Starting Battery, is it really necessary?

[Jack O'Brien]

Craig:

Since you also have three batteries, please vote in the Battery Poll so I don't feel so lonely.

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

Boat power is a lot like credit, the more you have the more you find you meed.

seriously, I have two batteries and never leave the dock without a fully charged jump starter. You just never know. A rogue wave or wake from one of those monster boats we all love, getting into the battery box and you are going no where. The more you think it can't happen the more likely it is going to happen. Look at those poor people in Baltimore's iner-harbor Saturday evening or the crew of that tanker that went down off the Maryland coast last week. Things happen and they happen fast. Be prepared.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

It's great to have the full meal deal electrical system, yet I'm just not convinced it is essential. I certainly don't see it as a safety item.

My simple 2 battery connected in parallel as one is not listed in the above poll. I guess you could just call it one large battery for that is how it functions. I do carry a jump starter as well.

But really, I can't see that a more complicated and expensive system would add anything to our cruising.

These are sailboats, even with a dead battery and no way to start the motor you are not stranded (and if you try you will find you can start a 50 by hand anyway). You won't be blasting around, but you will get home under sail alone. People have sailed around the world without motors for years on small boats with simpler electrical systems that ours. So what if you run the battery dry, light a candle and enjoy the silence of boating without the stereo and the DVD player. Learn how to read that chart and get somewhere without your GPS.

It's a good thing to learn how to handle the boat under sail in confined areas. Spend some time, learn how to sail up to the dock, or mooring instead of always starting the motor. Pull up your anchor and leave the anchorage without even turning on the engine. Next time your almost to the dock, turn off the key and then solve the problem, how do you get there now that the motor is dead. Do MOB drills with the sails, not the motor. You'll be a better, more confident captain knowing how to do these things and that's really the key to being safe in a difficult situation. Knowing that you can handle what ever you encounter without panicing and making the right decision under pressure is what will make you really safe out there.

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

Well said.

[Chip Hindes]

Agree absolutely with everything Duanne says, except I still like the idea of being able to flip the switch and fire the motor if I absolutely have to. You can say it's not a safety factor, but that's simply a matter of degree. Heck, you can say the same about nearly anything safety related, like refueling the tanks while leaving them in the boat, or wearing our life jackets all the time. Some of us do, some don't, to each his own.

Where emergencies are concerned it's always nice to have additional options. There are certainly instances in which your stellar emergency sailing ability or pull starting the motor wouldn't be quite enough.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I would assume any dead battery situation would most likely follow a long stop, probably overnight. So I'd be able to deal with starting the motor while I stay parked wherever I happen top be, at a dock, at anchor, on a mooring. I would call this a complication, not an emergency.

[Chip Hindes]

I would assume any dead battery situation would most likely follow a long stop, probably overnight.

So, problems with starting the motor will occur only when you're at anchor in a safe area. I wish I had thought of that. It makes life much simpler when your emergencies can all be assumed to occur only under ideal conditions so that they're really only complications.

Emergencies seldom occur under ideal conditions. That's what makes them emergencies.

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

You are correct that emergencies rarely happen in good conditions. I just don't see not being able to start the motor in as an emergency. An inconvienence yes, but not an emergency. I'm either parked in some form when I start the motor, or under sail and switching back to power. The failure of the motor to start in either of these situations is not an emergency. I can always keep sailing. I don't set the boat adrift and then try to start the engine. My 2-Smoke Tohatsu needs a good 2-3 minutes warm up time before it's ready to go under any situation.

[Max]

Hi all.
Notice many of you have 2 battery set up, as do I.
Mine are located beneath the ice chest. In the UK this may fail our Boat Safety Cert as it is not really vented. Any ideas for venting this space as I don't reallt want to relocate them - I like the weight down there!
If I do have to relocate - where do some of you put your 2 batteries. I can't use the cockpit lockers as I have 2 fuel tanks there.
Max

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

I suppose that having them under the ice chest is the best place from a stability point of view as you are putting the weight as low (and centered) as possible. Others also put them under the V-berth. My 2 batteries (1 group 24, 1 group 27) were installed (by dealer) behind the galley. Since I don't have a permanent charger installed, I like this location as it is very accessible and I'm constantly connecting or disconnecting something. Although this puts a lot of weight on the port side, between the head and the water tanks I have on the starboard side, everything is quite balanced.

[Max]

Thanks, Dimitri.
Yes, v-berth another good idea, but venting probs again.
Do gel batteries require venting?
Max

[norbert]

don't think (but i'm not really shure ) you'll have any vent problems with any type of closed cell batteries. this can be gel or wet cell batteries. i have a vetus 70ah as house battery under the ice chest, in the same location as you do. my starter battery is behind the rear berth at the transom, as near as possible to the engine. this is still the original open wet cell batt (from 1997!) and will soon be replaced by a 55ah vetus. both batteries sit in boxes and are securely attached.

[Max]

Norbert,
interesting...
Thanks
Max

[Steve K]

Just got a couple new batteries. After eight years, I guess it was about time. They just wouldn't hold a charge any more.
I had two group 24s, one a starter and one a deep cycle. There is the big red switch. It was in the boat when I got it. I just moved it and pretty much re-wired the system from the batteries to the mainswitch (which was added at the rear of the galley, but sloppily).
Anyway, when I got the new batteries, I got one of the, so called dual purpose ones in a group 24 size and put it where the starting battery was. I then stepped up to a group 27 for the deep cycle. I got all the power I need to run lights, waterpump, gps, vhf, autopilot, macerator pump,,,, all that stuff that was on my boat, when I bought it. 'Course, I had all the power I needed before I went to a bigger deep cycle too. Just a little extra insurance I guess.

I have an eleven watt solar pannel to keep the batteries fresh. The literature says with two batteries, I don't really need a controller for it. I'm not sure on this, but the old batteries did last eight years, so I guess they didn't get overcharged too much.

The only thing you must not do is switch the battery switch with the engine running, I'm told. I'm not sure on this either.

The most power I use, I think is the water pump, because on hot days I run the cockpit shower a lot, to keep cooled off. I put the shower head on mist and give myself and crew a spritz often. It's also fun to turn it on jet. It sprays about 30 feet that way and is fun to give a shot to other cockpits when they get close (of course, I do this only to people I know ).

When it's 110 degrees on Lake Mead, this is, more or less, a welcome surprise anyway

I do agree you should keep the electrical system simple. There is really no need to buy expensive controllers etc. unless you run stuff like microwaves, or want to hook up to shore power. I have a good amount of electrical equipment on my boat and my system works well, I guess.
SK