On Fri, 6/24/16, Patrick Mcaneny sailw32@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Lightning Strike Chesapeake
To: amelyachtowners@...
Date: Friday, June 24, 2016, 2:24 PM


 










Kent, I will keep his contact info. I would
like to find someone close to home so I could be available
to help assess situations and oversee work . Sorry to say ,
but I little faith , thus like to have eyes on. There are so
many things that could have been affected , yet not apparent
. I would complain about this being a hassle , but then
compared to what you have been through , its a mere hiccup
.

Thanks,

Pat







-----Original
Message-----

From: Kent Robertson karkauai@... [amelyachtowners]
<amelyachtowners@...>

To: amelyachtowners
<amelyachtowners@...>

Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2016 9:51 am

Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Lightning Strike Chesapeake










 















Hi Pat, sorry to hear about your lightning strike.  I
have been very comfortable with the Deltaville Boat Yard.
 Keith Ruse runs the yard and really likes Amels.  His
electrician was the only one I could find in the East coast
who understood the engine electrical isolation issue and did
a great job on it for me.  Call Keith 804-776-8900 and talk
to him about your damage.  Maybe ask to speak with the
electrician to make sure he's familiar with your
equipment.  Things like the 24/12V autopilot (which I
don't fully understand yet) would let you know if
he's up to the job.  The one who did my engine
isolation was Neal.





Hope you get it sorted out without too much
hassle.

Kent

SM243

Kristy

Currently Curaçao 
On Jun 24, 2016, at 8:22 AM, Patrick Mcaneny sailw32@...
[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>
wrote:




















 











James, I am
sorry to read about your problem. I have owned my boat for
about ten years , and have felt fortunate that I have not
had to deal with some of the problems others have had ,
until this past Tuesday. For the past 40 years of owning
boats , I have had my fingers crossed every time an
electrical storm moved through my area , my luck ran out
Tuesday. While I see know physical damage to the boat , most
of my electrical instruments have been damaged. James if you
or anyone have found someone well versed in the electrical
side of the Amel in the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay I
would appreciate their name. James , best of luck to you and
I hope you only have smooth seas ahead , you deserve
it.










Pat



SM Shenanigans



Sassafras River , Md.












-----Original
Message-----


From: James Wendell ms42phantom54@...
[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>


To: amelyachtowners <amelyachtowners@...>


Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2016 6:49 am


Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Battery Compartment
Explosion














 























I
hear from Danny that the SM has battery compartment venting
at the bottom that allows air to move up through the battery
compartment. That is the way to do it, as it allows make-up
air to enter and go out the exhaust and therefore vent any
hydrogen sulfide if it is released. While wet cells will
release small amounts of H2S in operation, normally, AGM
batteries do not release gas, as it is recombined
internally. Vents at the bottom would also prevent any
gasses from leaking into the boat itself.










The
54 does not have any ingress, only egress through the
vent. It is sealed tight. That is what caused the build-up
of hydrogen gas. The batteries themselves did not explode -
2 of them cracked a bit at the top, which is what caused the
gas to release. The others were damaged as a result of the
explosion.










I am
sorry to disagree with other opinions, but air circulation
is needed. Yes hydrogen sulfide is a toxic agent, but after
my experience, it would be far better to let a little bit of
it vent into the boat in an emergency situation, versus
contain it in an enclosure that is essentially a bomb when
the battery vents faster than the passive vent can exhaust
it outside. In reality, it would not vent into the boat if
the air intake is lower than the exhaust. H2
S is lighter than air and will rise naturally.










Just
for clarification, there was no essentially no charging
occurring here; while no one has definitively identified the
culprit, the accepted conclusion at this point is that one
or two of the batteries suffered an internal short and
breached on their own - likely because they were nearing the
end of life at 4 years, but they came with the boat and I
have no record of their service history. There was a slight
solar power charge coming in, but it was early in the
morning and little sun would have been illuminating the
panels. There IS temperature compensation, and the solar
charger is a nearly new 45-amp Morningstar MPPT controller.
While it certainly could have failed, it was operating fine
just before the event.










