Marine Batteries+ solar chargers

[chuck]

My new 1984 model Cat has no battery--I also have no charger--Is solar the way to go+what kind of battery and charger is best?? Ty'all in advance!!Chuck

 

[David Williams]

Battery Charger

Chuck,I have an abosrbed glass-mat battery--expensive. I had trouble keeping regular deep-cycle batteries from going bad...has to do with the sloshing and leaning sail boats do. You should purchase a gel-cell or absorbed-glassmat battery. They will hold up better.I have both a guest shoreline charger, and a solar panel. Charger choice depends on your situation. If you only daysail and have access to shore power, a marine battery charger will give the best performance. If you are planning on cruising...staying several days on the boat, or do not have access to shoreline power, a solar charger is the way to go, but you will need to get a larger panel. I have a 32 watt solar charger; it will run my depth meter, VHF, and stereo, while keeping the battery at full charge on a sunny day. We have sailed the Northern Gulf Coast Cruise a couple times, and the solar charger kept my battery charged all week. A good flexible solar charger is expensive though.Hope this helps,David

 

[chuck7799]

Dave

tyvm for the post---will b lookn this weekend--

 

[John]

Try a Guest charger from West Marine

Bought a 77 Cat 30 two years agao.It was outfitted with a dual charger made by Guest. West Marine carries them as do others. I have shore power and mainly day sail. It has kept the batteries up very well.(two regular start type bateries) no problems and it is completely automatic. Good luck.

 

[Michael]

outboard charger

Another thing to think about is getting an outboard with charging ability if you need to get a motor or are thinking of a replacement. Most of the time my outboard provides adequate charging pretty quickly. The charging capacity is higher than the solar chargers, but of course you are burning gas. I have a solar charger but rarely use it.