Hi Guys,
Does anyone know if a 55KG battery for a 31 foot yatch is too big and heavy?
Its an N200 size and measures 50cm by 30cm.
Cheers
Tim
I think so unless you are getting it for free. Even then it is a bit hard to manage.
You do not need a battery with huge cranking amps. The type of battery you need is one that will recover from a sustained relatively low amperage drain. These are commonly known as "deep cycle" batteries.
If you visit your local "Battery World" shop or similar they should be able to give you good advice for your application. They have gel cell batteries (the acid is in a gel form and will not spill out when the boat is heeled over) that cost a bit more but are probably worth it.
Regardless of what type of battery you use it should be fitted in a proper battery box which is fixed or tied down. They have plastic ones that are relatively cheap.
If you are going to be hand starting your engine (recommended on a boat like yours) and you are not going to be running a 12v fridge the expected drain on your battery is your navigation lights, VHF radio (make sure you get one and a restricted Marine Radio Operator's Licence), depth sounder, GPS unit, cabin lights and your stereo CD/tuner. Tell your battery dealer about this and he will recommend a battery that will be the same size or slightly larger than what is fitted to 6 cyl motor cars like Falcons and Commodores.
By the looks of it the solar panel on your cabin top should keep a battery like the above charged up. It might pay to take it into the shop for them to assess and or test.
Tim, you appear to be a relative "babe in the woods" when it comes to this sailing thing. The boat you have bought is a whizz bang sailer and has a fairly sophisticated rig on it. I would hate to see you take it out and break things on the first couple of times out and thereby kill your obvious enthusiasm.
Sydney Harbour is a fantastic place to learn a yacht, cruising or racing, with beautiful anchorages all over the place. Seek the broker's advice on which would be a suitable sailing club for you to join and offer the boat within the club for regular racing with one of their experienced people as skipper and you as novice crew. If the skipper happens to be 5 years younger than you, get over it.
If you do this at every available opportunity (every weekend sounds good), for one year I think both you and the boat will be well prepared for ventureing beyond Sydney Harbour.
There is a down side to this. By that stage you will probably have to be fighting the women off.
Getting advices via this forum is well and good but there is no substitute for practical experience. Get yourself a local sailing mentor. You might like to try via this forum by posting a thread "Sailing Mentor Wanted, Sydney Harbour. I have Boat." It's worth a try, just keep your wits about you.
Best of Luck, Happy Sailing, Cheers Cisco
The N200 is deepcycle by nature of its construction, Not many people know this and your battery dealer will certainly not tell you as hed rather sell you the much dearer battery. I have 2 on my boat and theyve been there for 6 years, They get daily use and are the sealed type I would recommend at least one tsmithy.
Tsmithy call immediately when you have to start fighting the women offI'll come immediately to help rescue you, I'll be monitoring channel 16 from now on. Cisco could you describe that sound in my head again please.It's probably a bunch of saltwater,seaweed,kelp, rum, you get the picture I'm sure
HAppy Fighting Tsmithy
Tsmithy call immediately when you have to start fighting the women offI'll come immediately to help rescue you, I'll be monitoring channel 16 from now on. Cisco could you describe that sound in my head again please.It's probably a bunch of saltwater,seaweed,kelp, rum, you get the picture I'm sure
LOL Like I said it is a wierd, hollow echoeing sound, a bit like footsteps in an empty concert hall. I think you have identified the culprit though and it is not the seaweed or kelp.
Now don't tell Tim you are not fighting off bikini clad beauties because he will get discouraged. I was just trying to give him some motivation.
sorry TsmithyCisco was right as per usual ,get the inside done, then start having fun which you will, no matter what sailing is great for the soul.
I just need to fill my head with some different sounds Ill go back to the Jimmy Buffett, we had a couple of fun times together oohps that involved drinks too damn I cant win
son of a son of a sailor
Multi got it right Tsmithy, do the inside. When you have the interior of the yacht lined with red velvet and you have a couple of those bikini clad beauties in the cabin enjoying the sensuous feel of it make sure that in the ice box you have a bottle of Kahlua, bottle of Creme de Cacao, bottle of Mt Gay Genuine Eclipse Barbados rum, bottle of cream, cocktail shaker and crushed ice.
To the shaker add 1 part Kahlua, 1 part Creme de Cacao, 2 parts cream and ample ice. With the lid on, shake the shaker vigorously until the outside of the shaker becomes frosty. Ply the ladies with this delicious drink of which they will no doubt ask for another.
This drink is called a Sombrero. You should add a measure of the rum to your own drink to give you the courage and stamina to face what will surely follow.
With two of these drinks senor, ze girls will be doing ze Mexican Hat Dance with no clothes on before you can say "Hey chicquita!!"
Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.
