1. main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
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Re: A question about coppercoat

Ruslan Osmonov
 

Does CopperCoat stay in tact when hauling out? Given it is epoxy mix coats, I assume so, but still would like to ask. 
I use regular ablative water based antifoul and every year my boat has marks from straps. and where the straps go, antifoul paint is mostly wiped off and needs painting. 

On Fri, Oct 30, 2020 at 12:38 PM Matt Salatino via groups.io <helmsmatt=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote:
CopperCoat has been the least expensive antifoul I’ve ever used. Spread that “high” cost across 10 or more years....

Matt ~~~_/|)~~~
A50#27


On Friday, October 30, 2020, 10:05:24 AM CST, Patrick McAneny via groups.io <sailw32=aol.com@groups.io> wrote:


Craig, That sounds expensive, but I spent $1500.00 on bottom paint a couple of years ago. If you got six years for $2300. ,that would work out  pretty well,if it works for you ,seems to have had different results for different people ,probably application error.
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Briggs via groups.io <sangaris=aol.com@groups.io>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 11:20 am
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Hi Pat - check out coppercoatusa.com - they list an SM as needing 18 "Kits" for $2340. Site is a "must read and study".
--
Cheer, SN68 Sangaris, Tropic Isle Harbor, FL

Re: A question about coppercoat

Matt Salatino
 

CopperCoat has been the least expensive antifoul I’ve ever used. Spread that “high” cost across 10 or more years....

Matt ~~~_/|)~~~
A50#27


On Friday, October 30, 2020, 10:05:24 AM CST, Patrick McAneny via groups.io <sailw32@...> wrote:


Craig, That sounds expensive, but I spent $1500.00 on bottom paint a couple of years ago. If you got six years for $2300. ,that would work out  pretty well,if it works for you ,seems to have had different results for different people ,probably application error.
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Briggs via groups.io <sangaris@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 11:20 am
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Hi Pat - check out coppercoatusa.com - they list an SM as needing 18 "Kits" for $2340. Site is a "must read and study".
--
Cheer, SN68 Sangaris, Tropic Isle Harbor, FL

Re: A question about coppercoat

Matt Salatino
 

Yes, CC can be applied over barrier coat. Follow their directions.
I applied four coats as they directed. The coats go on thin and it doesn’t look right until the second or third coat.
I can’t over emphasize following their directions to the letter.

~~~⛵️~~~Matt

On Oct 30, 2020, at 10:37 AM, Patrick McAneny via groups.io <sailw32@...> wrote:

Matt, How many coats of CC do you apply. I am fairing some holes in my gel coat and then plan to overcoat with Interprotect 2000. Can CC be applied over a barrier coat? 
Thanks,
Pat
SM#123


-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Salatino via groups.io <helmsmatt@...>
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 9:09 am
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Oh, CC is about 2X the cost of conventional bottom paint.

~~~⛵️~~~Matt

On Oct 30, 2020, at 7:44 AM, Patrick McAneny via groups.io <sailw32@...> wrote:

Can coppercoat be applied by an owner or does it need to be applied by a dealer ? If it can be installed by an owner ,what would you estimate the cost of materials would be . I had the impression that there was mixed reviews on this product,but you guys seem very pleased with it. I have my hull down to the gel coat and ready to apply a barrier coat soon ,so I could go with any bottom protection at this point.
Thanks,
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Park <parkianj@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 4:33 am
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat




Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Park <sunbeat2@...>
Date: 29 October 2020 at 18:14:18 GMT
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re:  [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Paul,
Confirm what others have said. We usually get a layer of slime in tropical waters, less so in colder northern waters. It comes off easily with a nylon abrasive pad, or with jet wash on a haul out. If you get shell a scraper works very well.
I share Pen Azen’s ages and comments. When you’ve done the anti foul cycle enough times it’s a joy to have a Coppercoat.
PS I think many AMEL owners have often been told its cheating to have all these buttons for furling and reefing the sails - but I’ve done my share of being jet washed on the foredeck and love the comfort of my Santorin (and not having antifoul coloured measles off the paint roller).