I
will report more if my insurance surveyor or the electrical
experts here in the yard are able to offer additional
inputs.










Just
as a side note, I know Amels are good boats, and I see that.
They are well built. However, I have noted some
less-than-stellar design decisions that likely are more the
result of EU regulations rather than Amel
philosophy.










I
have owned the boat now for just over a year. I have
only sailed/motored it for 4 days last June. Imme
diately after that initial delivery the engine failed. I am
not going to repeat that story, but the final analysis
proved that during my 4-day motor from FL to MD, saltwater
had migrated into the exhaust manifold and up into the head
- not because of cranking. When the water evaporated a week
after arrival in MD, salt crystals remained in the engine
and pitted the valves and valve seats. That seriously
compromised the engine and the only good solution was a new
engine. Yes, I could have rebuilt it for about half the cost
- not worth it as there was a fair amount of external
corrosion on the starboard aft side of the engine. The
second design flaw is that there are NO fuses in any of the
primary DC feeders from the batteries. That is a serious
issue, as any short-to-ground or system overloads would have
overheated the circuit and caused the affected wire to melt
or catch on fire. Fuses are needed to protect the wires at
the battery. I changed all of that and now have an array
of fuses in the compartment adjacent to the batteries. And
now the sealed battery compartment issue.










Perhaps
I am venting now, but as others have noted, I will persevere
and resolve all of these issues. I do appreciate the quality
that goes into these yachts.










Thanks
for the support - that is what this group is all
about.



Jamie
Wendell





















 



s/v Phantom Amel 54
#044



















On Friday, June
24, 2016 3:28 AM, "Jean-Pierre Germain jgermain@...
[amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@...>
wrote:

















 





















Hello James,








Your AMEL
ownership has been marred by unusual problems; mine has also
not been a bed of roses but for different reasons. 








I had a NICAD
battery runaway once. At High altitude, The events take a
different dimension. 








Persevere, these
are good boats and you will be well rewarded
eventually








GL








Jean-Pierre
Germain



Eleuthera, SM007 
On 24 Jun 2016, at 08:10, Danny and
Yvonne SIMMS simms@...
[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>
wrote:




















 
















Hi
James, how horrible. We all feel for you. You say the
battery compartment is sealed apart from the vent. On our SM
299 there are five vents at floor level in the bottom of the
battery compartment to allow air to enter. Does the 54 not
have these vents.



Regards



Danny



SM
299 Ocean Pearl
















From: "James
Wendell ms42phantom54@yahoo..com [amelyachtowners]"
<amelyachtowners@...>
To: "amelyachtowners@..."
<amelyachtowners@...>

Sent: Friday, 24 June
2016 12:30 PM
Subject: [Amel Yacht
Owners] Battery Compartment Explosion











 























I am
not sure if anyone has ever experienced what just happened
to me, but I think it is important info for everyone out
there. My battery compartment exploded early yesterday
morning. No one is certain exactly what happened, and no one
who has investigated the accident has ever seen this occur.
I am still up on the hard in Annapolis trying to get my new
engine installation completed - that was a subject of a
previous thread, and I will update everyone who followed
that thread separately once I get my new engine
running.








The
explosion was quite severe and apparently set off my smoke
detector which everyone in the yard heard. There was no
fire. Oddly no one claims they heard the explosion itself,
as it may have happened before the contractors started to
come in for work. It blew the lid completely off of the
passageway berth and into the ceiling, jamming it between
the wall of the aft closet and the wall near the nav station
closet. Fortunately no one was on the boat at the time, but
if someone had been in the passageway between the main
saloon and the aft cabin, they would have been seriously
injured or even killed. I do not want to even speculate what
would have happened if someone had been sleeping on the
berth. I had some parts and tools sitting on the berth
cushion and they were either shredded, melted, or survived
depending on the material. It
was a scary situation.








