Solar Panels and Charging
The first thing we did on getting the boat was to ditch the Rutland wind generator - the bearings had gone and it wasn't cost effective to replace them. Solar is so much more efficient that we opted for that. The stainless pole was put to good use though - we sited our 4G antenna on it - see
Internet below.
We decided to fit monocrystalline solar panels on the coachroof - paired with an Epever MPPT solar controller. One of the joys of a huge coachroof is the space for panels. Since the boat only came with 200Ah of house batteries and we had a further 200Ah which had been bought the for the last boat, we fitted these at the same time. Not perhaps our best idea since one pair were new and the others were of unknown date/status. As you'll see later in the page
under Batteries
we subsequently made a major change and replaced all 4 with lead carbon AGM batteries.
The solar panels provided loads of electricity but the house bank didn't manage to hold it - hence the change of batteries. But the solar has been a huge success. So much so that we're thinking we may add more panels if we fit a cockpit cover - the panels, with lead carbon AGM batteries, are fine for everything but late autumn to early spring but we'd like to be self-sufficient all year if we can.
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Electronics and Navigation
The objectives were to modernise and integrate all our electronics. The boat came with 2 multi-function displays (MFD) - one at the helm and one at the chart table. But they both relied on proprietary charts (expensive to keep up to date and to expand) and both screens were fairly small. We wanted to be able to lounge in our saloon with a laptop to plan cruises and then have the charts available wherever they were needed - helm, chart table or even on the phone in bed for the off-watch crew.
Having previously done lots of work with the Raspberry Pi (RPI) we decided this would be our main platform for navigation and instruments. We chose
OpenCPN - an Open Source chart plotter coupled with
o-charts. If you're a UK resident (unlike those lucky people with free access to charts - such as residents of the USA) then you're going to have to buy charts. o-charts is one of the most cost-effective we've found - currently (Feb 2024) 18.50 Euros for the whole of the UK. Other areas are also very reasonable. The licence permits you to use one set of charts on 2 devices. So if we wanted not only to have the laptop and the helm versions we'd need to buy a 2nd licence - but it wouldn't break the bank !
The boat came with AIS and using our network we are able to integrate this with OpenCPN on the same screen(s).
We also wanted to integrate our existing battery monitoring and solar charging systems on the RPI. With plans (see
Winter Projects to expand the instrument monitoring so we had a central server which could provide details to devices around the boat.
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Engine Seacocks
When we bought the boat her engines were cooled by vents on the sail drives. While testing her out in the first week or two, we went out and I suggested we give the engines some welly since no surveyor we've ever encountered tests engines. All went well until we were motoring slowly up the Dart, eyes ahead. Suddenly a Dart Harbour patrol boat pulled alongside and pointed out that we were trailing a large cloud of white smoke - the engines were over heating but not hot enough to set of the audible alarm.
So we took her gently until her first haulout (which came early because of Covid lockdowns) and had two additional seacocks fitted to cool the engines directly. Not had a problem since thank goodness - though, when we get to the
Winter Projects page you'll see that worries about over-heating have played a major role in our electronics plans.
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Batteries
Were you aware that this is a subject upon which boat owners can wax lyrical, lie awake at night thinking about or, as was the case with us, will discuss the subject to the nth degree of detail ?
How much capacity ? How many ? And, most importantly, what type ? Which then brings you round to the question of how you charge them. Should it be lithium ? If not, then what ? Even at this distance in time (we changed and upgraded the batteries winter 2022-2023) I can still recall almost every discussion we have and I have a plethora of spreadsheets on the subject.
Our position was affected by several factors - weight (it's a cat), space, the fact that we've got 2 engines and 2 alternators and, most importantly, the boat came fitted with Smart charging.
The last issue was an important factor. Although we were keen on changing our lead-acid batteries to lithium the smart charging system would mean that there would be added complexity requiring battery-to-battery chargers on both engines. In addition, we also have one house bank and 2 engine-starting batteries and the whole caboodle is linked. Then there was the attitude of the insurers - they were prepared to accept LiPo batteries but were insistent that they be fitted by an expert outfit. Not many of those around. We also preferred LiPo with independent battery management systems (BMS) since apparently these are the most likely cause of failure. If you have built-in BMS then a fault means replacing the whole expensive item, rather than just the BMS. The issue became even more complicated.
Eventually the research led us to LiPo4 or one of the Absorbed Glass Matt (AGM) variants. Despite the extra weight (by comparison with LiPo4) we opted for lead carbon AGM. These offer a higher number of recharge cycles than straight lead acid or other types of AGM and can support a greater depth-of-discharge (DOD). Not as good in either department as LiPo4 but without the extra costs, complexity and loss of our smart charging. That is a
very quick summary of months of research and discussion. The boat now has 4 lead carbon AGM giving a total of just under 400Ah (amp hours). Fortunately our solar MPPT controller and the mains battery charger both offered settings to suit the new batteries.
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Internet and Comms.
Don't even ask "could you do without the Internet" ? No is the answer. Having spent years on WiFi systems for the Exmoor village where we live and providing WiFi on the River Dart there is NO WAY we can do without !
Since WiFi these days is largely outdated we chose to utilise 4G on SNAFU II. This works very well around the UK coastline and unless we decide to go offshore or further afield there seems no real reason to justify the extra cost of
Starlink. So when we discarded our wind generator we utilised the pole for an omni-directional antenna - this is wired to a 4G dongle on the Raspberry Pi which acts as a WiFi Hotspot around the boat.
Phone signal is again pretty good in most of the areas we cruise so we use the phones normally - occasionally using them as WiFi hotspots if there are any issues with the 4G system/network.
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We replaced the main anchor - a CQR - with a Kobra and the kedge anchor for a Fortress.
The electric windlass stopped working - a bit of a problem although you can raise and lower the anchor manually. On investigation it was surprising it had ever worked - immediately beneath the point on the foredeck where the windlass is sited, was a household circular junction box. All the wires were horribly corroded so it was replaced with a single wire which runs from the windlass underneath the deck and into a nice dry indoor cupboard before being joined.