Ian

Ocean Hobo SN96 Locked down again North Wales!
Re: A question about coppercoat

Patrick McAneny
 

Craig, That sounds expensive, but I spent $1500.00 on bottom paint a couple of years ago. If you got six years for $2300. ,that would work out  pretty well,if it works for you ,seems to have had different results for different people ,probably application error.
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Craig Briggs via groups.io <sangaris@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 11:20 am
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Hi Pat - check out coppercoatusa.com - they list an SM as needing 18 "Kits" for $2340. Site is a "must read and study".
--
Cheer, SN68 Sangaris, Tropic Isle Harbor, FL

Re: A question about coppercoat

Craig Briggs
 
Edited

Hi Pat - check out coppercoatusa.com - they list an SM as needing 18 "Kits" for $2340. Site is a "must read and study". It is a totally different animal than conventional bottom paint and requires 4 coats applied one after another in one session.
--
Cheer, SN68 Sangaris, Tropic Isle Harbor, FL
Re: Bow Thruster Amps rating.

Dan Carlson
 

Hi Chris,   Please share pictures of how things look after you “unstack” the main switches.  I have been considering that as well. 

 

Here are a few responses to your ideas: 

  1. I would prefer to leave the very heavy bow-thruster cables as is on the Main switch.  I don’t want to add anything in that heavy load circuit that I can avoid.  
  2. I read a few concerns about ANL fuses for heavy load circuits and recommendations to use Class T for those.  I have one 400A class T from Blue Sea on the positive battery cable.  The inverter/charger, solar MPPT etc are also fused separately (200A ANL on the Victron Multi-Plus 3000/70/16)

 

Would also be interested in more information on where you mount and how you wire your rotary switch when you get that installed.

 

Thanks and regards,  Daniel and Lori Carlson on sv BeBe, sm #387

 

 

 

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> On Behalf Of Chris Doucette
Sent: Friday, October 30, 2020 8:55 AM
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io Group Moderators <main@amelyachtowners.groups.io>
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Bow Thruster Amps rating.

 

 

Thanks everyone!  My setup has me in 4 groups of 100AH 12V Battle Borns @24v (400AH).  I have each group's positives and negatives aggregating to corresponding bus bars that then lead to the battery box posts.  I have an AMP ANL-style fuse holder in-line on the positive bus bar.  Everything I touch on this boat is going to be fused / breakered out appropriately.  I'll start with the 500amp and move up to 600 if needed.  

 

Bill Kinney- basically doing what you have done with your 24v / 12v distribution. I am going to work backwards from distribution and  "Unstack" the main Amel switches and move all the cables to bus bars (4 of them Engine Pos, Engine Neg, House load Pos, House Neg.) proper fusing closest to distribution and breakered out for switching. Same goes with any of the 12v distributions. All with appropriate marine wire, fittings, and labeling. 

 

On the AC side I am removing the Amel Auto Priority Gen / Shore Power priority switch (yes it has severed her well so far) in favor of a manual rotary Gen-Off_Shore switch..  Just for my peace of mind. 

Chris 

 
Re: A question about coppercoat

Patrick McAneny
 

Matt, How many coats of CC do you apply. I am fairing some holes in my gel coat and then plan to overcoat with Interprotect 2000. Can CC be applied over a barrier coat? 
Thanks,
Pat
SM#123


