In article . com,
" wrote:

On Oct 1, 6:05 pm, Molesworth wrote:
It was my own fault. I picked up the boat last Feb and sailed it to New
Orleans, never once considering if the batteries needed water.

I put 4.5 GALS in 4 batteries last week! The other 2 (double size) are
sealed.

Tried today to start on bank 1, then on bank 2. Nothing out of either.

All the batteries looked old anyway, so I reckon I am going to have to
replace them all. How I'm going to get those doubles out, I have no
idea...

Any recommendations on make, longevity etc?

--
Molesworth

Ahoy Molesworth,

What do you mean by doubles? Do you know the size of the batteries?
By the size you mention I could guess 8-D size. They are real heavy.
They went in somehow, then they will come out, you might need a block
and tackle to get them out.
How many amp hours are the batteries?

If and when you get them out, you might consider T-105 golf cart
batteries. They are 6 volt and can be handles quite easy. They are a
little taller than standard batteries. Still these batteries are the
best bang for the buck.

If your forgetful you might consider AGM type batteries. They charge
faster and are a sealed type so you don't have to add water. Now this
comes at a price, about 2.5 times the cost of T-105's

This is just a quick reply to your question and I can be far more
specific if you require

Fair Winds
Cap'n Dave

Having posed the question, I thought I'd better have a bit of a search
on t' interweb thingy.. and am more confused than before!

AGM's seem to be the coming thing but there's no way I can afford 8 of
'em.

And there's not a lot of load ampere-wise - florescent lights, mast
lights, hot water (on occassion), laptop, depth meter, GPS, anchor winch
... that's about it, apart from the 4cyl 51HP Yanmar. Oh and I just
bought a portable AC unit and an inverter (3000 amp). I already have a
charger set up. Oh, and a refrigerator and the Lectra-San.

Blimey. it adds up doesn't it?

Sigh. Any guesses on my amperage requirement?

Trouble with sailing is - you have to know everything else too.

Today I was a sanitation engineer. Resited the L/S, drilled holes,
replumbed it all, did the wiring anew and then found the V tube
completely blocked. Like cement. Lawd knows how much of the pipe is
blocked. I shall have to get that out tomorrow.

--
Molesworth