I'm converting to electric propulsion for my H23.5. There is a flat spot in one cabin locker big enough for one battery. I have some wood working experience and access to wood working tools but no experience with fiberglass. My initial thought was to build box to house the batteries out of exterior plywood but mounting it is interesting since it has to mate with the curve of the outer hull. I can try to cut the sides so that they conform to the shape of the hull but I was hoping someone might have a better idea...
Ideas for mounting second battery in a H23.5
- Thread starter PropellerHead
- Start date
Not really, just make a template out of cardboard to follow the contours of the hull. Batteries are heavy so consider strength and boat balance.
Take a drafting compass and set the cardboard against the curved hull... then with one tip of the compass on the hull, make a mark with the other tip on the cardboard... keep doing this as you move along the hull and you will transcribe the exact curve of the hull onto the cardboard. Cut the cardboard along the marks, make sure it lines up against the curve of the hull ... then use the cardboard to trace out the curve on your plywood.
Once you have the box fit, you will want to tab it to the hull with strips of resin soaked fiberglass. Then paint it.
Once you have the box fit, you will want to tab it to the hull with strips of resin soaked fiberglass. Then paint it.
PR
Since you are in Florida assuming on the coast, you may want to consider how much time you will have on one battery leaving the second for other whether or not you are in coastal waters vs. lake. At least you can refill a gas tank but not a battery if depleted as solar takes a while to recharge if going that route as well. Can you advise intent.
Since you are in Florida assuming on the coast, you may want to consider how much time you will have on one battery leaving the second for other whether or not you are in coastal waters vs. lake. At least you can refill a gas tank but not a battery if depleted as solar takes a while to recharge if going that route as well. Can you advise intent.
I'm wondering about keeping it removable for now since I expect that the box will eventually rot.
Can't really split the batteries since I have to run them in series to make the 24V the motor requires. Running the motor at 12V will just draw more Amps and run less efficiently.
I sized the batteries for 2 hours duration at full power with the expected speed under power at 3knts. That gives us 6 miles of range which is plenty for me right now. Most of our sailing will be in the Indian River near Melbourne or in the Florida Bay near Key Largo. While we may travel further than 6 miles from our entry point, we will never be more than six miles from shore or the nearest public dock.
We've been sailing for a year now with no motor at all so I'm comfortable with the limited range of an electric setup. My hope is that it will only be used to navigate in and out of dock when the winds are not favorable. The extra range is just for safety.
I've had gas outboards before and I never had much luck keeping up with the maintenance. Got bit more than once coming into dock and having the motor die at the most inopportune moment. We just couldn't run it enough to keep it happy.
I sized the batteries for 2 hours duration at full power with the expected speed under power at 3knts. That gives us 6 miles of range which is plenty for me right now. Most of our sailing will be in the Indian River near Melbourne or in the Florida Bay near Key Largo. While we may travel further than 6 miles from our entry point, we will never be more than six miles from shore or the nearest public dock.
We've been sailing for a year now with no motor at all so I'm comfortable with the limited range of an electric setup. My hope is that it will only be used to navigate in and out of dock when the winds are not favorable. The extra range is just for safety.
I've had gas outboards before and I never had much luck keeping up with the maintenance. Got bit more than once coming into dock and having the motor die at the most inopportune moment. We just couldn't run it enough to keep it happy.
Stu: Not sure I follow. Yes, it's technically possible to run a 24V motor on one 12V battery but it doesn't buy you anything and there are a number of reasons not to do it.
I don't think that's what Stu meant. The two batteries don't have to be right next to each other. They can be anywhere just as long as they are connected in series with a cable. You just have to size the cable to the length of the run. Stu, correct me if I'm wrong.
Ah OK. I considered putting one battery in the port lazerette where the gas tank is now but it complicates the wiring for the charger. The charger manual comes with warnings about not changing the length of the charger leads so it killed that idea.
Do you already own the electric outboard? If not, I'd suggest a simple MinnKota trolling motor. I've used one on a Coronado 23 in the past and it pushed it well past your goal of 3kt. And you can run them off of 12V so you can a lot more flexibility in your electric set up. Sounds like you are only looking for something to maneuver in and out of the slip so you won't need much more than a 55 lb-thrust troller.
