Battery Charger Recommendations?

In the middle of the night I was thinking about this thread--and agree 100% with TyBoo. I think that you are trying to make the 22 too complex a boat. Don't spend a lot of $$ on a fancy charger--for Dtol with a C Ranger 25--the Xantrex XC series makes a lot of sense. But with your anchoring out--it doesn't. How are you going to charge the batteries when anchored? Only option is some generator--and that is going to cost a bundle--and the noise and fumes which no one likes. The power factor of the XC series may require the larger Honda 2000 (I don't know what the requirement is--so you need to check on that). With our little group 24's on the C Dory 22 we would go 10 days to 2 weeks with no other charging than the outboard as we went from place to place--and some times we would stay at the same anchorage for several days. I did carry a U1 battery (garden tractor) which would start the engine if the others were run all of the way down--and had a small portable digital volt meter to occasionally check the battery voltage. Where would you put a battery in the bow of a 22---especially if you have 100 feet of chain? I think that our 22 had a windlass (appeared to be a bolt pattern which had been filled)--and it was taken off. We never saw a need for one. (Plus you never should try and pull the boat to the anchor with a windlass--use the engine, and the windlass to take up the slack).

I guess one of the negitives of down sizing is that we are used to some of the things we had in larger boats--but I look at it as having less systems to go wrong.
 
Well, for one thing, the chain is leaving - well except for 6-8 feet. Unless we keep it for
ballast. I haven't checked the anchor locker extensively, but it seems relatively
large. I wouldn't put a grp 24 up there, though.

Will I put a windlass on? I don't know. Probably depends on if my wife gets
tired of pulling up the anchor. I doubt I will ever want to install one. Generator?
Really unlikely. I do have a small 1200 watt generator, but I can't imagine I'd put
it on the boat. Small 400watt inverter - definately. Need it to run the
blender. Of course I'll have a small DVM on board.

Fridge - I don't know. Check out the new Coleman cooler that uses a Sterling Cycle
engine. Appears to be new since there are almost no customer reviews I could
find. One downside is that the cooler is supposed to sit level. Is a boat on plane
level enough? Anyhow, if there is interest in discussing it, we could start a new
topic.

Fans: we have this little white fan with big blades and no cover. It was relatively
expensive, but we've had it for years, and it stores really small. Works well.

As for big bucks...well, the XC3012 was $345, I think. Its front can be remoted
and it comes with one temp sensor. So, unless you want to use one of the
really inexpensive chargers, it's not too pricey. It costs about $45 more than the
Xantrex 20+ with remote and temp sensor.

I want the remote display because: a) I want the the remote display
b) I want to mount the charger in some really out of the way location where it will be
hard to see. Perhaps up next to the Wallas, if there is room and not too much heat
from the Wallas. In other words, I want to use some piece of dead space that I
wouldn't normally be able to use for storage. Note that I went with the XC3012,
not the XC5012, which is much more expensive (30 amp vs. 50 amp). I would
have bought an XC2012, but there is no such thing.

Bob, thanks for thinking about this in the middle of the night :D

Mike
 
thataway":2qgm2z2r said:
(Plus you never should try and pull the boat to the anchor with a windlass--use the engine, and the windlass to take up the slack).
Click to expand...

I knew that. I don't know why I wrote what I wrote. I was probably taken over
by my hatred for that miserable piece of machinery and not thinking. I hated
it for 10 years, and then just when I was about to be done with it, it cost me
$700 and five hours. But, I did get to bash it with a sledge hammer and
cut it into bits with an angle grinder, so that partially makes up for it. Yes,
as I am remembering beating it and cutting its guts out, I can feel my mind
clearing up. Ah. Thanks.

Mike
 
One comment on the windlass. I'm on boat #15, 7 sail, 8 power, all trailerable. Never had a windlass on any previous, always wanted to pull up the anchor by hand, seemed more 'nautical' or personal to just do it that way. That is until this boat. I used the same anchor I had on my last sailboat, a Delta 22 lb with 18 lbs of chain (28'), had no trouble pulling it up and letting it down for 6 years, and during the Bahamas trip, oftentimes multiple times each day.

After about 6 months of ownership on my CD25, the wind and waves came up while at anchor, we decided to move (about 15-20 kts of wind). I sent my son and daughter (14 and 20) up forward to retrieve the anchor while I moved the boat forward to take up the slack while keeping it pointed into the wind. Bad situation, C-Dorys have a great tendency to NOT want to track into the wind, especially moving less than 0.5 kts. Everytime the bow would fall off the wind my son had to quickly cinch up the anchor rode on the forward cleat and wait for the boat to swing back into the wind. This was a very dangerous situation for fingers, arms, everything. The windlass was purchased that next week.

This experience taught me that some boats are just better to have a windlass. I know the forces are greater on my 25 than say a 22, but the windage situation is about the same. I smile everytime I use my windlass.
 
I am all in favor of windlasses in larger boats--and I suspect that my back problems come from pulling anchors in 25 thru 45 foot racing sailboats by hand. When we started cruising full time--we found a windlass was an essential--with a good set up, if the anchor didn't seem just right, or the boat wasn't in the best location--just up and move. I remember one night off Costa Rica we moved three times during the night as the wind shifted to get the best protection--not a bid deal with a good windlass. Mike, it sounds like your experience was the minority--or that for some reason you got a bad unit. If the factory supplied unit I have goes South, I'll buy a better one--but so far it seems to be working well.
 
Oh absolutely. I'm sure windlass's in general work well. Whoever made the unit
I ripped out was so embarassed with their effort, there was no manufacturor's
label. Or perhaps it fell off. Anyhow, it did not look like anything sold today.

Mike
 
Back
Top