Battery power and position

[Colin Morley]

I would be grateful for some advice.
On my BayRaider I have a Garmin 556s chart plotter and depth sounder. It is powered by a 7ah motorbike battery.
The first problem I have is that this is not powerful enough and can discharge before the end of a full days sail. The second problem is that the battery is mounted on the cockpit floor just in front of the centerboard plate. This is a problem because it is difficult to get at to lift the battery out for charging. It is under the centre fiberglass infill between the front side benches. It hinges up at the front but not very far because it is limited by the foredeck. It cannot be raised without removing the mast, gaff and sail which rest on it when stowed. So trying to get the battery out is a pain, almost literally.
As part of my winter maintenance I am planning to put in a larger battery, ot even two, in a way in which it can easily be removed for charging at the end of a days sailing.
Any body got any experience of this or any ideas.
Best wishes for Christmas
Colin

[Graham W]

Well, sort of.  Bear with me and my convoluted reply.

Because my Garmin 556s is power hungry, I have installed a Yuasa 18aH battery in the same place as its old and too small 7aH predecessor.  I chose that battery model because it is tall and thin and fits the space quite well but it does need new woodwork to keep it in place. I mostly (so far) charge the battery in situ when it is on its trailer at home and have improved the wiring a bit so that there is more plugging and unplugging, and less fiddling about with bits of wire and bare terminals.

Now comes the convoluted bit.  Swallow Boats have made a mast brace for me, to banish lee shroud sag misery. This is a roughly triangular section of wood that is fixed vertically in place under the foredeck, bracing the underside of the tabernacle and resting across the extension forwards of the cockpit seating (where you put your legs if you are sleeping on board).  This brace completely blocks any upward movement of the white infill.  I decided that that piece of GRP was only useful when sleeping on board, so have had the wooden retaining clip on one side made adjustable so that the whole infill is removable.  And I have removed it to the shed.  I will only put it back when camping on board.  Suddenly, it is easier to get at the battery and the storage space forward of the centreboard is not only visible but readily accessible.  A great place for awkward shaped anchors, for example. Because it is now less protected from spray from above, it is not a space for keeping things dry but formerly was not accessible enough to be useful for anything much.

My BR has a forward rowing position, so removing the infill means that the forward rower no longer has anything to perch on.  This is solved with a new removable and reversible wooden rowing thwart, also made by Swallow Boats.  Removable because it will be stowed away when not needed.  Reversible because the opposing side to the smooth and comfortable rowing side of the thwart can be used when sailing and has eight pegs along its aft edge.  These are like belaying pins and will help keep under control the tendency of forward halyards and control lines to end up like spaghetti junction.  One line is coiled and stored on each peg and always on the same one so that I know which line is where, even in the twilight which currently passes for daytime.

I can imagine that the above long explanation could be made much clearer with the inclusion of photos.  All in good time.  It is pouring with rain and I have a hangover.

Merry Christmas!

[Peter Cockerton]

Colin

I have installed power for initially a chart plotter but now use the arrangement for just depth and speed. When considering the chart plotter installation i applied the following

Single 10 A/H battery mounted in front of centreboard case
Heavy gauge wires to reduce voltage drop to front of centre board case where plotter installed (thin wires cause voltage drop which results in higher current consumption)
Splash-proof in line fuse very close to battery to protect power wires.
Small waterproof box mounted on front surface of centre board case to house the following.

Connection point for heavy gauge wires from battery.
Fuse and switch to feed the plotter
LED battery charge indicator to tell me the battery voltage level
Fused cigar lighter socket with splashproof rubber bung to charge cell phone.
and to provide charging point for the battery.
The cigar lighter socket can be used for a mains type battery charger or for solar panel charge via a control charge box (both readily available on Ebay).

One additional consideration if you want to secure the power for your plotter for longer periods would be to keep the existing battery and mount another in front of it. Take the fused power leads into a battery changeover switch (would only need a low current capacity switch) which could be mounted on centre board case. The output of the switch will go to the front box as described above. This way you can always have spare power and not take the first battery to low.

If above suits you would not need to remove the lead-acid batterys for most of the season. Also lead acid batteries should not be discharged below a certain level or the life of the battery is greatly reduced which is why the LED battery state monitor is useful.

Gammatronix make the LED battery state meter.
Maplins can supply small water proof boxes/switches/power cable/splashproof fuses.

Peter

[Colin Morley]

Dear Graham and Peter,

Thank you very much for your advice. It is always good to hear other peoples' experience. Once Christmas is over and I am not longer wiping infant noses, finding the lost lego, washing up and peeling the vegies, I will have some peace to go though all this in detail and get it sorted out.
Have a good Christmas and dreaming of next year's sailing

[Matthew P]

Attached are some photos of a GPS console I bodged together to house my Garmin 555S GPS,  a couple of Yuasa 12V 7AH C20 deep-cycle batteries, regulator, compass, horn, extinguisher and bits and bobs.  The top is made from 9mm ply and the sides and box from 6mm ply.

The extinguisher is fitted mostly for insurance and to discourage people standing on top of the unit - I dont expect the fire extinguisher to be much use in a fire!

The  batteries are housed in compartments on either side under the hinged clear cover, with plugs to connect to GPS or (eventually)regualtor/solar panel/outboard alternator. I am using plugs and socket until I have time to fit a switching circuit. The hinged covers are clear plastic so that I can see electrics and box contents without opening.

The whole unit slides over the the centreboard top plate from the stern and has battens beneath to prevent it lifting off.  Oars are a tight fit beneath but not unduly difficult to access.

The depth sounder cable emerges from the CB through a small housing behind the unit.

