battery chager

Are you running two 6 volt golf cart batteries in series for the house bank? (It has been done, but an unusual set up for a C Dory--especially an early model)

What size are the batteries (in amp hours or residual capacity). What case size are they? Are all three batteries identical (size, capacity, and age?)

What is your cruising style? (On the hook most nights, rare to a marina, or in a marina, and using all sorts of 12 volt appliances etc? ) There are a number of factors to consider before deciding on what battery would be best for your use.

The guest which have been standard on the C Dory for the last 15+ years is actually a relatively poor choice for most of us. They are made to charge batteries between uses. Many of us have fairly high demands, even in a slip--(stereo, lights, electronics etc). Your battery charger should be capable of putting out what your average use is--

I like one which is 15 to 20 amps at least. I am using combiners on all of my boats, so that unless you turn the combiner off, a single bank charger is what you effectively have. There are very few chargers which actually sample each bank and prorate the charge accordingly.
 
Batteries and battery chargers are in a technology change that is happening quickly. The good news is that we are getting better and better batteries and chargers all the time. The bad news is that it is hard to keep up. Having just gone through this with my minimally set up CD-22, my recommendation is this from Blue Seas: https://www.bluesea.com/products/7531/P ... 12V_DC_25A
Another point that was made to me by a Marine Electronics Instructor is that today you should always buy a charger/inverter. But the same person also explained how costly in terms of wear on the batteries, it is to invert from DC to AC. And if you are like me and have almost NO need to invert while underway, then the Inverter issue is gone.
For my CD-22, the Blue Seas charger is large, physically. I installed my charger below the sink. Its a good idea to have it as close to the batteries as possible. And speaking of size, 25 amps charging with four stages is more than enough to keep up to three batteries charged. The remote control come in handy with the location I installed the charger. No need to open the cabinet and get on my hands and knees with the remote. Of course i need to actually buy the remote, maybe for Christmas?
One last point, the Blue Seas charger above comes with a five year guarantee.
 
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