plagued by bad battery cable/low battery symptom

[Mark Prouty]

I have been having some trouble starting my boat because of what I thought was a low battery. This has been plaguing me for some time. On occasion, I'd accidently turn on my fish finder and not notice it. I thought this was running down my battery and causing the problem. This weekend with a battery I bought earlier this summer, I had the same seemingly low battery problem. I sanded down the connections and still the problem persisted. Well dag nab it, it was a bad battery cable all along; wiggle the neutral cable near the battery connection and she fired right up every time. I probably did not have to buy the new battery after all!

As an aside:
I know I've mentioned it before but just to reiterate, my boat really depends on it's jib for control. We were out with a single reefed main and storm jib - the wind was almost strong enough for putting in a double reef on our main. On a puff, when you spill the jib before the main, she has a tendency to head up. With spilling the main before the jib, she handles pretty well. I could get a good 30 degrees before she'd head up.

This was a warm weekend here in southern Wisconsin; maybe our last for the year. It was fun. I let my teenage son and his friend go up on deck and enjoy the splash and the rush - safety first of course. Swimming this time of year in a quick jump in and out. Labor day weekend always seems such an abrupt end of the season.

[James V]

There may be some disagrements on not needing a new battery. If your battery voltage drops below 12 volts, it may not hold a charge for long after that. Also if your battery was more than 3 years old it would be a good idea to replace the battery.

Looks like you had a good sail.

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

it's sorta sad...to be safe, buy a new battery every 3 years.
even if you don't use it that often (i.e. like a car).
what a waste...until we find a better technology, that's what i do in the name of inconvenience.

[kmclemore]

Mark, a bit off topic, but have you had any nibbles on your boat for sale? I'm wondering if this was you last sail ever in your Mac?

[Mark Prouty]

I wasn't going to announce it until the sale was finalized but I have a buyer for my boat. Sadly, I have probably had my last sail with my super boat. It sure was fun!

[kmclemore]

Well, I'll say I'm happy for you that you sold it, and hopefully got a good price, but I'm certainly sad to see you leave the 'club'.

[Night Sailor]

IF you get an Optima Spiral Cell Blue top or yellow top battery, you will not have to replace but maybe once every 10 years if charged properly. A fully charged one will hold an adequate motor starting charge though inactive for a full year. I have a total of 9 Optimas in my vehicles, boats, trailers, etc. and wouldn't recommend any other kind for a Mac or other infrequentlly used small boat. More expensive to start, but they have repaid the money many times in convenience, light weight, smaller size, and ability to come back 100% very quickly after being fully discharged.