My wife and I spent three great weeks in the Abacos. My boat not only handled well, but was very comfortable too. The only major problem we had, was the batteries discharged very quickly forcing us to charge them twice a day, for more than an hour each time. I am looking for a solution to this problem. I would like to know if anyone added a wind generator or solar panels, and if so what kind and was it enough.
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Battery Capacity
Mark When you run out of battery charge, it's kinda like running out of gas. How long have you been running the 'engine' and how much fuel did you have to start out with? Sure seems that you could use a basic course in energy management. The bigger a battery bank is the longer it will run. The larger a load (like lights, anchor light, refrigerator, etc.) you place on any given size of battery, the SHORTER time it will LAST. I'm sorry to mention this, but (and I hesitate to shout, but
THIS IS BASIC STUFF. Please, figure out how to do an ENERGY BUDGET and size your use and battery capacity accordingly. The stuff the factory gave you is very basic barebones equipment. If you have a big expensive boat like a C350, ya oughta be able to read, darnit. Buy a book or two about basic boating systems. You got all the way to the Abacos and back, ya should be able to find a marine bookstore, either in real life or on line. PS: How long would you expect a flashlight to work without putting in new batteries? PPS I just can't believe that people who have this of $$$ to spend on boats continue to be so clueless as to how they work. PPPS - Again, Mark, sorry, but I'm glad you had a great rip, but your problem isn't a problem, but simply a lack of you doing your own homework. You buy a BIG boat, fella, ya better learn how to use it and make it work. PPPPS - sure, solar panels and wind generators work great. Do some reading, the depth of information available is unbelieveable. This is not the forum to start writing books that have already been written.
Mark When you run out of battery charge, it's kinda like running out of gas. How long have you been running the 'engine' and how much fuel did you have to start out with? Sure seems that you could use a basic course in energy management. The bigger a battery bank is the longer it will run. The larger a load (like lights, anchor light, refrigerator, etc.) you place on any given size of battery, the SHORTER time it will LAST. I'm sorry to mention this, but (and I hesitate to shout, but
THIS IS BASIC STUFF. Please, figure out how to do an ENERGY BUDGET and size your use and battery capacity accordingly. The stuff the factory gave you is very basic barebones equipment. If you have a big expensive boat like a C350, ya oughta be able to read, darnit. Buy a book or two about basic boating systems. You got all the way to the Abacos and back, ya should be able to find a marine bookstore, either in real life or on line. PS: How long would you expect a flashlight to work without putting in new batteries? PPS I just can't believe that people who have this of $$$ to spend on boats continue to be so clueless as to how they work. PPPS - Again, Mark, sorry, but I'm glad you had a great rip, but your problem isn't a problem, but simply a lack of you doing your own homework. You buy a BIG boat, fella, ya better learn how to use it and make it work. PPPPS - sure, solar panels and wind generators work great. Do some reading, the depth of information available is unbelieveable. This is not the forum to start writing books that have already been written.
C350 Battery Power from a C34 Owner
Mark As a new boat owner, I'm sure you will have many questions about the systems on your boat. In the SF Bay area, we have invited the new C350 boatowners to join our C34 fleet until they get themselves up and running as a C350 group. I understand that Mark and Mitzi Kohler are active in starting a C350 association in SF and on the web. You may want to do some searching on this site, as they also may have a Sailnet group for C350s up and running already, if they don't already have their own webiste. In the meantime, for basic boat system information, please feel free to access our C34 website and technical information at www.c34.org. A link to some of the answers to the questions you asked is below. Another link is: http://c34.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=329609511&f=829605811&m=433600922&r=168601532#168601532 Just cut and paste this into your browser to get there. This one includes a reference to how to increase your ability to stay on the hook by keeping the largest house battery bank you can 'float.' Good luck, and you sure have chosen a great boat. Please feel free to wander around our C34 website as you need. There are so many similarities between and among our boats, including the C320, C36, C30, C28, etc., that we've found that cross referencing each other's websites makes sense in terms of learning things about our boats. There's also a wealth of information available in bookstores. Best we've found is Calder's Boatowner's Manual, the best $50 you could spend. Don't wait 'til the holidays or a birthday, just get the book and start studying. All the best. Stu Jackson C34 International Assoc. Secretary
Mark As a new boat owner, I'm sure you will have many questions about the systems on your boat. In the SF Bay area, we have invited the new C350 boatowners to join our C34 fleet until they get themselves up and running as a C350 group. I understand that Mark and Mitzi Kohler are active in starting a C350 association in SF and on the web. You may want to do some searching on this site, as they also may have a Sailnet group for C350s up and running already, if they don't already have their own webiste. In the meantime, for basic boat system information, please feel free to access our C34 website and technical information at www.c34.org. A link to some of the answers to the questions you asked is below. Another link is: http://c34.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=329609511&f=829605811&m=433600922&r=168601532#168601532 Just cut and paste this into your browser to get there. This one includes a reference to how to increase your ability to stay on the hook by keeping the largest house battery bank you can 'float.' Good luck, and you sure have chosen a great boat. Please feel free to wander around our C34 website as you need. There are so many similarities between and among our boats, including the C320, C36, C30, C28, etc., that we've found that cross referencing each other's websites makes sense in terms of learning things about our boats. There's also a wealth of information available in bookstores. Best we've found is Calder's Boatowner's Manual, the best $50 you could spend. Don't wait 'til the holidays or a birthday, just get the book and start studying.