-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Salatino via groups.io <helmsmatt@...>
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 9:09 am
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Oh, CC is about 2X the cost of conventional bottom paint.

~~~⛵️~~~Matt

On Oct 30, 2020, at 7:44 AM, Patrick McAneny via groups.io <sailw32@...> wrote:

Can coppercoat be applied by an owner or does it need to be applied by a dealer ? If it can be installed by an owner ,what would you estimate the cost of materials would be . I had the impression that there was mixed reviews on this product,but you guys seem very pleased with it. I have my hull down to the gel coat and ready to apply a barrier coat soon ,so I could go with any bottom protection at this point.
Thanks,
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Park <parkianj@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 4:33 am
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat




Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Park <sunbeat2@...>
Date: 29 October 2020 at 18:14:18 GMT
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re:  [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Paul,
Confirm what others have said. We usually get a layer of slime in tropical waters, less so in colder northern waters. It comes off easily with a nylon abrasive pad, or with jet wash on a haul out. If you get shell a scraper works very well.
I share Pen Azen’s ages and comments. When you’ve done the anti foul cycle enough times it’s a joy to have a Coppercoat.
PS I think many AMEL owners have often been told its cheating to have all these buttons for furling and reefing the sails - but I’ve done my share of being jet washed on the foredeck and love the comfort of my Santorin (and not having antifoul coloured measles off the paint roller).

Ian

Ocean Hobo SN96 Locked down again North Wales!
Re: A question about coppercoat

Matt Salatino
 

Oh, CC is about 2X the cost of conventional bottom paint.

~~~⛵️~~~Matt

On Oct 30, 2020, at 7:44 AM, Patrick McAneny via groups.io <sailw32@...> wrote:

Can coppercoat be applied by an owner or does it need to be applied by a dealer ? If it can be installed by an owner ,what would you estimate the cost of materials would be . I had the impression that there was mixed reviews on this product,but you guys seem very pleased with it. I have my hull down to the gel coat and ready to apply a barrier coat soon ,so I could go with any bottom protection at this point.
Thanks,
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Park <parkianj@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 4:33 am
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat




Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Park <sunbeat2@...>
Date: 29 October 2020 at 18:14:18 GMT
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re:  [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Paul,
Confirm what others have said. We usually get a layer of slime in tropical waters, less so in colder northern waters. It comes off easily with a nylon abrasive pad, or with jet wash on a haul out. If you get shell a scraper works very well.
I share Pen Azen’s ages and comments. When you’ve done the anti foul cycle enough times it’s a joy to have a Coppercoat.
PS I think many AMEL owners have often been told its cheating to have all these buttons for furling and reefing the sails - but I’ve done my share of being jet washed on the foredeck and love the comfort of my Santorin (and not having antifoul coloured measles off the paint roller).

Ian

Ocean Hobo SN96 Locked down again North Wales!
Re: A question about coppercoat

Matt Salatino
 

We applied CC ourselves.
It’s not easy.
First, CC is not paint. It is a 2 part epoxy with copper powder (more like dust) mixed in. Two factors to deal with:
1) the copper does not stay in suspension. It must be mixed constantly. This takes one person.
2) it’s epoxy. If the weather is warm, you have limited time to apply it before it “kicks”.

The constant mixing on a warm day insures a relatively short working time before it hardens in the paint tray, so you must mix many, small batches, and work fast.

Lastly, and very important, you must let the CC cure for 4 days on the hard, then sand it. Any epoxy will coat (encapsulate) whatever particle is introduced. Unsanded CC is not anti fouling. You must sand it to expose the copper metal for it to be antifouling. Sanding is a critical step.

