Carry A Spare Alternator??

[dLj]

What to carry for spares is a complicated question. Where are you sailing? Will you be in remote places? Your spares list is different if you are heading to places where you can get things rather than places where you can't. There are no spare parts available in Antarctica or doing the northern artic passage. There are no spare parts in the middle of any ocean. Part of the assessment takes into consideration how critical the specific system is to arrive to where it can be fixed or if it's needed to be fixed ASAP no matter where you are.

What systems are on your boat, how critical each is, and your ability to fix which ever system needs to be assessed. A lot of modern systems simply can't be fixed - they are replaced.

Do you need a spare alternator? How critical to your systems is having it vs not having it? I used to have a cruising boat with an engine I could hand crank to start. I had solar panels to charge batteries in addition to the engine alternator. I had limited electronics. I had no need to carry a spare alternator. My current boat has a ton more electronics and systems requiring electricity. I run dual alternators off the engine. I also have solar panels. But with all my electronic loads, on this boat I carry a spare alternator.

How are you setting up your boat? Only you can answer if you need a spare alternator. How about a spare starter motor for the engine? I can't hand crank my current engine. Sadly. But that's the way of the world at this time...

Summary: How critical are each of your systems, where will you be sailing, what systems can you not live without, what are you good at fixing on your own? Answer all these questions. Then if you need a spare alternator or not will become clear.

dj

 

[colemj]

I carry a spare solar panel.

We carry a spare engine/transmission/prop . Two spare props, actually.

Mark

 

[dlochner]

After replacing 2 of our cabin fans in rapid succession, we now carry 2 spares for the remaining fans. Of course they are still in the box 3 years later because we haven't needed them.

In addition to the spare parts, it's important to carry the tools needed to install the parts.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

We carry a spare engine/transmission/prop . Two spare props, actually.

Mark

LOL let’s be candid- that ”spare” becomes very important in slow speed maneuvers in tight areas (e.g. docking).
I’m trying to make sense of the spare solar panel comment, especially from someone who has a 23’ boat.

 

[JBP-PA]

The solar panel can be used in lieu of a spare alternator. It's also handy at anchor if you don't want to run the engine.

 

[dlochner]

The solar panel can be used in lieu of a spare alternator. It's also handy at anchor if you don't want to run the engine.

The math doesn't work well with this solution. The 80a Hitachi on the OP's boat is good for maybe 40a continuous. To meet that output it would be necessary to carry an additional 480 watts of solar. Storage alone would make this a deal breaker. Bigger boats, bigger electrical demands require high output solutions. The daily consumption on a transatlantic crossing will run at least 100ah a day. Can't make that up with a small easily storable solar panel.

 

[JBP-PA]

The math doesn't work well with this solution. The 80a Hitachi on the OP's boat is good for maybe 40a continuous. To meet that output it would be necessary to carry an additional 480 watts of solar. Storage alone would make this a deal breaker. Bigger boats, bigger electrical demands require high output solutions. The daily consumption on a transatlantic crossing will run at least 100ah a day. Can't make that up with a small easily storable solar panel.

Nah. It's for emergency purposes, until you can get your alternator fixed. I had to use it once as an emergency backup. It's OK. I couldn't run the fridge or anything, but it was enough so that my trip wasn't ruined entirely. Not for trans-oceanic passages, that's a whole different kettle of fish.

 

[dlochner]

Nah. It's for emergency purposes, until you can get your alternator fixed. I had to use it once as an emergency backup. It's OK. I couldn't run the fridge or anything, but it was enough so that my trip wasn't ruined entirely. Not for trans-oceanic passages, that's a whole different kettle of fish.

For longer cruises, including extended coastal cruising, having redundant systems is important. For the electrical system, we have 3 charging sources, alternator, solar, and shore powered charger. When we were doing shorter summer vacation trips of a week to 10 days, the wimpy OEM alternator and shore power charger were adequate. When we took off on year long cruises, we ditched the OEM alternator, added a high output alternator, 300w of solar and a 50a charger. After we lost the alternator because of a mechanic mad, we were able to get by by reducing our electrical consumption and more frequent stays at marinas to fully charge the batteries. The moral is design your systems to meet your intended uses.