? It seems like a pain to climb down into the cabin if you need to flip on deck lights or talk on the radio.

Pateco, That's an interesting idea. I think I could lean into the cabin access the panel from standing in the cockpit. But there's so much overhang of the companionway in my boat, that you'd have to squat down to see things when you're in the cabin.

You can lean in and switch the breakers, but at night when you need to turn on cabin lights, running or steaming lights you need to be able to find the correct breaker by feel, or go below to read the labels.