Parallax wrote:

Although I have few elecrical gadgets to use power, I do worry about
having enough juice to run my VHF and running lights and am also
partial to having a small fan. Auto-pilot is also nice on long runs.
So what happens if my batteries accidently get run down? My old
Yanmar 1GM could be han cranked but my 2GM, no. However, while
looking into the engine compartment one day while under sail, I
noticed my prop shaft was spinning like mad cuz I hadnt put it in gear
(Yanmar says put it in reverse). So: maybe not so useless Idea #3727


Can you release the compression of the engine with the decompression
levers, get going good under sail with engine in gear an use the
spinning prop to sorta "push-start" the engine with you suddenly
giving it compression? I might try this next time I am out.


Unluckily, your (and our) prop freewheels in forward. If you slam it
into reverse, you would try to start the engine in the wrong direction.

Best would probably be a solar panel. Turn everything off for an hour or
two and even a 12w panel might give you enough juice: 2GMs really don't
need much power to start if everything else is in good shape.

Changing my mind: Best is two battery banks. Only draw from one at a
time, but always charge both. And upgrade any of your battery leads that
is less than 1/0. We can start off one of our group 31 batteries during
the summer even if it's showing about 11.5v. (When it's chilly, we need
better voltage, but I haven't checked it since I upgraded our cables.)

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/