There are published directions in applying CC yourself.
The first step is removing all old paint, and having a very clean hull to start. We are members of the yacht club that the US distributor of CC belongs to, so we had excellent technical direction, and followed all instructions, exactly. There are no shortcuts to applying CC.
That said, my wife (the mixer) and I applied it ourselves, doing one side of the hull each day (so two days to apply) and one day to sand, 4 days later. It was difficult, but worth it. We sold the boat two years ago. It’s on its 7th year with no problems.
When necessary to repaint, we will have CC applied again. We’ll likely pay someone to do it.....we’re getting old.

~~~⛵️~~~Matt

On Oct 30, 2020, at 7:44 AM, Patrick McAneny via groups.io <sailw32@...> wrote:

Can coppercoat be applied by an owner or does it need to be applied by a dealer ? If it can be installed by an owner ,what would you estimate the cost of materials would be . I had the impression that there was mixed reviews on this product,but you guys seem very pleased with it. I have my hull down to the gel coat and ready to apply a barrier coat soon ,so I could go with any bottom protection at this point.
Thanks,
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Park <parkianj@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 4:33 am
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat




Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Park <sunbeat2@...>
Date: 29 October 2020 at 18:14:18 GMT
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re:  [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Paul,
Confirm what others have said. We usually get a layer of slime in tropical waters, less so in colder northern waters. It comes off easily with a nylon abrasive pad, or with jet wash on a haul out. If you get shell a scraper works very well.
I share Pen Azen’s ages and comments. When you’ve done the anti foul cycle enough times it’s a joy to have a Coppercoat.
PS I think many AMEL owners have often been told its cheating to have all these buttons for furling and reefing the sails - but I’ve done my share of being jet washed on the foredeck and love the comfort of my Santorin (and not having antifoul coloured measles off the paint roller).

Ian

Ocean Hobo SN96 Locked down again North Wales!
Re: Bow Thruster Amps rating.

Chris Doucette
 


Thanks everyone!  My setup has me in 4 groups of 100AH 12V Battle Borns @24v (400AH).  I have each group's positives and negatives aggregating to corresponding bus bars that then lead to the battery box posts.  I have an AMP ANL-style fuse holder in-line on the positive bus bar.  Everything I touch on this boat is going to be fused / breakered out appropriately.  I'll start with the 500amp and move up to 600 if needed.  

Bill Kinney- basically doing what you have done with your 24v / 12v distribution. I am going to work backwards from distribution and  "Unstack" the main Amel switches and move all the cables to bus bars (4 of them Engine Pos, Engine Neg, House load Pos, House Neg.) proper fusing closest to distribution and breakered out for switching. Same goes with any of the 12v distributions. All with appropriate marine wire, fittings, and labeling. 

On the AC side I am removing the Amel Auto Priority Gen / Shore Power priority switch (yes it has severed her well so far) in favor of a manual rotary Gen-Off_Shore switch..  Just for my peace of mind. 

Chris 
Re: A question about coppercoat

Ian Park
 

We put our own copper coat on in Trinidad, just the two of us. In the heat it did need thinning down. We did a third of the hull at a time. We did not put a barrier coat on as it is an epoxy mixture itself. This was our advice from Copper Coat Uk. If you go on the website you can calculate the amount you need. The main cause of failure is not continuously stirring the mixture during application to keep the copper flakes evenly distributed in the resin. Another cause is not putting all the coats on immediately the previous one is at the ‘tacky stage‘. Sometimes ‘professional workers’ put a layer on the whole boat Then leave the next coat till the next day.
Our friends did their boat at the same time with one person continuously mixing the next batch while 6 people With rollers continuously applied it.
Bottom line is that it is not much more difficult than anti fouling. On the plus side it is water based so cleaning rollers, hands etc it is less messy and less toxic.
A question about coppercoat

Ruslan Osmonov
 

Hi Pat, check this out https://youtu.be/6JkCzOZ9k_Q 
they had few failures, but at the end worked out. 
Good summary on things to watch out for.
