Question: I'm fairly new to sailing but in the past year have purchased four sailboats one of which (the 22 footer) I'll be asking alot of question on later when I begin fixing it up the way I want it. The question at hand is how do I charge the 12 volt battery to maintain power throughout my 12 volt system. The boat is a compac 16 which I've completely redone the cabin (? hehe) area, added low voltage 12 volt lights, a drop down screen dvd/cd/mp3 player, speaker system, etc. The anticipated problem is naturally with all these things running the battery is going to drain down, and naturally it would have to be recharged. Now I could pull into a dock plug in and yada yada yada but why if I don't have to. Is there anyway that's inexpensive (below $750) to add perhaps a solar collector and what would I have to go through to make that happen. I realize this may seem like a lot for such a little boat but I want it as classy as possible, since the interior has already run over $2500.00 which is just shy of what I paid for the boat it's sort of funny what I'm doing with it by hey, you work with what you have and I'm certain this is one of the very few if not only compac 16's that have been 'upgraded' in such a manner. Any advice would help and thanks for your help, all. Ray
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solar panels will
provide about 4 watts per square foot during the periods when the sun shines. Since we don't know what the power requirements will be there is no way to say how much you need in terms of solar power. If you will only use it for a few hours on Saturday and have all week to replenish the battery, you can probably get by with a fairly simple system.
provide about 4 watts per square foot during the periods when the sun shines. Since we don't know what the power requirements will be there is no way to say how much you need in terms of solar power. If you will only use it for a few hours on Saturday and have all week to replenish the battery, you can probably get by with a fairly simple system.
Try Jack Rabbit Marine's website
they're one of many companies that sell components and systems for charging. www.jackrabbitmarine.com Start reading, too. It's a good question that's been brought up thousands of time, which is why so many people have written books that answer your question. Solar sounds like a very good idea for your application. West Marine Advisors, in their catalogs and on their website, also have very good, free advice. Stu
they're one of many companies that sell components and systems for charging. www.jackrabbitmarine.com Start reading, too. It's a good question that's been brought up thousands of time, which is why so many people have written books that answer your question. Solar sounds like a very good idea for your application. West Marine Advisors, in their catalogs and on their website, also have very good, free advice. Stu
too much stuff
Wow! What a lot of stuff for such a small boat! I don't think there's enough room on your boat to have large enough solar panels to meet your power demands. Generator? Not really. Wind power? No way. Small outboard with a charging circuit? Maybe. Dockside charging is the best. Or perhaps you could have two batteries and rotate them. Take the dead one home to recharge. I'd take 1/2 the stuff off the boat. Carry a portable radio for music. Good luck.
Wow! What a lot of stuff for such a small boat! I don't think there's enough room on your boat to have large enough solar panels to meet your power demands. Generator? Not really. Wind power? No way. Small outboard with a charging circuit? Maybe. Dockside charging is the best. Or perhaps you could have two batteries and rotate them. Take the dead one home to recharge. I'd take 1/2 the stuff off the boat. Carry a portable radio for music. Good luck.
Buy a Gen.
Buy a small portable 1KW gasoline generator. The Honda's are small, light and fairly quiet. One KW can recharge the batts and run the equipment and nav lights if needed and is easy to carry around aand serves more uses than just for the boat. Solar panels are too large for your boat and dollar for dollar they make a poor investment in energy. Solar if nice to have for a larger boat and only then would it be worthwhile after you already have a wind generator which is also out of the question for your boat.
Buy a small portable 1KW gasoline generator. The Honda's are small, light and fairly quiet. One KW can recharge the batts and run the equipment and nav lights if needed and is easy to carry around aand serves more uses than just for the boat. Solar panels are too large for your boat and dollar for dollar they make a poor investment in energy. Solar if nice to have for a larger boat and only then would it be worthwhile after you already have a wind generator which is also out of the question for your boat.
Determine your elect. consumption...
