No project is ever as
easily executed as when I conceptualize it.
As you know I lost my battery bank to some lightning. My batteries were about 3 years old and I was planning to squeak another year out of them but I’m changing them out a bit early.
I got a quote on 4 Trojan T-105’s at Casa de batteria here in Panama and the price was over $900.00. I had to find an alternative.
I was at Price Smart (like Cosco) and checked the automotive section. Eveready makes a 220 AH (@6V) 6 volt battery for $99.00. If you put two together in parallel you get a 12v 220 amp hour battery. Add 4 more and you have a 660 amp hour battery bank. I bought 4, and a friend is bringing me two more tomorrow. You should use about half of your amp hours so this gives me a working 330 amp hours.
Well after thinking about my battery bank I don’t like it in my engine room. The batteries get hot when I run the engine and they are difficult to access for maintenance. I decided to move the battery bank to under my settee in the main saloon. I’ll have to build, and fiberglass in a box, but the batteries will be much cooler and accessible. It also shifts the weight a bit more amidships, I like it!
I loose a little storage room but weighing the pros & cons, the pros win. Of course I had to clean, sand, and paint the locker but it looks quite nice. I’m also going to stow my electric supplies & tools there, it will be the “everything” 12v locker.
I want to talk a little about sailing spirit and my French friends Mel & Fab.
Mel & Fab bought my other French friends boat about 6 months ago who upgraded to another boat after living and cruising on this one for 15 years.
Their boat is steel and about 26’ long. A solid world cruising boat. This is the kind of boat one can easily find in the states for under 5k if they look. For some reason Americans just don’t buy, or like steel boats?
Mel & Fab are new to cruising and were intrigued by the lifestyle. They have a great attitude and are really having fun.
They have very little money and are blossoming. Fab spear fishes every day. I seem to be attracted to people who live on little as buying your way around the world just doesn’t appeal to me.
Anyway, the first thing Mel & Fab realized was that they didn’t like inflatable dinks. Their boat came with a very poor quality PVC deflectable that they could never keep air in. Fab did a little research on the internet and decided to build an 
optimist from polyester.
He started building it on deck and then moved into the abandoned building on Linton Island. He worked hard every day for two months and had to deal with the wrath of the crazy monkeys all the time. He did figure out how to lock them out of his work area.
After he was completed we had a small launching party on the beach and went sailing.
I’ll say it again. Money really has little to do with sailing, and nothing to do with freedom or spirit.
If you dig around at boat yards I’m sure you can even find something like Mel & Fab’s boat for free.
I had friends years ago that found their boat half sunk on the banks of a river in Italy. It took them a few months to dig out and a year to repair but they are sailing around the world on it.
If you dream of sailing make it happen, no excuses!
The more I script out my next film the more it seems it will be a 
key to the cruising door. It’s not intended for the man of means, but the dreamer who has little and the will to make it happen. I hope to provide a little motivation practical knowledge.
It’s not about the boat guys, what kind of school you can put your children in, or how much savings you have. it’s about freedom, spirit, adventure, and life.
Man I love the Canon T3i!
Sail far and live slowly!
– alex
Love this page with “Great” pictures… Keepup the great work..Sam I Am
Thanks Sam,
Well I got the new batteries in, WOW, what a difference!
Alex,
About two years ago I installed Sam’s Club 6v golf cart $64 wet cell cheapo batteries in my boat for a 210 hour house bank. A little distilled water every now and then and almost two years later they still test like new. A lot of bang for the buck if you have the charging capacity.
Glad to see you put the money in the camera instead of buying into the hi-tech battery thing.
Take care, DanM.
Serial. You put two 6v batteries together in serial to get 12v. Putting them in parallel would double the capacity but the voltage stays the same. So, strap a Positive of one battery to the Negative of the other then use the remaining Pos’s and Neg’s to supply the electrical system. But you knew all that already; you just made a typo. 8*)
Okay, I’ll be quiet now…
Opps, I did write it wrong, put two in serial, then connect them in parallel to the other two.
Cheers
I also need new batteries. I am almost done with the top side paint. Learning a little more about my new Cannon. I have to have a operation on my neck Oct 17th will not be able to do much for awhile replac two more discks and remove the plat thats in there and replace with a larger one.. “Oh Joy”
Well, i saw photos of the 50′ Gulfstar. Its a project for sure but everything is there but the motor. It needs someone willing to invest some Love and time.
Well, i saw photos of the 50′ Gulfstar. Its a project for sure but everything is there but the motor. It needs someone willing to invest some Love and time. I’ll never understand how people can let boats just go like that.