They have few videos on their saga with copercoat, this is the last one when they finally made it work, if you up for it and have time.

On Fri, Oct 30, 2020 at 7:45 AM Patrick McAneny via groups.io <sailw32=aol.com@groups.io> wrote:
Can coppercoat be applied by an owner or does it need to be applied by a dealer ? If it can be installed by an owner ,what would you estimate the cost of materials would be . I had the impression that there was mixed reviews on this product,but you guys seem very pleased with it. I have my hull down to the gel coat and ready to apply a barrier coat soon ,so I could go with any bottom protection at this point.
Thanks,
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Park <parkianj@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 4:33 am
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat




Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Park <sunbeat2@...>
Date: 29 October 2020 at 18:14:18 GMT
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re:  [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Paul,
Confirm what others have said. We usually get a layer of slime in tropical waters, less so in colder northern waters. It comes off easily with a nylon abrasive pad, or with jet wash on a haul out. If you get shell a scraper works very well.
I share Pen Azen’s ages and comments. When you’ve done the anti foul cycle enough times it’s a joy to have a Coppercoat.
PS I think many AMEL owners have often been told its cheating to have all these buttons for furling and reefing the sails - but I’ve done my share of being jet washed on the foredeck and love the comfort of my Santorin (and not having antifoul coloured measles off the paint roller).

Ian

Ocean Hobo SN96 Locked down again North Wales!
Re: A question about coppercoat

Patrick McAneny
 

Can coppercoat be applied by an owner or does it need to be applied by a dealer ? If it can be installed by an owner ,what would you estimate the cost of materials would be . I had the impression that there was mixed reviews on this product,but you guys seem very pleased with it. I have my hull down to the gel coat and ready to apply a barrier coat soon ,so I could go with any bottom protection at this point.
Thanks,
Pat
SM Shenanigans


-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Park <parkianj@...>
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Sent: Fri, Oct 30, 2020 4:33 am
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat




Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Park <sunbeat2@...>
Date: 29 October 2020 at 18:14:18 GMT
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re:  [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Paul,
Confirm what others have said. We usually get a layer of slime in tropical waters, less so in colder northern waters. It comes off easily with a nylon abrasive pad, or with jet wash on a haul out. If you get shell a scraper works very well.
I share Pen Azen’s ages and comments. When you’ve done the anti foul cycle enough times it’s a joy to have a Coppercoat.
PS I think many AMEL owners have often been told its cheating to have all these buttons for furling and reefing the sails - but I’ve done my share of being jet washed on the foredeck and love the comfort of my Santorin (and not having antifoul coloured measles off the paint roller).

Ian

Ocean Hobo SN96 Locked down again North Wales!
Re: Main Furler - Sail stuck / jammed

Alan Leslie
 

With a winch handle locked into the manual furling socket and a line around it to the  base of the mast to prevent it from turning.
Alan
Elyse SM437
Re: Main Furler - Sail stuck / jammed

Santorin LO
 

As suspected and expected - did Bills's step by step, literally in 5 mins crisis is over! 

Thanks you all. Now another thing, the gear seem to be weak / maybe finished (from before the episode), and looks like will have to do at least one leg without. Now when easily furling/unfurling manually, was thinking - how to 'lock' furled in sail without fitting the gear back to its place???
Re: A question about coppercoat

Paul Dowd and Sharon Brown
 

Many thanks to all for the feedback on this. I can now happily leave the scraping until we get back to Grenada.

 

Cheers,

Paul

S/Y Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98 - Grenada

 

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io <main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io> On Behalf Of Ian Park
Sent: 30 October 2020 09:33
To: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io
Subject: [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

 

 


Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Park <sunbeat2@...>
