I am considering adding a electric windlass to my boat and I would like some
opinions on the best way to connect to the electrical system.

The windlass will be approximately 40 feet from my house battery bank which is
700amps. It has been suggested to me to place a small battery up close to the
windlass so you don't have to run heavy battery cable such a distance and
sustain the power loss. Small cable could be run to the battery strictly for
recharging.

Thanks for the help.

Ray Cullum
S/V FROLIC

On 27 Jul 2004 15:50:00 GMT, (Ray Cullum) wrote:

I am considering adding a electric windlass to my boat and I would like some
opinions on the best way to connect to the electrical system.

The windlass will be approximately 40 feet from my house battery bank which is
700amps. It has been suggested to me to place a small battery up close to the
windlass so you don't have to run heavy battery cable such a distance and
sustain the power loss. Small cable could be run to the battery strictly for
recharging.

Thanks for the help.

Ray Cullum
S/V FROLIC

Two For What it's Worth items:

West Marine in their Advisor pages in the catalog suggests not doing
this on the grounds that the proper cabling for full charger output or
full alternator output is almost as big as the proper cabling for the
winches. Remember most people have their engine running when raising
anchor. For a small savings in cable cost you lose storage space and
add weight in the bow.

Second, the boat I bought is wired this way and the forward battery is
connected through disconnect switches to both the windlass and a bow
thruster. It also has the capability to utilize the forward battery (I
think it's a 4D but I haven't opened the box yet) as a house battery.
It works fine but when time comes for battery replacement I'll examine
rewiring the cables that run forward ( think they are about size 0 or
2) and getting the battery out of the bow.

The concept is that that windlass battery is used so seldom that you can
trickle charge it. Personally, I installed the heavy cable and generally
only run the windlass when the engine is running. An extra battery,
extra charger, etc seems more trouble than it is worth.

Doug
s/v Callista

ps. When did the word "ampacity" enter the alphabet?

"Dick Locke" wrote in message
...
On 27 Jul 2004 15:50:00 GMT, (Ray Cullum) wrote:

I am considering adding a electric windlass to my boat and I would like
some
opinions on the best way to connect to the electrical system.

The windlass will be approximately 40 feet from my house battery bank
which is
700amps. It has been suggested to me to place a small battery up close
to the
windlass so you don't have to run heavy battery cable such a distance and
sustain the power loss. Small cable could be run to the battery strictly
for
recharging.

Thanks for the help.

Ray Cullum
S/V FROLIC

Two For What it's Worth items:

West Marine in their Advisor pages in the catalog suggests not doing
this on the grounds that the proper cabling for full charger output or
full alternator output is almost as big as the proper cabling for the
winches. Remember most people have their engine running when raising
anchor. For a small savings in cable cost you lose storage space and
add weight in the bow.

Second, the boat I bought is wired this way and the forward battery is
connected through disconnect switches to both the windlass and a bow
thruster. It also has the capability to utilize the forward battery (I
think it's a 4D but I haven't opened the box yet) as a house battery.
It works fine but when time comes for battery replacement I'll examine
rewiring the cables that run forward ( think they are about size 0 or
2) and getting the battery out of the bow.

On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 17:36:58 -0400, "Doug Dotson"
wrote:

The concept is that that windlass battery is used so seldom that you can
trickle charge it. Personally, I installed the heavy cable and generally
only run the windlass when the engine is running. An extra battery,
extra charger, etc seems more trouble than it is worth.

OK, I see. Doesn't seem very reliable to me...solar/wind depends on
good weather, AC-DC charger requires an inverter or being on shore
power, and I'm not sure there's a DC-DC trickle charger.

Doug
s/v Callista

ps. When did the word "ampacity" enter the alphabet?

It's not in my vocabulary either, check the person who used it ;-)

I prefer to have the windlass and bowthruster to be powered primarily
by the engine when it is running. The Eliminator from Ample Power
is basically a DC/DC charger but it will add $300 to the project.
Lots of folks use welding cable rather than the tinned marine grade
cable. It's alot cheaper and more flexable. Just use adhesive lined
heat shrink to seal the lugs on the ends to keep out the moisture.

Doug
s/v Callista

"Dick Locke" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 17:36:58 -0400, "Doug Dotson"
wrote:

The concept is that that windlass battery is used so seldom that you can
trickle charge it. Personally, I installed the heavy cable and generally
only run the windlass when the engine is running. An extra battery,
extra charger, etc seems more trouble than it is worth.

OK, I see. Doesn't seem very reliable to me...solar/wind depends on
good weather, AC-DC charger requires an inverter or being on shore
power, and I'm not sure there's a DC-DC trickle charger.

Doug
s/v Callista

ps. When did the word "ampacity" enter the alphabet?

It's not in my vocabulary either, check the person who used it ;-)

Lots of folks use welding cable rather than the tinned marine grade
cable. It's alot cheaper and more flexible.

In my case the welding cable was priced at $1.04/ft but I decided to buy
the tinned battery cable at $1.69/ft because I planned to solder terminals
to the end. I expect this will be more successful if I start with tinned
cable. (I think the normal price for the 2/0 welding cable was something
like $1.39 but they had a spool going for $1.04)

"Doug Dotson" wrote in message
...
I prefer to have the windlass and bowthruster to be powered primarily
by the engine when it is running. The Eliminator from Ample Power
is basically a DC/DC charger but it will add $300 to the project.
Lots of folks use welding cable rather than the tinned marine grade
cable. It's alot cheaper and more flexable. Just use adhesive lined
heat shrink to seal the lugs on the ends to keep out the moisture.

