On Board with Mark Corke

Electric outboards

I've long had a fascination with electric power for boats. I can see that for many day sailors and those that do not venture far from the dock and a ready supply of shore power electric power is the way to go. 

I have actually been using an Minn Kota electric outboard on the dinghy for the past few years and have been very impressed. Light to store on the mother ship I don't have to mess with gas and the quiet is a blessing. To supply the power to the motor I use a portable battery meant for jump starting cars. I can plug in into the main ships charging battery when back on board and it charges up from flat in a couple of hours ready for next use. The whole outfit, engine and battery weigh less than the 2 hp Yamaha that I used to use. In fact I use the electric outboard so much now that I gave up with the gas engine and recently sold it. I do love the quiet and so do the neighbors on adjacent boats when I have to run the dogs ashore early in the morning.

Although I have yet to try one out the Torqeedo motors look good at first glance. They have been out for  while now and what sets them apart from the Minn Kota and others is that a detachable Lithium Ion battery is incorporated into the top of the motor itself. This means no cables in the boat with the engine as compact as a small gas outboard.

The 1003 model shown above has the equivalent thrust of a 3 hp gas engine the makers claim thus making it a realistic replacement for auxillary power on the back of a small day sailer, larger dinghy or RIB. Priced at $1900 it is not cheap but it does have some neat features such as a display built into the tiller handle showing the rate of discharge and remaining range based on the  amount of battery juice left.

If they can get the price down a bit making the engine more attractive to buyers then I can see that I will not be the only person in the harbor zipping around in near silent motion.

Loran C - R.I.P

If you have a Loran C receiver on your boat which you use for navigation you have exactly on more month to use it before it will be useless.

The USCG have just announced that as part of cost cutting exercises the LORAN transmitters will cease functioning after February 8th.

The press release is brief which you can read here but it seems that the government seems to feel that with so many people now using GPS the Loran chains are now superfluous. I would  be interested to hear what On Board readers think.

Bow thruster

I've had a couple of questions via e mail about correct bow thruster installation. Although this is not a job that I would recommend for the average DIY boatowner installing a thruster is popular upgrade. This posting is not about the actual installation itself but it is about the difference between a bow thruster tube that is not faired in and one that is. This is a pretty neat video which shows very clearly the amount of turbulence that is generated around a tube that is not faired in. Turbulence decreases the effectiveness of the thruster and generates vibration.

Guest battery charger

Keeping the batteries on board in tip top condition is key not only so that they don't crap out on you when most needed but also because I don't like spending money on replacements needlessly. Nothing destroys a battery faster than incomplete and improper charging. Unfortunately on many a boat that is the norm rather than the exception. Although most boats will have some sort of charging circuit fed from the engine alternator this obviously only puts a charge into the batteries when the engine is running. Considering that most boats sit idle most of the time and the engine is not running it is easy to see that the batteries stand a very good chance of being undercharged almost consistently.

When the engine is fired up the alternator puts out a hefty charge but this soon drops after the battery has accepted its initial top up as it were. It is a well known fact that the last 10% of charge is the hardest to get the batteries to accept. Batteries on boats will often accept what is known as a surface charge and the alternator not knowing any better will shut off thinking that the battery has reached full capacity when in truth it has not.

What is need therefore then is some sort of smart charger that can overcome these problems especially on boats that are used infrequently yet still keep the batteries operating at optimum output.

To address these problems I have installed  a Guest 36082 charger on the boat. The picture above shows the charger attached to a mounting board with one set of leads already connected. The charger is a 12 volt charger, 24 volt systems are also available and the makers claim it is suitable for wet lead acid, AGM and gel batteries. You can see a couple of black leads coming from the bottom of the unit these are for the 120 volt supply and connection to a remote monitor, which could be useful in many cases as the charger will often be mounted in an out of the way location where the front mounted LED status lights on the unit itself will not be visible.

Connection is a simple affair and consists of connecting the black and red leads to the battery which are protected by in line circuit breakers, shown below and connecting up the mains supply. Once connected and plugged in the LED lights give an indication of the battery condition. There are two lights, a red and a green. If the battery is at all flat the red light comes on to indicate that the charger is putting out the maximum amount of power to bulk charge the battery. After several hours depending on the battery and it's condition at the time the unit was fired up both the red and green will come on showing that the battery has entered the finishing stage; the voltage is held at 14.6 volts while the amount of amps delivered to the battery is slowly reduced. It is at this stage that charger 'tops up' the last 10% which is so hard to do with the engine charging circuit. Finally the red light goes out and steady green indicates that the battery is being held in the float or maintenance stage and is now fully charged.

It is worth noting that the battery can be maintained in this condition with the charger connected for many weeks of months if need be with no ill effects as unlike cheap automotive style chargers there is no chance of overcharging and boiling off the electrolyte.