Date: 29 October 2020 at 18:14:18 GMT
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re:  [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Paul,
Confirm what others have said. We usually get a layer of slime in tropical waters, less so in colder northern waters. It comes off easily with a nylon abrasive pad, or with jet wash on a haul out. If you get shell a scraper works very well.
I share Pen Azen’s ages and comments. When you’ve done the anti foul cycle enough times it’s a joy to have a Coppercoat.
PS I think many AMEL owners have often been told its cheating to have all these buttons for furling and reefing the sails - but I’ve done my share of being jet washed on the foredeck and love the comfort of my Santorin (and not having antifoul coloured measles off the paint roller).

Ian

Ocean Hobo SN96 Locked down again North Wales!


--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98
A question about coppercoat

Ian Park
 




Begin forwarded message:

From: Ian Park <sunbeat2@...>
Date: 29 October 2020 at 18:14:18 GMT
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re:  [AmelYachtOwners] A question about coppercoat

Paul,
Confirm what others have said. We usually get a layer of slime in tropical waters, less so in colder northern waters. It comes off easily with a nylon abrasive pad, or with jet wash on a haul out. If you get shell a scraper works very well.
I share Pen Azen’s ages and comments. When you’ve done the anti foul cycle enough times it’s a joy to have a Coppercoat.
PS I think many AMEL owners have often been told its cheating to have all these buttons for furling and reefing the sails - but I’ve done my share of being jet washed on the foredeck and love the comfort of my Santorin (and not having antifoul coloured measles off the paint roller).

Ian

Ocean Hobo SN96 Locked down again North Wales!
Re: Bow Thruster Amps rating.

jlm@jlmertz.fr
 

SM 316 with 8 100Ah battery ...

JLM

Le 30/10/2020 à 06:42, eric freedman a écrit :

Hi Jean Luc,
What model Amel do you have?
Fair Winds,
Eric
Sm 376 Kimberite

On October 30, 2020 at 1:21 AM "jlm@..." <jlm@...> wrote:

On CottonBay I messured in the past the bow thruster curent :

https://amelyachtowners.groups.io/g/main/photo/84720/1?p=Created,,,20,2,0,0

Jean Luc

CottonBay


Le 29/10/2020 à 21:46, Karen Smith via groups.io a écrit :
Our SM#160 bow thruster draws about 485 Amps when it is running.  The exact power calculation is complicated because the voltage is not steady at 24 volts, but drops quickly, and significantly, under this load.  The reason the wire looks undersized by standard calculations is that it operates on a very short duty cycle, so heating of the wire is minimal.  If you were to try to push 500 Amps through that wire for an hour, you'd have a real problem.  

At least on our boat, the "bow thruster" cable carries all the 24V power to everything forward of the forward saloon bulkhead.  Mast and genoa furlers, cabin lights, nav lights, windlass...

We have fused our battery bank in two different ways, and both worked well. Keep in mind we have a bank of 4 pairs of batteries, smaller than yours which I believe is 6 pairs.  

Our batteries were first fused with four 125 Amp rated battery terminal fuses, one on each 24V positive, for a total of 500 Amps.  With 6 pairs of batteries you'd end up in the about same place with 80 or 90 Amp rated fuses.  When we changed battery brands, the terminal fuse holders no longer fit under the battery box lid, so we switched to a singe 500 AMP ANL-style fuse.  Never have any of these tripped.

We have also reworked the whole 24 volt distribution system so EACH of the wires leaving the battery box has a fuse appropriate to its ampacity, and the switches now interrupt current to everything except the bilge pump circuit.  To me this is a really basic safety issue.  If there was ever to be an electrical fire on the boat, or a piece of runaway equipment, I need to know I can shut off the power to everything without delay.

On the boats I have seen, Amel was very inconsistent about what wires they connected to which side of the main switches. On our boat, only the battery charger, bilge pump, and "always on 12V converter" were connected to the unswitched side. I think on later boats they just ran out of space on the stud on the switched side, so were forced to move wires to the unswitched post. 

Bill Kinney
SM#160, Harmonie
Annapolis, MD

 

 

Re: Bow Thruster Amps rating.

eric freedman
 

Hi Jean Luc,
What model Amel do you have?
Fair Winds,
Eric
Sm 376 Kimberite

On October 30, 2020 at 1:21 AM "jlm@..." <jlm@...> wrote:

On CottonBay I messured in the past the bow thruster curent :

