Seeking guidence restoring My 1979 o'day 30

[Johnny Sails]

I will be putting bms on them and then connecting it to a very nice solar charge controller and inverter.

 

[Johnny Sails]

I had not considered the altinator charging my batteries. I'll probably never be motoring anyways though. atleast hopefully not. does this yanmar engine have that?

 

[Davidasailor26]

The engine almost certainly has the alternator configured to charge the batteries now. If you don’t want to use it to charge the lithium you’ll just need to do some rewiring to have the house bank somewhat independent of the engine start battery. If you do want the option of having the engine charge the lithium you’ll probably need an aftermarket alternator (better solution) or a DC-DC charger (which makes some compromises).

 

[Johnny Sails]

The engine almost certainly has the alternator configured to charge the batteries now. If you don’t want to use it to charge the lithium you’ll just need to do some rewiring to have the house bank somewhat independent of the engine start battery. If you do want the option of having the engine charge the lithium you’ll probably need an aftermarket alternator (better solution) or a DC-DC charger (which makes some compromises).

interesting. I'll look into the aftermarket alternator. Thanks for the tips. it helps me a lot. I will probably wait to switch it and slowly make the decision and leave it in its current configuration for now.

 

[Davidasailor26]

I will probably wait to switch it and slowly make the decision and leave it in its current configuration for now.

Good plan. Make the boat safe enough to use first (fixing things like the seacocks), then spend enough time on it to learn what should be prioritized before you start changing (expensive) things.

 

[jssailem]

@Davidasailor26 has provided the cliff notes.
The devil is in the details. Having Lithium batteries labeled "Marine" is not an automatic good thing for a boat. The type of Lithium battery is critical for a safe experience (LiFePO4 chemistry is currently the safest). As stated there are a lot of details to safely install and use such batteries on a boat.

The reason that @Ralph Johnstone suggested the Lead-Acid batteries. They are simple and a proven success on boats with moderate usage demands. The ways they can be charged are not "cutting edge". The tools and equipment can be found pretty much anywhere you might sail.

You have the boat now you need to develop the skills for all of the systems. You will find that while sailing is the goal, the engine is a critical safety system that can save you and the boat at the worst of times as Mother Nature and the Sea do not play nice.

 

[Johnny Sails]

Thank you!. I'm going to take your advise and hold off on lithium and sail with the lead acid for a while. That's why I come to the forums! there are always many pitfalls to be ovoided.
I don't want my priorities to be messed up and end up fixing things that don't need to be fixed yet.

 

[Tally Ho]

@Johnny Sails,

First, thank you for your service.

Moving to lithium battery’s will require more system upgrades I think. They need different charging sources, to maximize them.

If you are prepared to match the charging sources tor the batteries, that is great for a liveaboard (assuming you are not tied to the dock all the time…then lead acid battery’s are fine. I use 2 6-volt golf cart batteries in series to run my house system and start the engine…but I am on shorepower most of the time…

It sounds like you brought them from an off-the-grid project, so why not.

As others have said, if you have LiFePO4, and If the BMS does its job, fire should not be an issue…unless these are not great quality batteries. I do t think that there is any difference between marine lithium and other lithium batteries.

But flooded lead-acid deep cycle batteries are cheap, and reliable.

Not sure why you think you won’t use your engine though…while sailing, the wind doesn’t always make getting where you want to go easy…or at least not quick. I hate using my engine, and I seldom burn more than one tank of diesel (19 gallons) a season…but I pretty much day sail and can get out of my slip into big water (Lake Michigan) in about 3 minutes. So, if you plan to move from place to place, on a schedule, you will need to use your engine. If you are. Just using the boat as an apartment, that changes your needs dramatically.

How do you plan to use the boat?

Greg

 

[Johnny Sails]

I want to do coastal cruising and spend as little time as I can In a slip, eventually go to the Bahamas and jump from port to port while I'm learning.

 

[Tally Ho]

I want to do coastal cruising and spend as little time as I can In a slip, eventually go to the Bahamas and jump from port to port while I'm learning.

Then LiFePO4 may be the best option (and you have them already).

I am not an expert in solar, but if you don’t have a generator, and wont be on shore power, then solar and your alternator are your primary charging sources.