I am
working with my insurance company and they hired a local
surveyor to assess the situation. They, as I do, want to
know the reason for the explosion. Beyond the damage to the
compartment lid/berth and the surrounding woodwork, here are
the facts:






At
least 2 of the AGM batteries had been breached with cracks
in the tops. None of the VRLA valves had popped.
A few
of the batteries were b
ulged out at the sides. Not clear if that happened
initially or as a result of the explosion. Ultimately about
half of the 12 on the 24-volt side were "bad."
My
shore power connections were off. The only charging source
would have been wind and solar. Both of those systems have
been working correctly for a long time, and early in the
morning there was no wind and not much sun. We do not think
it was an overcharge issue. I have multiple monitoring
systems including the Xantrex that came with the boat, plus
a Maretron monitor and Blue Sea meters. All were nominal
when I left the boat before the explosion. Voltage was about
27.5 and there was a small load of maybe 3 or 4 amps DC,
easily absorbed with the solar panels.
The
batteries are a little over 4 years old and came with the
boat. I have never had a problem with them
, and the charging systems have never pushed above 28
volts.The
battery setup was reworked last winter by a very good
contractor here in the yard. They added fuses to all the
loads, and it has worked very well for months now. I find it
hard to believe that there was no primary battery fusing on
the boat at all, but that is still another topic for review.
However, the explosion would not have been related to
current flow and hence the fusing was not an issue one way
or the other.I
have 12 Intimidator AGM batteries in the battery area with a
12V starting battery.Testing
them after the accident revealed about half of them to be
unserviceable (either electrically or physically).






It is clear to the investigators that the
explosion was the result of hydrogen gas buildup in the
battery compartment. The problem they observed is that
(while there is a vent at the forward part of the battery
compartment, Amel seals the compartment completely).
Normally the vent is OK, as any residual hydrogen will
escape out the vent.. But the Amel setup prevents any makeup
air from entering the compartment. Normally AGM batteries do
not vent externally, as the hydrogen sulfide normally
released in a flooded battery is actually recombined in an
AGM setup. There are valves in a VRLA battery, which are
supposed to open if the internal pressure gets too high.
However, if the casing is breached, gasses will release
immediately, which is what happened here. What no one knows
yet is why the batteries cracked open. The bottom line is
that the vent could not release the gas fast enough, and the
hydrogen gas exploded as it built up
in the sealed compartment.








I am
going to modify the configuration by adding ventilation to
the front of the battery compartment. I am also going to
install 13 new Lifeline batteries (12 31-XT and 1 31T
battery for starting). Good quality batteries with a
modified install should prevent a recurrence. What a
mess.................








All I
can say is thank goodness no one was hurt.






<
div dir="ltr"
id="yiv8910840589yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1466724755081_7177">Jamie
Wendell







 



s/v Phantom Amel
54 #044



















































































































































































































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On Sat, 6/25/16, Patrick Mcaneny sailw32@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Lightning Strike Chesapeake
To: amelyachtowners@...
Date: Saturday, June 25, 2016, 7:03 AM


 










Alexandre, I have never dealt with an
insurance claim , auto ,home ,health or boat . I will assume
my insurance co. will do right by me ,unless I see evidence
to the contrary. They are going to send someone out to
assess things and then find someone to do the repairs. That
is my main concern , finding someone that is qualified to do
a proper and complete job. I will make sure the
mechanic's primary interest is in doing a complete job
.