 

Things got a little more complicated however when I added on the optional alternator module. This module connects to the studs on the charger and one set of battery leads, instead of being connected to the second set of studs are connected to the outputs on the base of the module. This module then directs excess charging current from the alternator when the motor is running to the second or house battery bank once the cranking battery is fully charged. this automatic charging relay is fully potted to prevent the ingress of moisture and like the charger appears well made.

The battery charger with the alternator module attached.

I must confess that I had one or two problems with the wiring, the diagram and instructions could be clearer but I worked it out in the end. The other problem with the alternator module is that it is only rated for 60 amps but many alternators will put out more than this, but in my case I was connecting the unit to an alternator with  maximum output of 45 amps so all should be well.

I've been using the charger for some time now and it most definitely keeps the batteries in better shape. Once I plug the boat into shore power I can leave the boat knowing that when I come back my batteries will be in good shape and there will be power aplenty to fire up the motor. The charger is pretty small and with the alternator module is just over 10 inches high and 6 inches wide so it will fit almost anywhere although it should be mounted vertically.

A quick trawl of the web revealed both charger and module available for between 150 and 200 dollars which I think is well worth the money compared to replacing failed batteries prematurely.

Speed transducer replacement

If you have one of the paddle wheel speed transducers like the one shown above then you will know how easily they can get clogged up with weed. Made by Airmar who supply transducers to Raymarine, B and G, Lowrance and just about all the other manufacturers of marine electronics these transducers are very common. They work fine after the annual haul out and service but even the smallest little critter or section of weed can effect the reading or stop the paddle wheel from going around at all. Considering that the log is one of the most useful and essential bits of navigational kit aboard it is frustrating to say the least when it packs up working.

Now thankfully there is an answer and that is to install the replacement Airmar CS4500 sensor which as I understand it is a direct replacement for the removable center section of the existing transducer. This means that the old paddle wheel can be removed and the CS4500 slipped in it's place and once wired up will mean that you or I will be back in action in a jiffy. Because Airmar transducers are made to be serviced from the inside of the boat even when afloat then the paddle wheel can  be swapped out for the new unit even while the boat is in the water thus saving the expense of a haul out.

Unlike the paddle wheel log the new unit has no moving parts and measures the speed of particles in the water moving past the transducer face. It does this twice every second so an instantaneous readout is virtually guaranteed.

Best of all the new transducer has nothing to hang up on any weeds and so it looks like I might be able to go a whole season without having to clean off the paddle wheel every time I go out on the boat.

For full details on the CS4500 you can click Download CS4500 to view a PDF.

Boat winterization checklist

Shrink wrapping is popular for boats stored outside. But do make sure that the boat is dry and properly prepared for the coming winter months before wrapping. Also ensure that the boat is properly ventilated. If the boat is painted then only wrap to the rub rail. A boat wrapped to the waterline like this one may have problems with the paint lifting off.

For many of us fall marks the end of the boating season and time for us to start thinking about putting our boats away until the next spring. Although it may seem tempting to just haul the boat from the water park it in the yard or some other place and forget all about it until the next season this is not a very smart thing to do.

Properly preparing your boat for the coming winter months is essential if the boat is not to be damaged and additionally proper prep work now will enable you to get on the water sooner when the warm sping weather finally does come around.

What you actually need to do will depend to some extent on your boat, but below is my list of those things that think you absolutely must do.

Pressure wash the outside of the boat as soon as it comes out of the water. If you wait too long the small critters and crustaceans set like concrete and will be harder to remove if you wait. Dry fully and apply a good wax.

Clean the prop shaft and apply a light grease coating.

Remove and replace worn anodes.

Dry the bilges and add a little non toxic antifreeze to prevent any water that does find a way below from freezing.

Empty water tanks and water heater and add antifreeze.

Run the engine until warm then drain the oil and replace with fresh. 

Run some anti freeze through raw water systems until it starts to be blown out of the exhaust, then shut down engine(s).

Change the oil filters.

Change fuel filters

Remove the raw water pump impeller.

Fill diesel tanks to the top and add biocide.

Remove plugs from outboards and spray in some fogging oil. replace plugs.

Change oil in lower units on outboards.

Completely drain gasoline tanks.

Remove batteries and place on charge.

Clean the boat thoroughly inside and remove all soft furnishings

Cover boat if left outside and if possible install a dehumidifier.

Check the boat regularly throughout the off season.

Now is also a good time to do repairs and upgrades that you made a note of during the boating season. You may also want to anti foul the boat ready for the new year to save doing it in the spring. If the boat is indoors then you can also attend to any bright work and other routine maintenance tasks.

Pop up Nav light

Accon may not be a name that is familiar to a lot of readers but even if you have never heard of them my guess is that you will have either been on a boat with some of their products fitted or at the very least seen them at one of the boat shows.

Black Fin and Regulator sport fishing boats both feature the smart Accon pop up cleats which keep the deck clear and avoid damaged toes and feet. But now Accon have come up with pop up lights, which like the cleats sit flush with the surrounding deck when not in use but flip up at night when you require navigation lights. LED powered the 210 model shown at the bottom is a 2 mile visible nav light that complies with current USCG regulations.