Decide how much electricity you are going to use. To do this, find how many amps each component uses. Then figure out how many hours each will be used per week. Multiply those numbers together and that gives amp-hours. Now go look at the amount of amp-hours on your deep-cycle battery and compare that to your use. Only then can you decide what is the most effective system you need. I suspect that those lights are pretty efficient and the entertainment system is fairly low consumption (won't be full blast 24h/day) and your nav lights won't be on that much (nav lights are probably 2 amps each!) - then you could probably get away with adding a charging unit to your outboard or bringing your battery home once a month to charge it or both. Need help with the volts/amps/watts thing? Just ask. I can get into as much detail as you want (I'm a physics teacher). I love your idea taking a nice small boat and putting everything you want into it! I'd love to see pictures. Good luck, -Rob
Decide how much electricity you are going to use. To do this, find how many amps each component uses. Then figure out how many hours each will be used per week. Multiply those numbers together and that gives amp-hours. Now go look at the amount of amp-hours on your deep-cycle battery and compare that to your use. Only then can you decide what is the most effective system you need. I suspect that those lights are pretty efficient and the entertainment system is fairly low consumption (won't be full blast 24h/day) and your nav lights won't be on that much (nav lights are probably 2 amps each!) - then you could probably get away with adding a charging unit to your outboard or bringing your battery home once a month to charge it or both. Need help with the volts/amps/watts thing? Just ask. I can get into as much detail as you want (I'm a physics teacher). I love your idea taking a nice small boat and putting everything you want into it! I'd love to see pictures. Good luck, -Rob
Add a battery
Adding a battery is the cheapest way to power your boat. Solar works and if you are going to spend a lot of time at anchor that may be the way to go. But if you only need a 100 or so amp/hours to make it through the weekend a new battery from Walmart is the cheapest way to go. A small charger on your outboard will help if you motor a lot but since they only put out a few amps it would take a lot of motoring to make a real difference. the same with solar it would take a lot of sun and panels to provide a 100 amp/hours over a weekend. A generator will take up a lot of space in a small boat. After 2+ years of sailing I 've found that it is best to keep it simple. If you get bored try reading or fishing. A few hours spent catching cleaning cooking and eating fish will make you ready for a nice sleep. Nothing beats fresh fish... our record is about 10 minutes from the sea to the grill.... slow yes but it took a few minutes to find the filleting knife and start the grill. Best tuna that I've ever eaten. Tom
Adding a battery is the cheapest way to power your boat. Solar works and if you are going to spend a lot of time at anchor that may be the way to go. But if you only need a 100 or so amp/hours to make it through the weekend a new battery from Walmart is the cheapest way to go. A small charger on your outboard will help if you motor a lot but since they only put out a few amps it would take a lot of motoring to make a real difference. the same with solar it would take a lot of sun and panels to provide a 100 amp/hours over a weekend. A generator will take up a lot of space in a small boat. After 2+ years of sailing I 've found that it is best to keep it simple. If you get bored try reading or fishing. A few hours spent catching cleaning cooking and eating fish will make you ready for a nice sleep. Nothing beats fresh fish... our record is about 10 minutes from the sea to the grill.... slow yes but it took a few minutes to find the filleting knife and start the grill. Best tuna that I've ever eaten. Tom
How about some pictures
Raedee, This sounds like the nautical version of "Pimp my Ride" for the MTV junkies or "Trick my Truck" for the CMT crowd. Anyhow, I would love to see how this all fits in a Compac 16. Sounds pretty cool. How about posting some pictures for the voyeurs among us. For my O'Day 222 which typically sits on a mooring, I use one of those low cost solar panels (rated at 2 amps) to keep the battery topped off. I'm powering lights, a CD/radio and VHF radio. It works ok. Playing CD's appears to be the biggest drain so I carry a second battery when I'm doing week long cruises. I may upgrade to a bigger solar panel that I can mount on the front hatch with industrial strength velcro. A friend did this and it appears to work well for him and he has similar needs. Keep us updated on your projects, and use that digital camera to show your final products! Good luck. Dave s/v Hakuna Matata O'Day 222
Raedee, This sounds like the nautical version of "Pimp my Ride" for the MTV junkies or "Trick my Truck" for the CMT crowd. Anyhow, I would love to see how this all fits in a Compac 16. Sounds pretty cool. How about posting some pictures for the voyeurs among us. For my O'Day 222 which typically sits on a mooring, I use one of those low cost solar panels (rated at 2 amps) to keep the battery topped off. I'm powering lights, a CD/radio and VHF radio. It works ok. Playing CD's appears to be the biggest drain so I carry a second battery when I'm doing week long cruises. I may upgrade to a bigger solar panel that I can mount on the front hatch with industrial strength velcro. A friend did this and it appears to work well for him and he has similar needs. Keep us updated on your projects, and use that digital camera to show your final products! Good luck. Dave s/v Hakuna Matata O'Day 222
bring battery home?
Hello, One simple option is to just bring the battery home with you when you are done sailing. Use a good automotive battery charger and you'll be fine. This assumes that you mostly just day sail or weekend. Good luck, Barry
Hello, One simple option is to just bring the battery home with you when you are done sailing. Use a good automotive battery charger and you'll be fine. This assumes that you mostly just day sail or weekend. Good luck, Barry
Two Batteries
A decent sized battery will power all that stuff for a weekend. A trickle charger will work, but I run a pair of wires of my cigarette lighter to a pair of alligator clips connected to the battery sitting behind my truck seat in a Battery box. By the next weekend she's fully charged. Just be sure to clip the alligator clips first, and then plug into the cigarette lighter. Take Care, Steve
A decent sized battery will power all that stuff for a weekend. A trickle charger will work, but I run a pair of wires of my cigarette lighter to a pair of alligator clips connected to the battery sitting behind my truck seat in a Battery box. By the next weekend she's fully charged. Just be sure to clip the alligator clips first, and then plug into the cigarette lighter. Take Care, Steve
Bigger is better
I think you need a bigger boat to fit all the equipment you want and be able to use them. I have the same concerns on a O 25 and my worst offender will be my stereo 10 CD changer. Last season I got away with a 5 watt solar panel and one battery but I only had a cheap car stereo cassette, vhf and a Fish Finder. Now with a 200 watt stereo new Vhf still a fish finder and upgraded all my lighting I replaced the 5 watt for a 10 watt and I am thinking of dual 10 watts since 2 10 watt panels are not as long as one 20. They are a few flexible panels at a good price on ebay.
I think you need a bigger boat to fit all the equipment you want and be able to use them. I have the same concerns on a O 25 and my worst offender will be my stereo 10 CD changer. Last season I got away with a 5 watt solar panel and one battery but I only had a cheap car stereo cassette, vhf and a Fish Finder. Now with a 200 watt stereo new Vhf still a fish finder and upgraded all my lighting I replaced the 5 watt for a 10 watt and I am thinking of dual 10 watts since 2 10 watt panels are not as long as one 20. They are a few flexible panels at a good price on ebay.
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