Thought it be good to followup to all my first-time ocean questions with the
results which were less than stellar. I have a 21' Searay Openbow
(Sundeck) - 2004 which went through it's break-in period on lakes without
any issues. The first ocean trip was a planned run on either side of high
tide from Rosevelt Inlet at Lewes, DE to OC, MD and back the next day.
Forcasted conditions were cloudy with 2-4 ft seas day 1 and sunny with 1-2
ft seas for day 2 (return trip next day) plus clear weather out for the next
2 days.

About half an hour out off Rehobeth Beach the engine computer gave me a very
loud alarm on the electrical system and about 5 minutes later (about enough
time to decide to turn back) shut off the engine. We anchored where we were
about a mile off shore and contacted the coast guard via VHF (handheld) who
passed along our tow request and GPS reading to a tow company. Took about
90 minutes for the tow boat then about 90 minutes back to Rosevelt Inlet.

Later we drove to OC and picked up our plans after a bus ride to Secrets!

Root cause? Service center back home reported an inproperly installed cable
had "fallen off" the alternator (haven't picked it up yet to have a second
look). They've also been tasked with installing a 2nd battery (deep cycle)
and switch.

-trevor