Thanks,

Pat













-----Original
Message-----

From: Alexandre Uster von Baar uster@...
[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>

To: amelyachtowners
<amelyachtowners@...>

Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2016 6:43 pm

Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Lightning Strike
Chesapeake










 













Definitely sorry to read about this Pat,


This is always my fear… and yes definitely lots things
affected can not be apparent, so make sure the expert you
use is not related with your insurance. 2 years later, i am
still fighting my insurance…





Sincerely, Alexandre


SM2K #289 NIKIMAT


Club Nautico de San Juan, Puerto Rico





--------------------------------------------


On Fri, 6/24/16, Patrick Mcaneny sailw32@...
[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>
wrote:





Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Lightning Strike
Chesapeake


To: amelyachtowners@...


Date: Friday, June 24, 2016, 2:24 PM








 
































Kent, I will keep his contact info. I would


like to find someone close to home so I could be
available


to help assess situations and oversee work . Sorry to say
,


but I little faith , thus like to have eyes on. There are
so


many things that could have been affected , yet not
apparent


. I would complain about this being a hassle , but then


compared to what you have been through , its a mere
hiccup


.





Thanks,





Pat























-----Original


Message-----





From: Kent Robertson karkauai@...
[amelyachtowners]


<amelyachtowners@...>





To: amelyachtowners


<amelyachtowners@...>





Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2016 9:51 am





Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Lightning Strike Chesapeake
































 















































Hi Pat, sorry to hear about your lightning strike.  I


have been very comfortable with the Deltaville Boat
Yard.


 Keith Ruse runs the yard and really likes Amels.  His


electrician was the only one I could find in the East
coast


who understood the engine electrical isolation issue and
did


a great job on it for me.  Call Keith 804-776-8900 and
talk


to him about your damage.  Maybe ask to speak with the


electrician to make sure he's familiar with your


equipment.  Things like the 24/12V autopilot (which I


don't fully understand yet) would let you know if


he's up to the job.  The one who did my engine


isolation was Neal.

















Hope you get it sorted out without too much


hassle.





Kent





SM243





Kristy





Currently Curaçao 
On Jun 24, 2016, at 8:22 AM, Patrick Mcaneny sailw32@...


[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>


wrote:






























































 



































James, I am


sorry to read about your problem. I have owned my boat
for


about ten years , and have felt fortunate that I have
not


had to deal with some of the problems others have had ,


until this past Tuesday. For the past 40 years of owning


boats , I have had my fingers crossed every time an


electrical storm moved through my area , my luck ran out


Tuesday. While I see know physical damage to the boat ,
most


of my electrical instruments have been damaged. James if
you


or anyone have found someone well versed in the
electrical


side of the Amel in the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay
I


would appreciate their name. James , best of luck to you
and


I hope you only have smooth seas ahead , you deserve


it.
































Pat











SM Shenanigans











Sassafras River , Md.






































-----Original


Message-----








From: James Wendell ms42phantom54@...


[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>








To: amelyachtowners <amelyachtowners@...>








Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2016 6:49 am








Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Battery Compartment


Explosion












































 







































































I


hear from Danny that the SM has battery compartment
venting


at the bottom that allows air to move up through the
battery


compartment. That is the way to do it, as it allows
make-up


air to enter and go out the exhaust and therefore vent
any


hydrogen sulfide if it is released. While wet cells
will


release small amounts of H2S in operation, normally, AGM


batteries do not release gas, as it is recombined


internally. Vents at the bottom would also prevent any


gasses from leaking into the boat itself.
































The


54 does not have any ingress, only egress through the


vent. It is sealed tight. That is what caused the
build-up


of hydrogen gas. The batteries themselves did not explode
-


2 of them cracked a bit at the top, which is what caused
the


gas to release. The others were damaged as a result of
the


explosion.
































I am


sorry to disagree with other opinions, but air
circulation


is needed. Yes hydrogen sulfide is a toxic agent, but
after


my experience, it would be far better to let a little bit
of


it vent into the boat in an emergency situation, versus


contain it in an enclosure that is essentially a bomb
when


the battery vents faster than the passive vent can
exhaust


it outside. In reality, it would not vent into the boat
if


the air intake is lower than the exhaust. H2


S is lighter than air and will rise naturally.
