The compass does not seem disturbed by the GPS, batteries and electrics but takes exception to the hand held VHF if I put in the compartments.  Of course steel tools upset it too.

The whole unit slides over the centreboard from the stern with rails to prevent it lifting, although the main sheet bliock needs careful postitioning.  The oars can be removed without removing the unit.

The backboard is the correct height to support bed boards, when fitted, although the air horn (in plastic tube) must be removed first to avoid disturbed sleep.

I have used this unit for 2 years, the only major propblem is corrosion in the electric connectors and sockets - can anyone recommend slim plugs and sockets that avoid this problem?

Matthew

[Graham W]

Here is my 18aH battery installation, forward of the centreboard case and slightly protected from the elements by the sawn off end of a 5 litre water carrier.

[Matthew P]

Graham

Where did you get your connectors from and have you had any corrosion problems please?

Matthew

[Graham W]

Graham

Where did you get your connectors from and have you had any corrosion problems please?

Matthew

They are called Comfort Connectors and are made by CTEK (the same people who made my 12v charger).  They are readily available over the internet.  I needed to make a few basic modifications to get the plug combinations that I wanted. No corrosion problems so far.

[Graham W]

As much as I love sitting in my BR, some tasks are best done indoors when it is nearly snowing outside.  So I bought a spare connector cable and have spent many happy hours at my desk with the battery and GPS, programming in waypoints for the next time the temperature rises a bit (August?).  I first tried doing it on the boat (the normal cable is fixed there) but after three waypoints, I lost all sensation in my fingers. After five waypoints, my core temperature was below 30C and I just wanted to sleep.....

[Colin Lawson]

Hi - lots of useful information here. 

Graham, is it not possible to use a memory card to program your GPS. My BayRaider has the Garmin 555s GPS with a memory card slot, I assume yours has the same? . But my boat is second hand and did not come with any software CD to use on my PC for programming waypoints.  May be that is not possible?  I see there is a software update that can be downloaded from the Garmin web site but that just seems to update the software on the GPS? I am aware of course that I can buy a card with additional charts etc on memory a card but was hoping that we could also program our own memory card with Waypoints.

Regards,

Colin Lawson

[Graham W]

Is it not possible to use a memory card to program your GPS.

Colin

As far as I know, the SD slot is used for inputting software updates and fancy BlueChart add-ons, and for backing up (and re-inputting) existing waypoints.  I know of no way of raising new waypoints on a PC and then inputting those via the SD card.  But I have an Apple, which Garmin does not favour.

Graham

[Steve Joyce]

Haven't got a battery in my Storm 15 (yet),  but just bought a CTEK charger  for our campervan which saves having to take the drivers seat out to get at the batteries. The comfort connector is aptly named!

[Colin Lawson]

As far as I know, the SD slot is used for inputting software updates and fancy BlueChart add-ons, and for backing up (and re-inputting) existing waypoints.  I know of no way of raising new waypoints on a PC and then inputting those via the SD card.  But I have an Apple, which Garmin does not favour.

Thanks Graham, yes I have had it confirmed from another source as well that this is the situation. Shame - would have been useful.

Colin

[Andy Dingle]

Colin - and any one else who may be interested.

Re your query on the Garmin 555s SD card and its associated software issues.

I too use this Chartplotter/sounder and after a lot of research and trying different programs I found GPS UTILITY - a quite exceptional bit of software that is easy to download free of charge (slightly limited use - the full version is only £35). But for just what you would need the free version is more than adequate. Can be found at www.gpsu.co.uk.

It will read the Garmin SD cards and it is possible to update your plotter by inputting your own waypoints etc very easily. It will save your own data back into a Garmin format (.and or .amd format - I forget exactly which).

It will, I think, convert between virtually all known GPS formats.

I use it quite a bit by copy/pasting my own waypoints off maptech Navigator Lite (the free version!) and then pasting them into GPS Utility saving to an SD card, slotting it back into the Chartplotter, choose update from memory card and all your data appears on the screen. Magic!

All your own waypoints, tracks etc created on the chartplotter can also be read by this program, save it all in .gpx format and just about any other gps set will also be able to read the info.

Another very good simple waypoint manager is Easy Gps (www.easygps.com). You can create your waypoints. Save them in .gpx format, get Gps Utility to convert to the Garmin format, save to your SD card and upload into your 555s.

Regarding batteries, I have taken to using ones used in these motability scooter things that plague our pavements. High powered and gel filled so no spillage and not too expensive. One fully charged has lasted me over a week of daily sailing on holiday. My 555s is positioned forward of the centreboard so it doesn't interfere with the compass, is easily read and doesn't get kicked about by clumsy skippers!

Hope this is of use to you.

Regards Andy - BR20 Psalter.

Hi - lots of useful information here. 

Graham, is it not possible to use a memory card to program your GPS. My BayRaider has the Garmin 555s GPS with a memory card slot, I assume yours has the same? . But my boat is second hand and did not come with any software CD to use on my PC for programming waypoints.  May be that is not possible?  I see there is a software update that can be downloaded from the Garmin web site but that just seems to update the software on the GPS? I am aware of course that I can buy a card with additional charts etc on memory a card but was hoping that we could also program our own memory card with Waypoints.

Regards,

Colin Lawson

[Graham W]

Colin - and any one else who may be interested.

Re your query on the Garmin 555s SD card and its associated software issues.

I too use this Chartplotter/sounder and after a lot of research and trying different programs I found GPS UTILITY - a quite exceptional bit of software that is easy to download free of charge (slightly limited use - the full version is only £35).

As with so many of these useful utilities, the Apple community, which is about 10% of the market, is not catered for.  There are ways round this but it is cheaper and easier just to buy the spare cable for £20.