On 3/15/2016 11:56 AM, Califbill wrote:
fire man wrote:
"Ryan P." Wrote in message:
With spring almost here, it won't be long until the boat comes out of
its cocoon for its April shake down cruise.

The subject of taking the boat along with us to a family vacation out
in the Wisconsin Dells area came up, and that got me to thinking about
the battery situation.

Its just a small bowrider, so either I'll pull it out each night and
park it by the house, or I'd rent a slip for $15 a night and leave it in
the water for the three days we'd be up there.

Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice.

Has anybody here ever used solar charging stations? I see them on
Amazon for between $40 and $200, at least for power levels I might
require. I want something that's easy to stow, so a 5w or 8w flex panel
(roughly 1' x 1') is probably the largest I could go.

I know those are more maintenance charge levels, but I'm thinking that
might be enough to compensate for the 4-5 hours of use the stereo would
get, assuming it has a good portion of the morning in full sun to charge.

Thoughts?


Can you do without the stereo?

Most slips have power available. Especially where bass boats would slip.
Just take along a battery charger or buy a smart charger. Or pull the
battery and take to house and charge. More juice and cheaper than solar.

I'll have to check with the marina. A small smart charger would be
better than solar, absolutely. I just don't remember seeing outlets on
all slips.

I don't really wanna pull the battery... The marina is literally
across the street from the rental house. That's a long walk carrying a
lead box.

Ryan P.
- show quoted text -
*" I'll have to check with the marina. *A small smart charger would be
better than solar, absolutely. *I just don't remember seeing outlets on
all slips.

* I don't really wanna pull the battery... *The marina is literally
across the street from the rental house. *That's a long walk carrying a
lead box. *"


You'd need the proper cord to use shore power at a marina. Even then, it might be dangerous to plug in a normal household items like a portable battery charger. I have a light folding aluminum hand truck rated for 138 kilogram use when I don't want to have, awkward heavy items around...usually from the SUV to a store or home. That would be great for hauling a battery any distance for charging.

True North wrote:
Ryan P.
- show quoted text -
" I'll have to check with the marina. A small smart charger would be
better than solar, absolutely. I just don't remember seeing outlets on
all slips.

I don't really wanna pull the battery... The marina is literally
across the street from the rental house. That's a long walk carrying a
lead box. "


You'd need the proper cord to use shore power at a marina. Even then, it might be dangerous to plug in a normal household items like a portable battery charger. I have a light folding aluminum hand truck rated for 138 kilogram use when I don't want to have, awkward heavy items around...usually from the SUV to a store or home. That would be great for hauling a battery any distance for charging.


True shore power doesn't use a cord that would work with a common
battery charger. In this case it is likely that they have standard
outlets for ordinary extension cords. That was bass fishermen use to
charge their deep cycle trolling motors overnight.

On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 20:12:47 -0400, Alex wrote:

True North wrote:
Ryan P.
- show quoted text -
" I'll have to check with the marina. A small smart charger would be
better than solar, absolutely. I just don't remember seeing outlets on
all slips.

I don't really wanna pull the battery... The marina is literally
across the street from the rental house. That's a long walk carrying a
lead box. "


You'd need the proper cord to use shore power at a marina. Even then, it might be dangerous to plug in a normal household items like a portable battery charger. I have a light folding aluminum hand truck rated for 138 kilogram use when I don't want to have, awkward heavy items around...usually from the SUV to a store or home. That would be great for hauling a battery any distance for charging.


True shore power doesn't use a cord that would work with a common
battery charger. In this case it is likely that they have standard
outlets for ordinary extension cords. That was bass fishermen use to
charge their deep cycle trolling motors overnight.

Most shore power posts will have a regular 5-15 on them along with the
240v-50a and/or 120v-30a.
I doubt you are getting a powered slip for $15 tho.
Wayne may stop by, he is the marina guy. I just know what I see

On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 20:32:32 -0400, wrote:

Most shore power posts will have a regular 5-15 on them along with the
240v-50a and/or 120v-30a.
I doubt you are getting a powered slip for $15 tho.
Wayne may stop by, he is the marina guy. I just know what I see

===

It depends entirely on the marina and what kind of boats they cater
to. Most boats over 25 ft or so will have standard twist lock shore
power cables, either 30 amp 120 volts or 50 amp 240 volts. Many of us
carry adapters however for non-standard power outlets like 15 amp 120
volts.

