Out for 2nd race of the year. This is the 1st Mayor's Cup Race for Lake Guntersville. Start is tomorrow with 19 adult boats and unknown number of youth class. We took RoseLeigh over for meet and social hour, should be fun tomorrow
Our 2003 C310!
- Thread starter JRT
- Start date
We survived the event. It was a very lite wind day and they ran both adult and youth class and same time. Was a bit tight as they also set a course in front of the city dock dining and entertainment area for more exposure. RoseLeigh did her thing and brought us home safe. They only announced top 3 in each class so not sure how we did but I think we were OK given the conditions. I believe it was 19 adult entry and 10 youth.
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Final count was 23 adult boats in 1 class and 10 youth boats in one class. They only published the top 12 for some reason. Honestly it was a very big challenge that many boats in a relatively small area and a lot of us cruisers were just not able to do well because the area is amazingly squirrelly wind shifts. My friend, also a 310, who finished 11th, said he wasn't happy about the extreme mixing and hopes they make a cruiser group if they want the big boats to show up next year. I will probably do it anyway as I just like the challenge and practice. That said I had to avoid the opti kids several times and was genuinely worried about their safety
The course was basically in this area, designed to keep is in view of the harbor dining area, we had one marker in the river but 2 in the area between the 2 sides. Maybe I'm just not use to close sailing and small areas but sure felt very small.
maps.app.goo.gl
The course was basically in this area, designed to keep is in view of the harbor dining area, we had one marker in the river but 2 in the area between the 2 sides. Maybe I'm just not use to close sailing and small areas but sure felt very small.
34°21'42.7"N 86°17'01.3"W · 34.361869, -86.283703
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I've had to sail through fleets of small boats racing several times, where the race course crossed navigation channels. Not fun, and scary, for their sakes!Final count was 23 adult boats in 1 class and 10 youth boats in one class. They only published the top 12 for some reason. Honestly it was a very big challenge that many boats in a relatively small area and a lot of us cruisers were just not able to do well because the area is amazingly squirrelly wind shifts. My friend, also a 310, who finished 11th, said he wasn't happy about the extreme mixing and hopes they make a cruiser group if they want the big boats to show up next year. I will probably do it anyway as I just like the challenge and practice. That said I had to avoid the opti kids several times and was genuinely worried about their safety
The course was basically in this area, designed to keep is in view of the harbor dining area, we had one marker in the river but 2 in the area between the 2 sides. Maybe I'm just not use to close sailing and small areas but sure felt very small.
34°21'42.7"N 86°17'01.3"W · 34.361869, -86.283703
Not much to update, have had only a couple of sail days and honestly feel bad about RoseLeigh sitting so much. I'm planning some sping cleaning and updating. I'm not currently happy with my golf cart battery and separate starter battery systems to be honest. The 2nd starter battery I installed back in May 2021 is dead now, the 4 golf cart batteries seem to be on there way out too. I'm really thinking of going back to 2 group 31 batteries.
I change out to 4 lithium batteries and stayed with 1 agm starter (the agm is 7 years old) so far no problems. I also have 600 watts of solar that keeps the batteries charged while at anchor (will run out of water before power).
I also swapped out AGM for LFP. Two years ago I built a DIY 560Ah pack which fits in the space of two group 27 batteries and it has been a game changer. I can charge at up to 200A and everything runs better given that the voltage is at 13.2v for 90% of the battery capacity.
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Figure out why your 3 year old batteries are going bad first, before you throw more money at the AGMs only to have the same problems. If there are charging problems AGM will only make that even more detrimental, and even more expensive.
How deeply do you discharge on a regular basis? What are your charge sources and how well do the batteries get kept at full charge?
How deeply do you discharge on a regular basis? What are your charge sources and how well do the batteries get kept at full charge?
Adding to @Davidasailor26's questions, what type of battery monitoring system do you have?
First, there is no need for 2 start batteries, one is sufficient. A Group 24 battery will start your engine.
There are 3 main causes of short battery life in LA batteries: frequently discharging below 50% state of charge, leaving the batteries for an extended time period at a low SOC, and an old charger.
The short story, if you don't find the cause of your batteries early demise, you are throwing money to the wind with new batteries, especially AGM batteries. AGM batteries are not as robust as flooded lead acid batteries, with poor charging and use they will die quickly.
There are many good articles on batteries and charging on MaineSail's site.
First, there is no need for 2 start batteries, one is sufficient. A Group 24 battery will start your engine.
There are 3 main causes of short battery life in LA batteries: frequently discharging below 50% state of charge, leaving the batteries for an extended time period at a low SOC, and an old charger.
The short story, if you don't find the cause of your batteries early demise, you are throwing money to the wind with new batteries, especially AGM batteries. AGM batteries are not as robust as flooded lead acid batteries, with poor charging and use they will die quickly.
There are many good articles on batteries and charging on MaineSail's site.
Marine How To - DIY for Boaters - Marine How To
For DIY boaters in an attempt to try and keep the sport as affordable & safe as possible. How To articles for sailboats and powerboats.
marinehowto.com
This is my installation by previous owner.
battery orientation is wrong, this may be the issue. I've tried to stay on top of the fluid levels but honestly can't say I'm perfect.
Battery Charger question...
If that location works I could use #6 according to the chart. How much heat would it add to the aft berth? We only use it for storage.
forums.sailboatowners.com
battery orientation is wrong, this may be the issue. I've tried to stay on top of the fluid levels but honestly can't say I'm perfect.
I don't see a shunt, which means you don't have a good way of knowing the batteries SOC. Without knowing the SOC, it is easy discharge them too deeply which can lead to a premature death.
The batteries really should be in a box, but there isn't much room in there for a box.
Hello again, been a while from me, glad to hear from you again. We've discussed electrical systems with you before, IIRC.
In another thread recently, I provided these comments:
AGM for Boats
Changing batteries
AGM technology is the worst for boaters ever invented.
Why? Read Maine Sail's reasons:
AGM Batteries - Making The Choice (from Maine Sail)
AGM Batteries - Making The Choice
AGM Battery Issues and the Blue Seas Dual Circuit Switch (from Maine Sail) "DARN AGM Batteries"
Darn AGM Batteries
Additional Observations on the Limits of AGMs Electrical Systems 101 - Page 3
Comment: The main disadvantage of AGM is if they are overcharged they will vent and then your battery is toast.
Reply: While possibly true, the only thing that can overcharge a battery is too high a voltage, and modern marine chargers are pretty capable units.
The main and CRITICAL disadvantage of AGMs on a boat is their inability to cope with PSOC - Partial State of Charge. They require recharge to full regularly.
Unless you plug in whenever you stop sailing, or you have a huge solar array (rare for monohull sailboats) it doesn't happen for cruisers. Many cruisers deal with this, but if you don't AGMs are the wrong choice.
And for most people who do plug in after weekend sailing, AGMs are a waste of money because for the way you use your boat, wet cells would be just fine (unless you have batteries in hard to reach spots; and then you just have the wrong boat
).Best regards,
Stu
Thanks Stu, this previous thread is from the previous owner, not me. The system has been good, I do need to do some checking of course. That said I my boat is 100% a day sailor and charges up each day back at her dock. I'm still not sure, I've had a lot happen in the past 2 years with my father sickness and passing and this past year was a lot of needed support to my Mom, so sadly RoseLeigh has sat a lot. I actually want to get these orientation corrected this year too.