Doug
s/v Callista

"Dick Locke" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 17:36:58 -0400, "Doug Dotson"
wrote:

The concept is that that windlass battery is used so seldom that you
can
trickle charge it. Personally, I installed the heavy cable and
generally
only run the windlass when the engine is running. An extra battery,
extra charger, etc seems more trouble than it is worth.

OK, I see. Doesn't seem very reliable to me...solar/wind depends on
good weather, AC-DC charger requires an inverter or being on shore
power, and I'm not sure there's a DC-DC trickle charger.

Doug
s/v Callista

ps. When did the word "ampacity" enter the alphabet?

It's not in my vocabulary either, check the person who used it ;-)

Doug Dotson wrote:

The concept is that that windlass battery is used so seldom that you can
trickle charge it. Personally, I installed the heavy cable and generally
only run the windlass when the engine is running.

Install heavy cables and plan to run the engine when using the windlass.
Some day you may have almost dead batteries but still need to weigh the
anchor.


An extra battery,
extra charger, etc seems more trouble than it is worth.

Doug
s/v Callista

ps. When did the word "ampacity" enter the alphabet?

"Dick Locke" wrote in message
...
On 27 Jul 2004 15:50:00 GMT, (Ray Cullum) wrote:

I am considering adding a electric windlass to my boat and I would like
some
opinions on the best way to connect to the electrical system.

The windlass will be approximately 40 feet from my house battery bank
which is
700amps. It has been suggested to me to place a small battery up close
to the
windlass so you don't have to run heavy battery cable such a distance
and
sustain the power loss. Small cable could be run to the battery
strictly
for
recharging.

Thanks for the help.

Ray Cullum
S/V FROLIC

Two For What it's Worth items:

West Marine in their Advisor pages in the catalog suggests not doing
this on the grounds that the proper cabling for full charger output or
full alternator output is almost as big as the proper cabling for the
winches. Remember most people have their engine running when raising
anchor. For a small savings in cable cost you lose storage space and
add weight in the bow.

Second, the boat I bought is wired this way and the forward battery is
connected through disconnect switches to both the windlass and a bow
thruster. It also has the capability to utilize the forward battery (I
think it's a 4D but I haven't opened the box yet) as a house battery.
It works fine but when time comes for battery replacement I'll examine
rewiring the cables that run forward ( think they are about size 0 or
2) and getting the battery out of the bow.

On 27 Jul 2004 15:50:00 GMT, (Ray Cullum) wrote:

It has been suggested to me to place a small battery up close to the
windlass so you don't have to run heavy battery cable such a distance and
sustain the power loss.

The expense of the properly sized cable is daunting as well. I don't
have an electrical windlass, but everything I've heard seems to prefer
the dedicated battery, close to the windlass method. Ideally, it would
be sized for the application (i.e. 10 minutes of intense output, not
so often).

Small cable could be run to the battery strictly for
recharging.

I suppose that would work, or you could trickle charge it from solar
or wind directly. If you put switches and isolators in the circuit,
you can have a scenario where you have one "cranking" battery for the
engine, two "house" batteries for refrig., nav stuff, lights, etc.,
and one "windlass" battery. They could all be charged off a decent
sized charger when on shore power, but the alternator would primarily
charge the cranking battery, then the house batteries, then the
windlass battery. A combiner could reroute power where needed if a
battery fails or is otherwise compromised.

It sounds complex, and perhaps space would be an issue under 40 feet,
but it's workable.

Another way I am exploring to keep the wire runs shorter is to
relocate the charger and batteries under the port settee by the
mast....including the electrical panel.

Benefits: Short runs and easy access via head to terminal block for
mast wiring.

Ease of access in the most spacious part of the boat.

Gets wiring away from the companionway and opens up the nav station
there.

Gets batteries away from engine heat/spark.

Longest runs (to stern and bow nav lights) are 1/2 the boat length.
Mast nav light runs are reduced.

Downside: House battery run to engine starter is longer. Solution:
dedicated single cranking battery charged mainly by alternator.

Hope this helps...mainly me thinking aloud.

R.

I think there are more disadvantages to this system than advantages.

The disadvantages a
-another battery to purchase/maintain/eventually replace
-locating a battery forward in an area possibly not well designed for
batteries
-you now have two sets of wiring to route and maintain: battery to windlass
and charging system to battery
-devising a method of keeping the battery charged but not
overcharged/interfere with charging other batteries
-lower total power to the windlass than from a big house bank

The advantage would seem to be saving money on heavy cable and not having to
route this cable through the boat.
I just purchased 2/0 tinned battery cable from Hardware Specialties in
Seattle for $1.69 per foot. I don't consider this to be that big a cost. I
could have bought 2/0 welding cable for $1.04 per foot if I really wanted to
save money. I prefer going with the cable as once its installed the work is
over. No batteries to maintain and I get full power from my house bank.

"Ray Cullum" wrote in message
...
I am considering adding a electric windlass to my boat and I would like
some
opinions on the best way to connect to the electrical system.

The windlass will be approximately 40 feet from my house battery bank
which is
700amps. It has been suggested to me to place a small battery up close to
the
windlass so you don't have to run heavy battery cable such a distance and
sustain the power loss. Small cable could be run to the battery strictly
for
recharging.

Thanks for the help.

Ray Cullum
S/V FROLIC