https://amelyachtowners.groups.io/g/main/photo/84720/1?p=Created,,,20,2,0,0

Jean Luc

CottonBay


Le 29/10/2020 à 21:46, Karen Smith via groups.io a écrit :
Our SM#160 bow thruster draws about 485 Amps when it is running.  The exact power calculation is complicated because the voltage is not steady at 24 volts, but drops quickly, and significantly, under this load.  The reason the wire looks undersized by standard calculations is that it operates on a very short duty cycle, so heating of the wire is minimal.  If you were to try to push 500 Amps through that wire for an hour, you'd have a real problem.  

At least on our boat, the "bow thruster" cable carries all the 24V power to everything forward of the forward saloon bulkhead.  Mast and genoa furlers, cabin lights, nav lights, windlass...

We have fused our battery bank in two different ways, and both worked well. Keep in mind we have a bank of 4 pairs of batteries, smaller than yours which I believe is 6 pairs.  

Our batteries were first fused with four 125 Amp rated battery terminal fuses, one on each 24V positive, for a total of 500 Amps.  With 6 pairs of batteries you'd end up in the about same place with 80 or 90 Amp rated fuses.  When we changed battery brands, the terminal fuse holders no longer fit under the battery box lid, so we switched to a singe 500 AMP ANL-style fuse.  Never have any of these tripped.

We have also reworked the whole 24 volt distribution system so EACH of the wires leaving the battery box has a fuse appropriate to its ampacity, and the switches now interrupt current to everything except the bilge pump circuit.  To me this is a really basic safety issue.  If there was ever to be an electrical fire on the boat, or a piece of runaway equipment, I need to know I can shut off the power to everything without delay.

On the boats I have seen, Amel was very inconsistent about what wires they connected to which side of the main switches. On our boat, only the battery charger, bilge pump, and "always on 12V converter" were connected to the unswitched side. I think on later boats they just ran out of space on the stud on the switched side, so were forced to move wires to the unswitched post. 

Bill Kinney
SM#160, Harmonie
Annapolis, MD

 

 

Re: Bow Thruster Amps rating.

jlm@jlmertz.fr
 

On CottonBay I messured in the past the bow thruster curent :

https://amelyachtowners.groups.io/g/main/photo/84720/1?p=Created,,,20,2,0,0

Jean Luc

CottonBay


Le 29/10/2020 à 21:46, Karen Smith via groups.io a écrit :
Our SM#160 bow thruster draws about 485 Amps when it is running.  The exact power calculation is complicated because the voltage is not steady at 24 volts, but drops quickly, and significantly, under this load.  The reason the wire looks undersized by standard calculations is that it operates on a very short duty cycle, so heating of the wire is minimal.  If you were to try to push 500 Amps through that wire for an hour, you'd have a real problem.  

At least on our boat, the "bow thruster" cable carries all the 24V power to everything forward of the forward saloon bulkhead.  Mast and genoa furlers, cabin lights, nav lights, windlass...

We have fused our battery bank in two different ways, and both worked well. Keep in mind we have a bank of 4 pairs of batteries, smaller than yours which I believe is 6 pairs.  

Our batteries were first fused with four 125 Amp rated battery terminal fuses, one on each 24V positive, for a total of 500 Amps.  With 6 pairs of batteries you'd end up in the about same place with 80 or 90 Amp rated fuses.  When we changed battery brands, the terminal fuse holders no longer fit under the battery box lid, so we switched to a singe 500 AMP ANL-style fuse.  Never have any of these tripped.

We have also reworked the whole 24 volt distribution system so EACH of the wires leaving the battery box has a fuse appropriate to its ampacity, and the switches now interrupt current to everything except the bilge pump circuit.  To me this is a really basic safety issue.  If there was ever to be an electrical fire on the boat, or a piece of runaway equipment, I need to know I can shut off the power to everything without delay.

On the boats I have seen, Amel was very inconsistent about what wires they connected to which side of the main switches. On our boat, only the battery charger, bilge pump, and "always on 12V converter" were connected to the unswitched side. I think on later boats they just ran out of space on the stud on the switched side, so were forced to move wires to the unswitched post. 

Bill Kinney
SM#160, Harmonie
Annapolis, MD

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