Greg

 

[Johnny Sails]

yes my battery is 12V Lithium LiFePO4 150Ah 2 Kwh the cells are encased for marine use. I do need to put a new bms on it though because I somehow fried the one I had. it was a really nice solar setup powering a cabin on some land I own. I am going to use them but I am also going to proceed slowly before I figure out the alternator situation.

 

[Johnny Sails]

I'm tempted to push off and leave the slip now and never come back but I'm not prepared and I know I shouldn't do that yet.

 

[jssailem]

Going out on the open water, assuming you want to revisit land some place safely, requires:

• A boat
• Navigational skills to leave the port and safely get to another port
• Operational skills regarding said boat
• Weather knowledge. Knowing when to go, when to stay put, and when to run for safety.

Check out the "Weather and Forecasting" forum here at Weather and Forecasting

Of interest might be the brewing Tropical Storm Idalia or the Hurricane Franklin. They very well may screw with your plans if you are thinking to untie the lines in the next 10 days.

 

[dLj]

The engine almost certainly has the alternator configured to charge the batteries now. If you don’t want to use it to charge the lithium you’ll just need to do some rewiring to have the house bank somewhat independent of the engine start battery. If you do want the option of having the engine charge the lithium you’ll probably need an aftermarket alternator (better solution) or a DC-DC charger (which makes some compromises).

I have my LiFePo batteries wired to be charged off my engine alternators (I have two). They are controlled through a wakespeed 500 controller. They also each have a Sterling IP68 which is used to help keep the diodes from blowing if the LiFePo get full and there is a sudden power cut-off - typical in this battery chemistry.

I very much prefer to have the option to charge my house bank when running the motor. Going into and out of port is great to also get my batteries topped up. The Wakespeed is programmed to run the alternators correctly providing the correct charge curve for the house batteries.

This is the first boat I've had with this battery chemistry - it is fabulous! I've been living aboard now for about 4 months. Running a frig/freezer full time along with sundry other devices. Energy requirements depend if sailing or anchoring, sailing is the most energy intensive if I need to run RADAR, AIS, navigation systems and lights. At anchor I use small power and my batteries rarely drop below 90% full charge. Right now I'm sitting running music throughout my boat via an inefficient CD player, running a large power inverter charging a couple battery packs, a computer, and running Starlink (a non-trivial power hog) but I'm still charging the bats through my solar panel...

Redundant power sources are a good thing....

dj

 

[Johnny Sails]

niice! that sounds like it is working great for you. i'm def going to be setting it up that way. My biggest worry now is the keel and the keel bolts. def going to get a haul out and have the keel inspected so I can get a little piece of mind that the keel isn't going to fall off. I think the inspection will pass. what ever the boat needs I will do. This is as much as a learning experience than it is anything else for me. This is most certainly not my forever boat but just my starting boat. I want to leave things better than when u got it though. In a few years I'll take a loan and buy a nicer boat when I know more about what makes a good sailboat.

 

[dLj]

In a few years I'll take a loan and buy a nicer boat when I know more about what makes a good sailboat.

I'm kinda in the camp that the best boat is the one you own and know all it's quirks...

dj

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

my engine alternators (I have two).

Any idea why your engine has two alternators ? Redundancy or just better to have two smaller alts rather than one larger one ?

I've now heard of a couple of engines which have two alternators.

 

[garymalmgren]

In a few years I'll take a loan and buy a nicer boat when I know more about what makes a good sailboat.

Shhhh! Johnny, She'll hear ya.

 

[dLj]

Any idea why your engine has two alternators ? Redundancy or just better to have two smaller alts rather than one larger one ?

I've now heard of a couple of engines which have two alternators.

Both alternators are fairly large, 120 amp output. I don't really have the space to put a single alternator with that kind of output on one side of my engine. It does also give me some redundancy as they are identical, and I carry a third identical one as a back-up alternator should I blow one...

dj

 

[Davidasailor26]

My biggest worry now is the keel and the keel bolts. def going to get a haul out and have the keel inspected so I can get a little piece of mind that the keel isn't going to fall off.

Any particular reason you’re worried about those? Obviously inspection is a good idea if it hasn’t been looked at recently, but the keel attachment on that era O’Day has never been an issue that I’ve read about.