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Québec 1 wrote:I always carry a paper chart of where I'm going and out here I plan my outings according to the weather and the twice a day 20 foot tides. I also have a good pair of binoculars,a marine radio, a swiss army compass, the atlas of tides and currents for the St Lawrence, a local tide chart and a ditch bag. Seaman ship is a must here !
Q1

Another excellent point. Seeing land is fairly common for the way most of us use our Macs. But for many, those tides and currents add another element of boating that can be unexpected. I've seen small bodies of water turn wicket mean with some bad weather. All good things to be aware of. Seamanship skills go beyond knowing where you are.

--Russ

Please explain....
I have never lived, sailed or even visited an area with such extremes. I know they are out there but I haven't experienced them.. If thats where you live tell me and others about it.. Why or how would Paper charts be beneficial to sailing the area? Given that most of us, now have No Less Than 2 electronic devices..I Have for instance.. My Garmin 545 mounted and my Lowrance hand held and my cell phone..Tide charts?? Interesting and no doubt of greater importance the more drastic the change..... However , most that know who live on the water from Maine to SW Florida come to "know" them.. as a matter of .. Instinct(?) Not unlike the traffic patterns where I live.. You might have issues with them, but I "pretty much".. have come to know when things are there worst.. Tides in say SW Fla. are important to kn ow but only as I hear...The Extremes..and they are not aways on the charts .. as the wind makes a huge difference..

RussMT wrote:

Québec 1 wrote:I always carry a paper chart of where I'm going and out here I plan my outings according to the weather and the twice a day 20 foot tides. I also have a good pair of binoculars,a marine radio, a swiss army compass, the atlas of tides and currents for the St Lawrence, a local tide chart and a ditch bag. Seaman ship is a must here !
Q1

Another excellent point. Seeing land is fairly common for the way most of us use our Macs. But for many, those tides and currents add another element of boating that can be unexpected. I've seen small bodies of water turn wicket mean with some bad weather. All good things to be aware of. Seamanship skills go beyond knowing where you are.

--Russ

Well, although the boat is in great shape, the wiring was scary to say the least. PO had the correct parts (panels, switches etc.) but his method of connecting everything was way out of line. The battery wiring looks good but past that it was an accident waiting to happen. The seller (a dealer, not the original deceased owner) installed 3 new batteries. Is having 3 batteries overkill or a good safety margin? They are connected with combiners and 3 on-off switches.

Battery power is determined by what you expect to draw. Are you going with a lot of electrical devices or very few. My X is becoming an electrical hog. I have two large AGM batteries and they just barely keep up with the aid of two solar panels.

As I understand your post, the batteries are already on the boat. The weight is probably not going to be a problem. So what else would you do with them? Keep em and ask yourself your question a year from now.

I'm going to leave the 3 batteries in. I removed all the po's wiring from shore power to the batteries. Everything from the batteries to the factory panel is ok. There are 2 outlets under the table. What would be better, running shore power only to the battery charger and the run the outlets from the batteries with an inverter? Or shore power to charger and outlets, and then a means to power the outlets from an inverter when shore power is disconnected? I'm probably making this too complicated for what I need but I don't want to redo it later. The batteries are connected with 2 combiners so I take it all three will charge from alternator and battery charger. As far as wire, should I use only marine tinned wire or can I use my 12ga 3 wire outdoor extension cord that was decapitated by the snow blower?

As for 3 batteries GREAT..On Board charger would be nice..if you dont already have one..
As for out door extension cord?? I have used with GREAT success Both The Marine Tinned and #12 Yard Light Wire/ Malibu Lights...
Its designed to lay in dirt and water and not to degrade and seems to hold up well EVEN in the sun.. We've argued this point here numerous times .. Each to his own.. No Matter what you use for wire.. The Connection points are VERY important.. I .. like crimps ( 360 ) NOT cheap indent pliers.. I use No-Ox and or Pentrox.. I like shrink tube.. Humm I have used those 10's of thousands of times. True... I get all that for free..But they are cheap and they are easy to use .. They can be fool proof but like anything mechanical YOU... have to use them correctly and You..... have to use the right connections..
Again Each to his own...

