Bahamas Cruising Necessities

[BobW]

Battery charging is not linear

so keep in mind that while you don't want to regularly go below 50% on the discharge cycle, charging is only fast until you get to about 75% and then it tails off.So if you are charging off engine/generator using the alternator, you'll get to 75%, but probably won't want to pay the fuel cost to charge further.Also keep in mind that the alternator/charger output does not translate directly into battery capacity - i.e. a 50 amp alternator/charger run for 1 hour will not add 50 a/h to your battery bank. The process is inefficient, and the faster you try to do it, the less efficient it is. (I learned that one installing BIG (15 gallons of electrolyte in each of 24 cells) battery banks and needing to charge and sell them on a schedule.... didn't work to well in Egypt with no airconditioning in the battery rooms!!!)Rick I, your setup sounds sweet. It sounds like your Hitachi might have been switching to 'acceptance' phase charging at a pre-determined voltage/current point.BTW, everybody has been discussing DC refrigeration. Does anybody use engine cold plates? Logic: run your engine an hour a day, take care of your refrigeration needs and charge your batteries and your bank is about half the size.....Cheers,Bobs/v X SAIL R 8

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Bob, that's what we do.

And make water too. (40 gallons an hour)

 

[Rick I]

Prefer 12v

Bob,The problem with engine driven holding plate refrig is, aside from the initial cost, that you have to run your engine every day. I used to bring my boat home every summer and it would sit in its berth in the yacht club all week. The 12v refrig would keep going as the boat is on shorepower. No need to empty the fridge after every weekend sail. When cruising I think the ratio of sailing or motoring and sitting in an anchorage must be at least ten to one. Why run the diesel everyday with little to no load to cool down the fridge? Some of my cruising friends that go to Venezuela for the hurricane season stay in marinas there because it's quite reasonable. You'd have to run your engine every day again. I've heard in some marinas those boats (ones with engine driven compressors) are segregated in a corner someplace. Of course the downside to 12v is the larger bank and alternate charging systems. Everything's a trade-off but I think 12v is easier. You can even take the odd trip ashore for a day or two without worrying about the fridge.

 

[BobW]

Nice boat, Fred

I remember seeing your pics a couple months ago. I have an H31 and you've done lots of stuff I'd love to... but we're already planning on moving up to a larger live-aboard/blue-water cruising boat.One question: what did you do for the top-side stripes? I couldn't find any mention of the details and we need to replace ours. Can you fill me in on what you used and the technique for getting the old ones off? TIA.Cheers,Bobs/v X SAIL R 8

 

[BobW]

You're right, Rick, everything's a trade-off

I guess the ideal would be to have both, but the cost is almost double.WEll, we're on a 7 year plan - 2 more years on our starter (H31) boat, then the big boat with 5 years to repair and upgrade.... plenty of time.... yeah, right!Cheers,Bobs/v X SAIL R 8

 

[Franklin]

constant charging

What about if you supply a constant (somewhat) charging system. I've been thinking of getting a wind generator and solar panels, in that order. Sure, neither is perfect, but both USUALLY supply a good constant charge and therefore don't need the large battery bank, right? Say it's sunny outside and I'm drawing 8 amps an hour from the operation of the equipment, but my panels are supplying 8 amps an hour...wouldn't that mean the battery isn't drained during the day? If so, you enter the night with a fully charged bank.If you add a wind generator, you need at least 6 knots of wind. If anchored out, 6 knots isn't hard to find usually. If sailing, then the true wind is going to be at least 5 and if you head into the wind, that will help the wind generator. If you run in light winds, then the wind generator isn't going to help.So I think if one adds 120 watts of solar panels and a good wind generator (should be able to get 10-15 amps on a typical sailing day and sometimes up to 25 amps), then a big battery bank isn't needed and running the engine is greatly reduced for charging.

 

[Rick I]

Battery charger not linear

Bob,I realise this but didn't mention it to keep my example simple. In fact when cruising you often end up using from 50% to 85% as it's not too often that you get to put the last 15% in. So when calculating your bank size you're now down to using about a third of the bank. The only time my bank gets right up is when it's blowing 25 kts for a day or two.

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Franklin, That is truly a 'wish list'.

The problem with solar panels is that they take up a lot of room. At anchor they need to be adjusted to point to the sun so as to get maximum photon input. And they are only efficient for about 6 hours a day. The rest of the day the sun is too low or non existent.Now about wind generators. When the wind blows, most are loud. They have to be mounted high so as not to decapitate the crew. And when the wind doesn't blow, so sorry. And most of the best anchorages are sheltered from wind. And most cruisers don't sail to windward. Underway, there is very little apparent wind most of the time. Solution? Save your cash and invest in a second back-up alternator. IMHO. But I find wind generators loud and annoying no matter how far away they are. If the wind can reach them.

