I need to replace the battery in our boat . We just run cabin and running , masthead lights . Any recommendations ? I do have a solar panel I would like to use once I get the new battery . There seem to be a wide variety of deep cycle batteries on the market ranging from $ 80.00 to several hundred . Our current outboard does not have any charging capacity and no dock power . .
battery
- Thread starter mmsailor
- Start date
I take it that you don't have electric start on your outboard? If that is the case, you can get by with a deep cell battery. Wet acid is much cheaper than matt or gel, and can be quite long lasting - just keep the charge up. Figure your amp hour usage to get an idea of what size you need.
best guess analysis
cabin lights --- 2 lights running from dusk till bed time= 2*2amps*4hours=16 AH
anchor light --- 1 light running from dusk till dawn= 2amps*10 hours=20AH
don't know how much night sailing you would be doing while cruising but to "get you there" figure dusk till midnight --- 3 lights * 2 amps * 4 hours=24 AH
instirmuntes and radios don't draw very much at all and I'm ignoring them.
total for a day of sailing with 4 hours at night to get you to that nice snug anchorage followed by a day on the hook followed by a sail home that did only took till the early evening and you get --(24+20)+(16+20)=80 AH. So a 160 AH bank would be about the smallest you would want to go with.
cabin lights --- 2 lights running from dusk till bed time= 2*2amps*4hours=16 AH
anchor light --- 1 light running from dusk till dawn= 2amps*10 hours=20AH
don't know how much night sailing you would be doing while cruising but to "get you there" figure dusk till midnight --- 3 lights * 2 amps * 4 hours=24 AH
instirmuntes and radios don't draw very much at all and I'm ignoring them.
total for a day of sailing with 4 hours at night to get you to that nice snug anchorage followed by a day on the hook followed by a sail home that did only took till the early evening and you get --(24+20)+(16+20)=80 AH. So a 160 AH bank would be about the smallest you would want to go with.