All the best. Stu Jackson C34 International Assoc. SecretaryIs Something Amiss?
(Hey Charger, thanks for all the "helpful advice" - feel free to jump in anytime) Mark - just a thought - I'm still wringing out my new C350 and I've come to believe that my 12V system is wired wrong from the factory. From what I can tell, my 1-2-All-Off switch has no affect on the 12V distribution panel. I've asked my dealer to get the ships wiring diagrams from the factory and that is in work. As the boat is still quite new and certainly under warranty, I'm a bit reluctant to do a whole bunch of troubleshooting and potentially rewiring - knowing that as soon as I change the wiring around, anything bad that happens will probably become my fault. In the mean time, I seem to have enough 12V to do a bunch of day sailing, and occasional overnights off the charger, but I'm wary of heading out for an extended time of depending upon the ships batteries until this issue is fixed. Long story short (no pun intended) - your ships batteries should have plenty of juice for you without recharging twice daily unless you are abusing them with super high demands (like using a big inverter all day). Check to see that everything operates correctly and that the wiring is as is should be. Tim Brogan "April IV" C350 #68 Seattle, WA
(Hey Charger, thanks for all the "helpful advice" - feel free to jump in anytime) Mark - just a thought - I'm still wringing out my new C350 and I've come to believe that my 12V system is wired wrong from the factory. From what I can tell, my 1-2-All-Off switch has no affect on the 12V distribution panel. I've asked my dealer to get the ships wiring diagrams from the factory and that is in work. As the boat is still quite new and certainly under warranty, I'm a bit reluctant to do a whole bunch of troubleshooting and potentially rewiring - knowing that as soon as I change the wiring around, anything bad that happens will probably become my fault. In the mean time, I seem to have enough 12V to do a bunch of day sailing, and occasional overnights off the charger, but I'm wary of heading out for an extended time of depending upon the ships batteries until this issue is fixed. Long story short (no pun intended) - your ships batteries should have plenty of juice for you without recharging twice daily unless you are abusing them with super high demands (like using a big inverter all day). Check to see that everything operates correctly and that the wiring is as is should be. Tim Brogan "April IV" C350 #68 Seattle, WA
Battery Charging
Stu, We cruise a lot in our C36... Adding up the vacation and long weekends its around 7 or 8 weeks on the water. Based on this I can give you a little insight. First off track the duty cycle on the refrigerator! Mine runs like 20 minutes out of every hour. Put block ice in the botton if you have a foot pump, and it will cut the duty cycle by about 75% or to about 5 to 6 minute per hour. Are you running an inverter to power a TV/VCR or microwave? I run a 1000 watt inverter. Last two years we had a 13 inch TV VCR combo. It sucked down the juice. I installed a flat panel LCD screen and it uses about 8 to 10% of what the 13inch did and it's 20". If your running an inverter make sure you shut the breaker for the battery charger off! you'll be charging in circles. Are you running electric coffee makers? These draw huge amounts of current. If there is a wiring problem as you've said the dealer can chase it down. Hope this helps, Chris
Stu, We cruise a lot in our C36... Adding up the vacation and long weekends its around 7 or 8 weeks on the water. Based on this I can give you a little insight. First off track the duty cycle on the refrigerator! Mine runs like 20 minutes out of every hour. Put block ice in the botton if you have a foot pump, and it will cut the duty cycle by about 75% or to about 5 to 6 minute per hour. Are you running an inverter to power a TV/VCR or microwave? I run a 1000 watt inverter. Last two years we had a 13 inch TV VCR combo. It sucked down the juice. I installed a flat panel LCD screen and it uses about 8 to 10% of what the 13inch did and it's 20". If your running an inverter make sure you shut the breaker for the battery charger off! you'll be charging in circles. Are you running electric coffee makers? These draw huge amounts of current. If there is a wiring problem as you've said the dealer can chase it down. Hope this helps, Chris
Refrigeration & Other Stuff
Hi Mark, You've been where we want to go in a few years! How did your refrigeration perform? Mine seems to run all the time. At 5 amps that is 120 amp hours per day! Did you visit marinas? If so, what size slip did you get? Anything else you care to share about your trip and the 350's performance? thanks Richard & Joanne s/v Eagle's Wings C350 #37 rcollins@wt.net PS There seems to be a lot more C350 activity on the 350 list on SailNet.