On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 21:07:19 -0400,
wrote:

On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 20:32:32 -0400, wrote:

Most shore power posts will have a regular 5-15 on them along with the
240v-50a and/or 120v-30a.
I doubt you are getting a powered slip for $15 tho.
Wayne may stop by, he is the marina guy. I just know what I see

===

It depends entirely on the marina and what kind of boats they cater
to. Most boats over 25 ft or so will have standard twist lock shore
power cables, either 30 amp 120 volts or 50 amp 240 volts. Many of us
carry adapters however for non-standard power outlets like 15 amp 120
volts.

I think I saw a regular 5-15 (along with the twist locks) on the posts
at the little marina behind the CAMA office under the FMB bridge (next
to Bonita Bill) but I really wasn't paying that much attention. They
do seem to have a blow boat patronage tho. I really just saw the 16 ga
SJT "orange cords" going off of the posts into fairly modest boats.
I try not to stare at these people's homes ;-)

On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 22:06:48 -0400, wrote:

On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 21:07:19 -0400,
wrote:

On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 20:32:32 -0400, wrote:

Most shore power posts will have a regular 5-15 on them along with the
240v-50a and/or 120v-30a.
I doubt you are getting a powered slip for $15 tho.
Wayne may stop by, he is the marina guy. I just know what I see

===

It depends entirely on the marina and what kind of boats they cater
to. Most boats over 25 ft or so will have standard twist lock shore
power cables, either 30 amp 120 volts or 50 amp 240 volts. Many of us
carry adapters however for non-standard power outlets like 15 amp 120
volts.

I think I saw a regular 5-15 (along with the twist locks) on the posts
at the little marina behind the CAMA office under the FMB bridge (next
to Bonita Bill) but I really wasn't paying that much attention. They
do seem to have a blow boat patronage tho. I really just saw the 16 ga
SJT "orange cords" going off of the posts into fairly modest boats.
I try not to stare at these people's homes ;-)

===

A lot of sail boats do not have proper shore power circuits and
connectors. They frequently use extension cords and portable
chargers, and every now and then one will catch fire. It happened to
an old friend of mine on a 50 footer. He was fortunate not to lose
the whole boat but it did quite a bit of damage to the interior. I
don't have shore power circuits on our Sea Ray runabout but I do use a
marine rated charger.

On 3/15/2016 8:07 PM, wrote:
On Tue, 15 Mar 2016 20:32:32 -0400, wrote:

Most shore power posts will have a regular 5-15 on them along with the
240v-50a and/or 120v-30a.
I doubt you are getting a powered slip for $15 tho.
Wayne may stop by, he is the marina guy. I just know what I see

===

It depends entirely on the marina and what kind of boats they cater
to. Most boats over 25 ft or so will have standard twist lock shore
power cables, either 30 amp 120 volts or 50 amp 240 volts. Many of us
carry adapters however for non-standard power outlets like 15 amp 120
volts.


Yeah, this is Castle Rock Lake in Wisconsin. There are a couple small
cuddy cabin boats owned by some rich locals for bragging rights, but
they primarily cater to ski, bass and pontoons.

I think it would be fun to cruise the Wisconsin River, but both
Petenwell and Castle Rock are damned, so at best its a day trip up and
down. Certainly nothing that would require long-term battery.

Ryan P. wrote:
On 3/15/2016 11:56 AM, Califbill wrote:
fire man wrote:
"Ryan P." Wrote in message:
With spring almost here, it won't be long until the boat comes out of
its cocoon for its April shake down cruise.

The subject of taking the boat along with us to a family vacation out
in the Wisconsin Dells area came up, and that got me to thinking about
the battery situation.

Its just a small bowrider, so either I'll pull it out each night and
park it by the house, or I'd rent a slip for $15 a night and leave it in
the water for the three days we'd be up there.

Without an alternator, though, I'm worried about leaving it at a slip.
I have an accessory battery, so I'm not worried about getting
stranded, but running lights and a stereo take up juice.

Has anybody here ever used solar charging stations? I see them on
Amazon for between $40 and $200, at least for power levels I might
require. I want something that's easy to stow, so a 5w or 8w flex panel
(roughly 1' x 1') is probably the largest I could go.

I know those are more maintenance charge levels, but I'm thinking that
might be enough to compensate for the 4-5 hours of use the stereo would
get, assuming it has a good portion of the morning in full sun to charge.

Thoughts?


Can you do without the stereo?

Most slips have power available. Especially where bass boats would slip.
Just take along a battery charger or buy a smart charger. Or pull the
battery and take to house and charge. More juice and cheaper than solar.

I'll have to check with the marina. A small smart charger would be
better than solar, absolutely. I just don't remember seeing outlets on
all slips.

I don't really wanna pull the battery... The marina is literally
across the street from the rental house. That's a long walk carrying a
lead box.



Small handtruck