Just


for clarification, there was no essentially no charging


occurring here; while no one has definitively identified
the


culprit, the accepted conclusion at this point is that
one


or two of the batteries suffered an internal short and


breached on their own - likely because they were nearing
the


end of life at 4 years, but they came with the boat and
I


have no record of their service history. There was a
slight


solar power charge coming in, but it was early in the


morning and little sun would have been illuminating the


panels. There IS temperature compensation, and the solar


charger is a nearly new 45-amp Morningstar MPPT
controller.


While it certainly could have failed, it was operating
fine


just before the event.
































I


will report more if my insurance surveyor or the
electrical


experts here in the yard are able to offer additional


inputs.
































Just


as a side note, I know Amels are good boats, and I see
that.


They are well built. However, I have noted some


less-than-stellar design decisions that likely are more
the


result of EU regulations rather than Amel


philosophy.
































I


have owned the boat now for just over a year. I have


only sailed/motored it for 4 days last June. Imme


diately after that initial delivery the engine failed. I
am


not going to repeat that story, but the final analysis


proved that during my 4-day motor from FL to MD,
saltwater


had migrated into the exhaust manifold and up into the
head


- not because of cranking. When the water evaporated a
week


after arrival in MD, salt crystals remained in the
engine


and pitted the valves and valve seats. That seriously


compromised the engine and the only good solution was a
new


engine. Yes, I could have rebuilt it for about half the
cost


- not worth it as there was a fair amount of external


corrosion on the starboard aft side of the engine. The


second design flaw is that there are NO fuses in any of
the


primary DC feeders from the batteries. That is a serious


issue, as any short-to-ground or system overloads would
have


overheated the circuit and caused the affected wire to
melt


or catch on fire. Fuses are needed to protect the wires
at


the battery. I changed all of that and now have an array


of fuses in the compartment adjacent to the batteries.
And


now the sealed battery compartment issue.
































Perhaps


I am venting now, but as others have noted, I will
persevere


and resolve all of these issues. I do appreciate the
quality


that goes into these yachts.
































Thanks


for the support - that is what this group is all


about.











Jamie


Wendell

































































 











s/v Phantom Amel 54


#044



























































On Friday, June


24, 2016 3:28 AM, "Jean-Pierre Germain jgermain@...


[amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@...>


wrote:





















































 

































































Hello James,


























Your AMEL


ownership has been marred by unusual problems; mine has
also


not been a bed of roses but for different reasons. 


























I had a NICAD


battery runaway once. At High altitude, The events take
a


different dimension. 


























Persevere, these


are good boats and you will be well rewarded


eventually


























GL


























Jean-Pierre


Germain











Eleuthera, SM007 
On 24 Jun 2016, at 08:10, Danny and


Yvonne SIMMS simms@...


[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>


wrote:






























































 


















































Hi


James, how horrible. We all feel for you. You say the


battery compartment is sealed apart from the vent. On our
SM


299 there are five vents at floor level in the bottom of
the


battery compartment to allow air to enter. Does the 54
not


have these vents.











Regards











Danny











SM


299 Ocean Pearl


















































From: "James


Wendell ms42phantom54@yahoo..com [amelyachtowners]"


<amelyachtowners@...>


To: "amelyachtowners@..."


<amelyachtowners@...>





Sent: Friday, 24 June


2016 12:30 PM


Subject: [Amel Yacht


Owners] Battery Compartment Explosion



































 







































































I am


not sure if anyone has ever experienced what just
happened


to me, but I think it is important info for everyone out


there. My battery compartment exploded early yesterday


morning. No one is certain exactly what happened, and no
one


who has investigated the accident has ever seen this
occur.


I am still up on the hard in Annapolis trying to get my
new


engine installation completed - that was a subject of a


previous thread, and I will update everyone who followed


that thread separately once I get my new engine


running.


