Hi Mark, You've been where we want to go in a few years! How did your refrigeration perform? Mine seems to run all the time. At 5 amps that is 120 amp hours per day! Did you visit marinas? If so, what size slip did you get? Anything else you care to share about your trip and the 350's performance? thanks Richard & Joanne s/v Eagle's Wings C350 #37 rcollins@wt.net PS There seems to be a lot more C350 activity on the 350 list on SailNet.
Keep the questions coming
Hi Mark: Please do not let "Charger" remarks discourage you from using this site. That is the worse comment I have seen on this site. Most sail boat owners have been very helpful to me. I see the KNOWLEDGEABLE guy did not have the guts to identify himself. I bought my first sailboat, a Catalina 400, in May 2001. It has been a real learning curve but I have enjoyed all of it. The 350 being a new boat may have a few problems but I have been really impressed with Catalina customer support. I brought my boat from Fort Lauderdale to Myrtle Beach, SC in June and will take it back in November( I have homes in both places). Wish you the best with you boat. Bill
Hi Mark: Please do not let "Charger" remarks discourage you from using this site. That is the worse comment I have seen on this site. Most sail boat owners have been very helpful to me. I see the KNOWLEDGEABLE guy did not have the guts to identify himself. I bought my first sailboat, a Catalina 400, in May 2001. It has been a real learning curve but I have enjoyed all of it. The 350 being a new boat may have a few problems but I have been really impressed with Catalina customer support. I brought my boat from Fort Lauderdale to Myrtle Beach, SC in June and will take it back in November( I have homes in both places). Wish you the best with you boat. Bill
Fridge requires some tuning
We keep our 350 on a mooring, and several hours of engine time to charge is the norm for us. The only significant draw is the refridgeration. You need to be careful how you have the two fridge thermostats set. It looks like the one in the freezer controls the condenser unit, and the one in the fridge controls a fan that sucks cold air out of the reefer. If you have the fridge set too high in comparison to the freezer, the unit will run constantly, since the fan will take all the cold out of the freezer and never reach it's set point. I haven't got it completely dialed in yet, but with the freezer set one higher than the fridge I seem to get more 'off' time. I suspect the differential should be closer to two. The fridge/freezer is quite large, and does draw quite a bit coming to temp at the beginning of a weekend when we turn it on. We typically start the engine as soon as we get onboard Friday night and run it while we put things away and get the boat setup, That seems to cover at least some of the worst of the power draw. I also have a third battery, dedicated as a starting battery for the engine, so that I can use both 4D's as house batteries. And a Balmar 75 amp alternator with Balmar Maxcharge regulator so that I can chagre the batteries better/faster.
We keep our 350 on a mooring, and several hours of engine time to charge is the norm for us. The only significant draw is the refridgeration. You need to be careful how you have the two fridge thermostats set. It looks like the one in the freezer controls the condenser unit, and the one in the fridge controls a fan that sucks cold air out of the reefer. If you have the fridge set too high in comparison to the freezer, the unit will run constantly, since the fan will take all the cold out of the freezer and never reach it's set point. I haven't got it completely dialed in yet, but with the freezer set one higher than the fridge I seem to get more 'off' time. I suspect the differential should be closer to two. The fridge/freezer is quite large, and does draw quite a bit coming to temp at the beginning of a weekend when we turn it on. We typically start the engine as soon as we get onboard Friday night and run it while we put things away and get the boat setup, That seems to cover at least some of the worst of the power draw. I also have a third battery, dedicated as a starting battery for the engine, so that I can use both 4D's as house batteries. And a Balmar 75 amp alternator with Balmar Maxcharge regulator so that I can chagre the batteries better/faster.
Starting Battery
Steve, Thanks for the information. Where did you place the starting battery? How did you connect it to the electrical system? thanks
Steve, Thanks for the information. Where did you place the starting battery? How did you connect it to the electrical system? thanks
Port settee
I had the dealer install it. The best place was under the port settee, which meant no third water tank for us. The Prosine 1800 inverter is also under the port settee. The wiring is as follows: Third battery to engine battery switch. Engine battery switch to starter. Alternator output to house (1-both-2) battery switch. House switch no longer connected to engine switch. Third battery to house switch through combiner. So the way it works, you need the engine switch on to supply power to the engine. You need the house switch on to avoid zapping the alternator, since the alternator output goes to the house bank. The combiner allows the engine battery to get charged, since it kicks in when the voltage goes over 13.5. Once the enigne stops, and the alternator isn't pumping out > 13.5 volts, the combiner disconeects th engine battery from the house bank, so it doesn't get drawn down by non-engine use. The third battery is a Group 27, and the combiner is a West Marine 150AMP.
