My outlook is probably effected somewhat by watching the motorcycle
size battery in my plane start the 160 HP, high compression, engine
briskly on even below zero days.

BTW the 1,2 Both switch is an anachronism that I'll be ditching as
soon as I can get the boat back to Maine and overhaul the whole
system. There are very inexpensive battery management and charging
systems now that charge the batteries while leaving them isolated from
each other for normal loads.

--

Roger Long



"Glen "Wiley" Wilson" wrote in
message ...
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 22:46:29 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:

I thinking about rotating both the hotel loads and the rather modest
starting loads between two deep cycle batteries so the get even
service. I'm aware of the problem with leaving them both connected
if
there is an electrical leak or misjudgment about usage. This
wouldn't
be as serious anyway as it would on a boat with an engine too big to
hand start.
Depends on how fast you need the engine started. Say there's a
drunk
in a cigarette boat (or a tanker) bearing down on you. Or the wind
died and you have a 3 knot current pushing you on the rocks 50 yards
away. It's not that you have to have a motor ready for instant use
to
go sailing. It's the situations you get into because you think you
have a motor ready for instant use.

That said, I sailed for more years than I'd care to remember using
the
"rhythm system" for batteries as you describe. I did flatline the
system a couple of times by forgetting to switch from BOTH after
charging but it never got me in any trouble I couldn't get out of.
Regardless, I now have an idjit-proof system I'm much happier with.

Oh, and don't forget, batteries run other things than starters.
Bilge
pumps, for example.
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