moorage setup questions

ferret30

New member
Our 22 does not have a shore power system or on board charger installed, but the dock we're going to be mooring at starting next week does have power.

My charger is a Schumacher Ship-N-Shore type that does staged charging, trickle charging, but I'm guessing I'd want something more specific to maintaining a battery that I could leave hooked up in the lazarette (I have an ACR so I only need one).

So can I just get a 30A extension cord, run it from the dock into the lazarette (from the gunnel compartment, not through the hatch), then use an adapter to power a trickle charger?

Second, I would like to install a backup bilge pump. I already have 2 RuleMate 1100s with float switches. I was thinking I will install the second one next to the first between the gas tanks, but raised up a bit so it would only come on if the primary failed or couldn't keep up. I'm not sure if I'd hook the higher one up to the override switch at the helm.

Of course, to help keep the water out at the marina, we could also put the boat cover on when we're not going to use it for a while...
 
If it were me (I?), instead of a third bilge pump I would invest in a slantback mooring cover. It's no problem to simply roll it up and store it on the back of the roof with bungies when on the boat and then just snap it closed when you leave. Your boat should stay dry unless you leave a window or hatchcover open.
 
It would actually be just the second pump. Our year only has a pump between the tanks, and the cockpit floor is flat. There's no bilge inside the cabin door like some people have.

We already have a full boat cover, and a camper back is being installed right now, so I'd prefer to use one of those instead of getting a third cover made.
 
ferret30":307881xf said:
Our 22 does not have a shore power system or on board charger installed, but the dock we're going to be mooring at starting next week does have power.

My charger is a Schumacher Ship-N-Shore type that does staged charging, trickle charging, but I'm guessing I'd want something more specific to maintaining a battery that I could leave hooked up in the lazarette (I have an ACR so I only need one).

So can I just get a 30A extension cord, run it from the dock into the lazarette (from the gunnel compartment, not through the hatch), then use an adapter to power a trickle charger? That would be the easy way, and how I might do it. However, I have a charger similar to your Schumacher. I have it installed up behind the helm in the v-berth. I have a shore power set up consisting of a 30 amp cord, a GFI protector, and a switched busbar inside the cabin. The charger plugs into the shore power, and delivers power to the batteries through the power supply lines coming forward from the batteries to the windlass which are 6 gauge, and in parallel with the basic supply lines to the helm bus. This keeps the charger in a dry environment while allowing battery charging. The Off-1-both-2 switch in the lazarette controls which battery or batteries are being charged. Two more batteries are under the front passenger seat and connected into the 6 gauge supply wires through another Off-1-both-2 switch. This gives me four group 27's in parallel from which to draw on for a power reservoir of 460 amp-hours (all deep-cycle).

Second, I would like to install a backup bilge pump. I already have 2 RuleMate 1100s with float switches. I was thinking I will install the second one next to the first between the gas tanks, but raised up a bit so it would only come on if the primary failed or couldn't keep up. I'm not sure if I'd hook the higher one up to the override switch at the helm. That's the way it's usually done, although I think usually only the lower one is hooked up to the manual override. If I wanted the upper one to have an override, I'd add a separate switch, since it might be out of (above) the water most of the time.

Of course, to help keep the water out at the marina, we could also put the boat cover on when we're not going to use it for a while...

Sometimes you can think a bit out of the box and still be OK, as long as you're careful and feel comfortable with what you're doing.

Good Luck!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
I don't see the need for an expensive, bulky and heavy 30 Amp cord. A good quality 15 amp should suffice. If your dock doesn't have 15 amp outlets, an adapter can be bought or made up from Home Depot parts. If the charger is staged and has a float feature, it should be OK for continuous use. I've heard of folks putting a timer inline to run the charger only an hour or two per day.

See you at Friday Harbor.
 
I faced a similar delima when I bought my new Stingray last year. The dealer would not install anything less than a 30 amp shore power system.
They told me there was no "marine approved" 15 amp shore power. Left to fend for myself, I searched long and hard before finding 2 vital components.
1/ a 30 amp 120 volt twist lock male connected via a short cord to a 15 amp female end. I found this at a generator supply dealer. The 30 to 15 amp adaptors available for trailer parks are not the twist lock type that marinas have.
2/ a water resistant power bar with GFI and a 15 amp breaker.

Unless you overnight in marinas during cold weather you should be ok with a good quality, heavy duty (12/2 perhaps) 15 amp cord. The better quality ones stay flexible (and easier to coil) at cooler temps.
Roger is right - a 30 amp cord is very heavy and expensive, if you don't need it. He is also right about your charger - if it has a float setting, it will not hurt your batteries to be maintained between 13.0 and 13.5 volts.

If you have trouble finding these I can post a picture and look for the manufacturers name. I was happy to find them as I really did not want to piece components together.
Good luck, Regards Rob
 
The boat is in the marina now, but we still haven't sorted out some of the issues. I am thinking of getting one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CITKCE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

to just leave in the lazarette. If you have a small charger like this, is it ok to leave it connected (to the batteries, not to 120V power) while running? Or should it be disconnected when not charging? I'm just thinking it might somehow drain the batteries when not charging.

Another thing I thought of today was that now that I'm keeping the boat in the water, I might want to look a little closer at deck penetrations around the bilge/gas tanks. The pump itself is bedded to the floor with epoxy, so no problem there. The gas tanks are kept from sliding into the bilge by glassed in humps. But I think there still might be straps holding them in as well, and these might be screwed in.

Since I'm already going to be installing a second pump, this might be a good time to do all the work that needs to be done in that area. I'd need to take out those 'curtain' panels that are screwed to the motor well and siliconed at the bottom. And I probably can't move the tanks since they're 80% full right now.[/url]
 
That looks like a good charger for my purposes too. I had a cheap trickle charger (less than $10 from Harbor Freight) but my son insisted I get a good waterproof one. Well, the cheapest one at the local WM was about $70 and I hesitated. So, if you get some positive comments on that one you mentioned I'll get one too. Thanks for posting.

MartyP
 
dotnmarty":1ycney48 said:
That looks like a good charger for my purposes too. I had a cheap trickle charger (less than $10 from Harbor Freight) but my son insisted I get a good waterproof one. Well, the cheapest one at the local WM was about $70 and I hesitated. So, if you get some positive comments on that one you mentioned I'll get one too. Thanks for posting.

MartyP

I ordered one. It has a 4.6/5 rating on Amazon with 148 reviews, so I think it should work well. I checked the Battery Tender website, and the FAQ says it's fine to leave it attached to the battery all the time (reverse current protection). So I can wire it to my ACR or one of the batteries, and plug it into the dock power when I'm moored.
 
Back
Top