I like the look of these lights a lot and I expect that they will find favor with a lot of the fishing guys who generally go out only during the day but have to have nav lights in case they head out in the early hours or get back late. The 210 model is available direct from Accon and has a list price of $177, expensive by some standards perhaps but it's hard to put a price on style.

Battery Test

Many boat owners have volt meters on their boats which are very good at telling you the condition of your batteries. You can tell a lot with a volt meter and although I have a meter built into the boat's electrical panel one of the portable meters like this $20 model from Radio Shack is an indispensable aid to have in the tool kit as you can do so much more than just check voltage. But back to the battery test as I am doing here. With the meter switched to DC volts and the probes touched to the terminals you will get a reading. You might think that if a 12 volt battery reads more than 12 volts it is fully charged and in good condition - wrong. A fully charged battery of the wet cell type like the one shown when fully charged show will a reading on a voltmeter of 12.65 to 12.7 volts, between 12.4 and 12.6 volts it is approximately 75% charged, at 12.3 volts 50% charged and the battery in the picture at 12.1 volts is flat and incapable of starting the engine.

If you have gel or AGM batteries on the boat these figures are higher with 13 volts representing a fully charged battery.

I ought to mention that when testing the open circuit voltage with a meter it is important to let the battery rest before taking a reading. A battery that has just been charged via the alternator will have a surface charge on the plates giving an artificially high reading. You will get the most accurate results if the battery is disconnected and you wait half an hour before connecting up the volt meter.

While we are on the subject of batteries I did mention the other day in my post on the Blue Sea systems VSM 422 that the battery temperature sensor was an extra cost option. My good friend David Johnson at Blue Sea has pointed out that in fact the unit does in fact come with a sensor included in the box so making the unit appear even better value for money.

Electrical panels

    This handsome and well organized electrical panel is fitted to a Cherubini 44 everything is neatly labeled and laid out in a logical fashion. Sadly many boats are not quite as good as this. The wiring on many older boats may be fine and up to ABYC standards but over the years extra supplementary switches get added as new equipment is installed and before you know it everything becomes a mess, nothing matches and there is no logic to the electrical layout aboard.
    I see this type of thing a lot when surveying boats. Back in the day on even large boats there was little use for large electrical panels, GPS, radar and other electronic aids to navigation did not exist or were outside of the realm of the yachtsman. If I remember correctly on the 72 foot yacht that I used to skipper there were no more than 10 switches. We had no AC power aboard, the cabin was mostly lit with oil lamps, the bilge pumps were all manually operated as were the toilets so our electrical requirements were pretty small.
Now I bet if I went aboard the boat today it would have all the modern conveniences and then some all requiring a large electrical panel.

    It is with this in mind that I have been thinking about upgrading 'Mallard's' electrical panel. The quandary is that while off the shelf units like those from Blue sea systems are excellent units they don't always address the exact requirements of the boat owner and so it is with me so much so that I have been thinking of designing a custom panel.

    One such outfit that makes these one off panels is Mobile Marine from Newburyport in MA. They were showing at the Maine Boat builders show this year as they have in the past and I really like what they can do. Their panels look neat and well thought out and they are able to make almost any configuration it would seem. One other firm which is worth checking out is Front Panel Express which has free down loadable software that lets you design your own panel. Sadly this is only available for Windows at present and as I use a Mac I shall have to wait until I can get hold of a PC to give it a try. I have seen panels that other boat owners have designed for themselves with this system and the results are impressive.

Designing the panel is all very well but I know what is going to happen, just as I get it finished and installed I'll need to upgrade again to incorporate the latest gizmo!

Blue Sea systems monitor

    

Blue Sea Systems the well known and respected boat and yacht electrical people bought this systems monitor out a while ago but it has taken me this long to get around to writing about it. Called the VSM 422 this is a marvelous piece of kit that should be a boon to many boat owners. The display can be customized by the use of simple easy to follow drop down menus but what makes this unit unique is that it is capable of monitoring fuel and water tanks, AC and DC electrics and bilge pumps and alarms all in the same unit. It connects to sender units that may already be fitted to tanks or you can buy sender units from Blue Sea which run to about an extra $75 each. The monitor itself retails for around the $450 level but the neat thing is that it will replace a plethora of other monitors for battery condition and so on. This I find very appealing because by installing the SM 422 it frees up a ton of space at the helm or nav area as it will obviously now be only necessary to fit one monitor instead of perhaps 3 or 4 as was the case previously.

The unit ships with the shunts necessary for battery monitoring but the battery temperature sensor is an extra cost option which you may or may not need depending on the charging configuration fitted to the boat. For instance the Bomar charger and external regulator has that already built in so in this case the external temperature sensor would not be needed. There is a ton of technical information on the Blue Sea website including the owners installation instructions and operating manual.