Is putting a battery in the same compartment with a gas tank a good idea, anyway? Probably a good thing that idea was nixed.
I gambled on a cheep Chinese MinnKota knockoff.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KJE9POE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
MinnKota's are expensive.
@Roaland: I'm removing the gas motor so no more gas tank.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KJE9POE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
MinnKota's are expensive.
@Roaland: I'm removing the gas motor so no more gas tank.
Hey Propeller head, It looks like that is a 12 Volt motor, I think you are in business with the 12 Volt system. I have an older MinnKota version of that motor and it runs great on 12 volts (super quiet!). It will do the trick for docking for sure. This makes your wiring much simpler. Batteries in the gas tank well should not be a problem if you don't have a gas tank in there.
Based on my experience with that motor, I would not attempt to power a boat that big without at least two drive batteries and a separate house battery.
Based on my experience with that motor, I would not attempt to power a boat that big without at least two drive batteries and a separate house battery.
PR;
I always worry about getting to shore quickly in the event of an emergency. As for gas engines, I tell everyone only to use ethanol free gas only and when you finish running the motor, simply let the engine run out of gas so no fuel of any kind will remain in the fine jets/ports of the carb where it gums up which is the leading cause of engine failure paticuarly at low speed coming into the dock.
Use of small trolling motors in rivers with much current going against tide and wind has been reported no head way made which is why I do not advocate that style engine anywhere. As for a lake, different scenario. It depends on the situation.
As for the batteries I would suggest the use of a battery selector with quick disconnect. They are correct on the run as to the size of cable you will need. Stu and others please correct me if I am wrong but can you still run one cable from the negative ground of the battery to the second battery negative ground?
As for color coding, the yellow cable is now for negative ground on DC cables only so not to confuse them with black for AC which is shore power or 120.
I always worry about getting to shore quickly in the event of an emergency. As for gas engines, I tell everyone only to use ethanol free gas only and when you finish running the motor, simply let the engine run out of gas so no fuel of any kind will remain in the fine jets/ports of the carb where it gums up which is the leading cause of engine failure paticuarly at low speed coming into the dock.
Use of small trolling motors in rivers with much current going against tide and wind has been reported no head way made which is why I do not advocate that style engine anywhere. As for a lake, different scenario. It depends on the situation.
As for the batteries I would suggest the use of a battery selector with quick disconnect. They are correct on the run as to the size of cable you will need. Stu and others please correct me if I am wrong but can you still run one cable from the negative ground of the battery to the second battery negative ground?
As for color coding, the yellow cable is now for negative ground on DC cables only so not to confuse them with black for AC which is shore power or 120.
I have two group 24s in my 23.5 and have done it two different ways. First the batteries in plastic boxes shared the board that the one sat on. I may have turned them 90 degrees so the both fit. That was quite a while ago. Now the batteries and boxes are both on a piece of starboard that was set with 5200 on the top of the ballast tank in the aft portion of the v berth locker just in front of the compression post. This also helped balance the boat as the stern was sitting pretty low after I added the stern rail seats. It adds a bit more wire but that is really the least accessible storage area and made sense for me.
You could just cut a plastic cutting board and use 5200 to add another place to mount the second battery and box right next to the first in the present one. The same method would work behind the bulkhead in the aft berth.
You could just cut a plastic cutting board and use 5200 to add another place to mount the second battery and box right next to the first in the present one. The same method would work behind the bulkhead in the aft berth.
Just got back from my first cruise. Spent a week bumping around the Florida Bay near southern Key Largo. The trolling motor worked out nicely. Winds were 18 and gusty but she powered through with no problem.
Ended up going with mounting the batteries in the V Birth locker. Ran six gauge wire strait to the stern with no breaks. I then ran a separate run of 10 gauge from one of the batteries to the panel. I expect the added drain to be low and the charger will balance them anyway so I'm not worried about the uneven discharge.
Ended up going with mounting the batteries in the V Birth locker. Ran six gauge wire strait to the stern with no breaks. I then ran a separate run of 10 gauge from one of the batteries to the panel. I expect the added drain to be low and the charger will balance them anyway so I'm not worried about the uneven discharge.