I don't think connecting and charging three batteries is a good idea. The chances are they won't age the same and this will mean the weakest battery will be pulling down the others.

You really need to think about your usage before you wire up. Make a list of everything electrical you will use and make up an electron budget.

Please explain.......as he hasnt said how he hooking them up..or type of charger being used etc etc...

Catigale wrote:I don't think connecting and charging three batteries is a good idea. The chances are they won't age the same and this will mean the weakest battery will be pulling down the others.

You really need to think about your usage before you wire up. Make a list of everything electrical you will use and make up an electron budget.

I was reading too much into the post, agreed. I was trying to make the point that you cant just hook three batteries together and charge them without getting into isolators, use, and age factors.

3 batteries is a lot, unless you have some heavy draw items...would still encourage the OP to look at the needs here.

Divecoz wrote:Please explain....
I have never lived, sailed or even visited an area with such extremes. I know they are out there but I haven't experienced them.. If thats where you live tell me and others about it.. Why or how would Paper charts be beneficial to sailing the area? Given that most of us, now have No Less Than 2 electronic devices..I Have for instance.. My Garmin 545 mounted and my Lowrance hand held and my cell phone..Tide charts?? Interesting and no doubt of greater importance the more drastic the change..... However , most that know who live on the water from Maine to SW Florida come to "know" them.. as a matter of .. Instinct(?) Not unlike the traffic patterns where I live.. You might have issues with them, but I "pretty much".. have come to know when things are there worst.. Tides in say SW Fla. are important to kn ow but only as I hear...The Extremes..and they are not aways on the charts .. as the wind makes a huge difference..

It's true that for many who boat in the same familiar waters, nav charts are not used. However, a lightning strike could very easily take out all your electronics and if you are in unfamiliar waters or fog, you better have some other backup.

As pointed out, 20 foot tides add another layer of complexity. I've never boated in such extremes, but I know those that do in places like Puget sound need to be aware of tides.
I sailed in Barneget bay with a 2" tide and it wasn't a factor until I wanted to go to the ocean. The Point Pleasant canal only experiences 2" tides, but before they replaced one bridge you could expect currents over 10 knots in that spot. I saw a hydro waterfall at that bridge where submerged bridge piers caused a serious hazard. Pretty scary in a powerboat, impossible in sailboat. Running with the current, if the bridge didn't open in time you were toast. Another dangerous spot is Hellgate on the East River. Swirls and crazy water from the submerged objects in there. I wouldn't hit either of those bodies without consulting tide and current charts. We've got power in our Macs, but in my Hunter, bucking a 3.5knot current on the East river wasn't fun.
I've hit the Manasquan inlet to be greeted by rollers breaking the bow.

So seamanship skills and using many tools are important, not just knowing where you are.

Forgot to mention the current: usually between 3.5 and 5 knots unless in between tides (20 minutes twice a day).
Q1

I am in process of rewiring my . The po installed 3 new batteries and 3 on-off switches with 2 combiners. I was hoping you could give some advice on configuring this setup. I have shore power to starboard going to a GFCI (adding blue sea breaker panel this week) from the GFCI to a standard outlet, both under the dinette. I was thinking of leaving the shore power AC side completely separate Then I would use an inverter for my on the water AC needs with the inverter output. My DC panel comes off of battery #2 right now but I want to be able to switch from Batt 2 and 3 for DC. I have another DC panel under the dinette for bilge pump and fresh water pump.The starter Batt will stay isolated except when I may need Batt 2 or 3 to help start the engine. With the combiners, all 3 batteries charge from alternator or shore power. I am also worried about a switch getting shut off while the engine is running and frying the ALT.
This is a quick sketch of how it is currently wired. The charger is on the right battery +, - posts. I am open to any ideas you may have.

What Isolates your starting battery from the house batteries?

I guess I didn't mean isolate. I was thinking about keeping the house load away from the starting battery so that It won't get run down. But It will still be connected by the combiners so that all 3 batteries get charged.

Numerous options available for isolation.. Others will hopefully speak up and if not , I will go out and look into what it was , I did..
I have CRS syndrome ..Common after 55 Isolation is important to me... If something goes on what ever it is, I dont want to see myself out there yanking on a rope or calling Sea Tow because I have a dead battery... 3 dead batteries...