I had the dealer install it. The best place was under the port settee, which meant no third water tank for us. The Prosine 1800 inverter is also under the port settee. The wiring is as follows: Third battery to engine battery switch. Engine battery switch to starter. Alternator output to house (1-both-2) battery switch. House switch no longer connected to engine switch. Third battery to house switch through combiner. So the way it works, you need the engine switch on to supply power to the engine. You need the house switch on to avoid zapping the alternator, since the alternator output goes to the house bank. The combiner allows the engine battery to get charged, since it kicks in when the voltage goes over 13.5. Once the enigne stops, and the alternator isn't pumping out > 13.5 volts, the combiner disconeects th engine battery from the house bank, so it doesn't get drawn down by non-engine use. The third battery is a Group 27, and the combiner is a West Marine 150AMP.
I want to thank all of you for giving me the inf. on the subject. Tim, I also found that 1-2--both switch is not wired the way it should be and I am waiting for the dealer to correct the problem.I have a 300 watt. inverter which I use for about 2 hrs.a day to watch TV or a movie, most of the time I don't turn all the lights on to conserve the batteries. The fridge doesn't cool as good as it should,the freezer works fine,and togather they draw a lot of power,the electric head also consumes a lot of bat.power.This is the reason that I charged my batt. for about 90 minutes twice a day. On my trip to the Abacos I never used the marinas. In most of the places we ancored as almost all other sail boats did.To anybody that wants to cruise the Abacos I would strongly recomend you read Abacos Guide by Steve Dodge. Mark
Mark - please contact me
Mark - would you please contact me (on email via the owners listing for C350 owners on this site). I'm interested in what your hull number is and more on the miswired battery switch. Thanks Tim Brogan "April IV" C350 #68 Seattle, WA
Mark - would you please contact me (on email via the owners listing for C350 owners on this site). I'm interested in what your hull number is and more on the miswired battery switch. Thanks Tim Brogan "April IV" C350 #68 Seattle, WA
Plenty of Power
I have had my 350 #119 since June 14th and have spent several nights on the hook and was pleasantly surprised at the capacity of my DC system. I have a 2000 watt Heart Interface Inverter, a separate starting battery receiving an echo charge and a 400 watt inverter for my flat screen tv and dvd player. Have run the fridge, microwave, blender, anchor light, tv, stereo, lights, dvd, electric head, coffee maker on saturday night/sunday morning and still had plenty of power the next afternoon to light off the engine and power the windlass. My dealer - Sail Annapolis - was great in advising and installing the optional electrical/electronic components. This is our 3rd sailboat and second Catalina. Could not be happier with the boat.
I have had my 350 #119 since June 14th and have spent several nights on the hook and was pleasantly surprised at the capacity of my DC system. I have a 2000 watt Heart Interface Inverter, a separate starting battery receiving an echo charge and a 400 watt inverter for my flat screen tv and dvd player. Have run the fridge, microwave, blender, anchor light, tv, stereo, lights, dvd, electric head, coffee maker on saturday night/sunday morning and still had plenty of power the next afternoon to light off the engine and power the windlass. My dealer - Sail Annapolis - was great in advising and installing the optional electrical/electronic components. This is our 3rd sailboat and second Catalina. Could not be happier with the boat.
More charging
It is my understanding that the 350 has 2- 400amp batt, it also has a 50 alt. If you used only 1/2 of 1 batt (at which point the inverter would become very unhappy)it would that almost 4 hour of running to fully recharge. While my 350 did fine over night on the hook, on one bat, running some lights, ref and 12v fans. When I add a standard fan running on an inverter that definetly put us over the top, at 3am the inverter alarm went off. I think I will add a starter bat and link the house bat. Still, to get that much power into the bat your options are limited. You can change to a high output alternator, add a wind gen or a gas gen (space issue) or try to get to dock power every third night to really load up the bat. Also the auto pilot when sailing beats them up pretty good.
It is my understanding that the 350 has 2- 400amp batt, it also has a 50 alt. If you used only 1/2 of 1 batt (at which point the inverter would become very unhappy)it would that almost 4 hour of running to fully recharge. While my 350 did fine over night on the hook, on one bat, running some lights, ref and 12v fans. When I add a standard fan running on an inverter that definetly put us over the top, at 3am the inverter alarm went off. I think I will add a starter bat and link the house bat. Still, to get that much power into the bat your options are limited. You can change to a high output alternator, add a wind gen or a gas gen (space issue) or try to get to dock power every third night to really load up the bat. Also the auto pilot when sailing beats them up pretty good.
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