Hi Alex,
When I looked at the pics from this post I really didn’t understand how an old friend of mine from Fayettteville Arkansas was sailing near you on that steel boat. Please tell Mel she has an identical twin located in Arkansas. It was uncanny. I see that all is well. Have had recent troubles in business. Decided with my lady to work on just selling everything and go sailing. We decided that is what we would do if I lost my businees and realized how excited we got at the thought of losing everything and gaining the sailing life. It was an eye opener. Take care my friend.
alex…..does gulfstar have stove and refrig?
Jeff,
sailing and traveling beats doing business all day long, in my humble opinion. Sounds like you guys have a good plan:) I told Mel and she laughed “really” in a thick french accent.
Gary, I don’t know, I forwarded you the pictures. Looks like its been on a mooring for a while.
Just so there is no series/parallel wiring issues here is a simple diagram:
http://www.solarrvpanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/BattereiswiredinSeriesParallel.gif
-alex
looked at the pictures and still think is a steel……the basics are there and it has a generator……..if someone wanted to live aboard and spend a couple of years fixing her in spare time it would be a great project…..offer 15k and put 3k engine in a mattress and fix refrigeration…..20k and it is liveable…a 50 gulfstar ……wow…….
If it is still available when I have my cash in hand I will probably move it to the head of the list. Who knows…maybe he will take less in 6 months. One can only hope the engine is still available. Maybe I should buy that engine so no one else can do the same. I have found other boats out there that need new motors. But I have no way to store it or get it to Washington State.
At this point I am not discounting any ideas.
chuck….be patient…..the boat will probably sell, but there are others that will be comming on the market……the engine will only fit some boats 40-60 feet….newer boats usually have smaller engines (physically) than a perkins. watch craigs list for seattle and portland…if is still available in 6 mo, i do deliveries……G
Chuck,
The boat needs a lot of work before going to sea and would constitute a substantial investment of time and money. How much time/money depends on your skill level and the amount of energy you are willing to invest. One will need good carpentry, plumbing, diesel mechanic, electric, fiberglass, painting, and rigging skills. How much time vs money depends on these abilities. You’ll also need a good sawzall, I heard there are sections of the interior sole that need to be replaced, not such a big deal.
For me it would be easy, move aboard in Hawaii, work, and cruise. Time doesn’t matter to me so much, and I don’t have money so I would just have to figure it all out. I would move on for the purchase price like I did with Splendid. It would be more difficult with a family. That being said I met Sam only a few months after buying Splendid and it worked well. Sam had a gr8 attitude as did baby Guin. We had a lot of fun putting the boat together and living aboard at the same time.
So much of the cruising experience depends on attitude. I meet people all the time complaining about the locals not being able to speak english, the quality of the water, the corruption or political nonsense, or not being able to find a certian product. I wounder why these people are cruising? Then there are people like Mel & Fab that make the best of whatever comes their way and are just grateful.
However if you made the investment would pay off for sure. After you were finished you would have a home comfortable enough for a lifetime of family cruising.
If you are not willing/able to go and relocate for the boat I’d keep looking locally for an easier transition into cruising. I still want to see someone jump on that Tayana 37.
Cheers.
Alex,
Would you please comment, in hindsight, on what the issue was with the battery install that made it susceptible to lightning? Was it a design flaw or just bad karma?
What would you have done differently in hindsight?
No design flaw, and I don’t think I have any bad karma. Things In nature get hit by lightning as do boats at anchor. Indirect hits usually come in through the dyna plate and attack electronics through the ground system. Someone said about 30% of the boats get it here every year in one way or another. I keep my ssb and many electronics on trailor plugs or disconected when not in use. This is the rain Forrest and there is alot of lightning in this regon, no hurricanes though. I do keep a chain attached to an upper to hopefully keep a direct hit out of the boat. When a bad squall rolls in I also shut everything down and unplug things, if it is really bat the laptop & gps go in the oven.
Question……How do you block out the wind noise when making a video? I was watching a video from another sailing blog. The noise was so deafening I could barely hear the narrator. Do you add your audio tracks later? I remember some shots are you talking directly into the camera. Do you just pay extra attention to where you are located? Meaning in the cockpit out of the wind or what? Do you put up a piece of cardboard or something near the camera?
I will eventually start my own web site/blog and want to know these things. Thank you.
Chuck, use a good wind sock for the mic, a d turn the mic out of the wind. I also do a lot of voice overs in the films, not the online vids.
I have a cheap Kodak Sport and I found that if I put a piece of rigging tape over the mic it works great and you can still hear the things you wanna hear. But it has to be on nice and flat. If it lifts at all you will have to replace it. It even works when I take it underwater. Simple cheap and not permanent fix.
Bare