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Bob,

I used a razor scraper to get the vinyl off. Then I soaked a paper towel with mineral spirits and applied it to the left over glue. The stuff balls up in about a minute and is then easy to remove with the razor blade scraper. The new vinyl is available everywhere. I used the old stripes' shadow as a guide for the new stuff. In fact, the shadow is the reason I decided to reapply stripes. If I were painting the boat, well, these boats look great without stripes. Your call.P.S. Bob, I'm sorry, I forgot. THANK YOU.

 

[BobW]

Are you still in Kemah, Franklin???

Looks like the big one might miss you!OMG, Fox thinks it's headed towards New Orleans..... byebye Big Easy if that happens!Just remember that discharge is 100% efficient, but charging isn't. If you hook up solar panels to the house bank, I think the load will draw that current..... first??? That might depend on how it is wired... I don't know enough about the subject to give an opinion... believe it or not!!! Guess I should have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night ;DAnd you still need to size your bank based on demand, but it looks like you can reduce size because of the constant charging. If that lets you eliminate a battery, good deal.On my boat, a PO installed a Group 8 gel under the dinette, to supplement 2 Group 27 deep-discharge batteries, so for our weekend trips we can't even make a dent in the capacity!Cheers,Bobs/v X SAIL R 8

 

[Franklin]

45 ft

A guy on the dock next to mine has one just 45' away from my boat. I can't ever hear it. I'm not sure what kind it is, but I do know they make loud ones and ones that are quieter.As for solar panels, put them above the bimini, or make a bimini out of them. Funny how we spend $1200 on something to shade us from the sun and keep the rain off us but it doesn't do anything, but then struggle as to where to put a flat big object Sure, it wouldn't be the perfect charging position, but it would work.

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Except that

mounting solar panels on the bimini is not feasible on canvas like mine. And the dodger is out because of the boom. The top of the radar arch is for other stuff, like radar and antennas like GPS. I've cruised with sailors who have mounted them on the lifelines. They had more beam and wider decks than I do.

 

[Franklin]

Kemah

I went to the boat last night at 8 pm. I was only one of 3 who were prepping the boat. It seems most did theirs during the hottest day of the year (ouch). Believe it or not, most didn't remove the main, but just wrapped it tightly. I spent 3 hours prepping my boat but sure I will need some help from the weather god to save it.The road getting to the marina was backup as far as the eye could see with people leaving Galveston. By the time I was done, that road was empty. Strange thing is, nobody is going southwest, away from the storm. Everybody is heading north, in the same direction of the storm path. Also, it's taking them 16 hours to go from Galveston to past Houston. If they went southwest, it would take 8 hours to get to Mexico or South Padre Island and enjoy the beach and a nice cold beer.I'm at my house in Pearland, Tx (south side of Houston). I went to the stores to get something to protect my windows and was ran away with armed guards with m16s. So me and the dogs will be sitting here hoping that the storm does go the path to the east of us. If so, the winds will approach my house from the east and north east, which doesn't have much windows. If the storm goes to the west of us, then all my southside windows are very vunerable. Don't need to worry about floods in my neighborhood, but others will surely flood.I will have plenty of saved water, but lack of power is going to ____ because this is actually the hottest week of the year for us and I will miss my Sunday football As for looters, like most Texans, I'm prepared for that so I don't think there will be any.

 

[Rick I]

You'll need at least 400 amp bank

Franklin,Solar panels are great (I don't have any as yet because of the cost). Remember they only work well when the sun's out and really well from 1000 to 1400. There are cloudy days in the Bahamas notwithstanding what the tourist board tells you. Usually it's when a front's coming through and this is when your wind generator gets its best workout.Wind generators(some) work well. The better ones will put out 4 amps at about 12 kts. Most of the good ones work best at about 20 kts. None will put out anything worthwhile under 10 kts. The wind is never constant, the boat skates around, 2 bladed generators have a lot of precession, wind at deck level is usually less than at the masthead. It's usually blowing too much or not enough! I've spent many hours watching the amp meter from the wind generator and the output is up and down up and down all the time.As you can see, you'll still need a decent sized bank. You cannot rely on running all your dc stuff off what's coming in, if you could you wouldn't need a house bank at all. There is no perfect system. You try to cover all the bases. For most of us that don't have diesel generators it means sun, wind and a little Honda. And even with the diesel generator you'll want a decent sized house bank.

 

[BobW]

Thanks, Fred

I'll give it a try on one piece to learn the technique.I know about the shadow problem since I had the boatyard pull off the old name decal on the transom and I'm still washing and waxing and buffing to try to get it to fade away. It's working, albeit slowly.Cheers,Bobs/v X SAIL R 8

 

[Fred Ficarra]

Lordy Franklin,

hope you get to sign-off before the big one.

 

[Franklin]

Don't have anything else to do

So I'll keep you up to date.

 

[Wanderer138]

Then there is the opposite approach . . .

Some people have cruised The Bahamas for weeks on really small boats with very little but the essentials on board. Don't know if I'd do it, but it certainly is an intriguing prospect. The link below will take you to microcruising,com. Links there will connect you to additional narrative and pictures,PeterH23 "Raven"