The


explosion was quite severe and apparently set off my
smoke


detector which everyone in the yard heard. There was no


fire. Oddly no one claims they heard the explosion
itself,


as it may have happened before the contractors started
to


come in for work. It blew the lid completely off of the


passageway berth and into the ceiling, jamming it
between


the wall of the aft closet and the wall near the nav
station


closet. Fortunately no one was on the boat at the time,
but


if someone had been in the passageway between the main


saloon and the aft cabin, they would have been seriously


injured or even killed. I do not want to even speculate
what


would have happened if someone had been sleeping on the


berth. I had some parts and tools sitting on the berth


cushion and they were either shredded, melted, or
survived


depending on the material. It


was a scary situation.


























I am


working with my insurance company and they hired a local


surveyor to assess the situation. They, as I do, want to


know the reason for the explosion. Beyond the damage to
the


compartment lid/berth and the surrounding woodwork, here
are


the facts:




















At


least 2 of the AGM batteries had been breached with
cracks


in the tops. None of the VRLA valves had popped.


A few


of the batteries were b


ulged out at the sides. Not clear if that happened


initially or as a result of the explosion. Ultimately
about


half of the 12 on the 24-volt side were "bad."


My


shore power connections were off. The only charging
source


would have been wind and solar. Both of those systems
have


been working correctly for a long time, and early in the


morning there was no wind and not much sun. We do not
think


it was an overcharge issue. I have multiple monitoring


systems including the Xantrex that came with the boat,
plus


a Maretron monitor and Blue Sea meters. All were nominal


when I left the boat before the explosion. Voltage was
about


27.5 and there was a small load of maybe 3 or 4 amps DC,


easily absorbed with the solar panels.


The


batteries are a little over 4 years old and came with
the


boat. I have never had a problem with them


, and the charging systems have never pushed above 28


volts.The


battery setup was reworked last winter by a very good


contractor here in the yard. They added fuses to all the


loads, and it has worked very well for months now. I find
it


hard to believe that there was no primary battery fusing
on


the boat at all, but that is still another topic for
review.


However, the explosion would not have been related to


current flow and hence the fusing was not an issue one
way


or the other.I


have 12 Intimidator AGM batteries in the battery area with
a


12V starting battery.Testing


them after the accident revealed about half of them to
be


unserviceable (either electrically or physically).




















It is clear to the investigators that the


explosion was the result of hydrogen gas buildup in the


battery compartment. The problem they observed is that


(while there is a vent at the forward part of the
battery


compartment, Amel seals the compartment completely).


Normally the vent is OK, as any residual hydrogen will


escape out the vent.. But the Amel setup prevents any
makeup


air from entering the compartment. Normally AGM batteries
do


not vent externally, as the hydrogen sulfide normally


released in a flooded battery is actually recombined in
an


AGM setup. There are valves in a VRLA battery, which are


supposed to open if the internal pressure gets too high.


However, if the casing is breached, gasses will release


immediately, which is what happened here. What no one
knows


yet is why the batteries cracked open. The bottom line
is


that the vent could not release the gas fast enough, and
the


hydrogen gas exploded as it built up


in the sealed compartment.


























I am


going to modify the configuration by adding ventilation
to


the front of the battery compartment. I am also going to


install 13 new Lifeline batteries (12 31-XT and 1 31T


battery for starting). Good quality batteries with a


modified install should prevent a recurrence. What a


mess.................


























All I


can say is thank goodness no one was hurt.




















<


div dir="ltr"


id="yiv8910840589yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1466724755081_7177">Jamie


Wendell























 











s/v Phantom Amel


54 #044



























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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Alexandre, I have never dealt with an insurance claim , auto ,home ,health or boat . I will assume my insurance co. will do right by me ,unless I see evidence to the contrary. They are going to send someone out to assess things and then find someone to do the repairs. That is my main concern , finding someone that is qualified to do a proper and complete job. I will make sure the mechanic's primary interest is in doing a complete job .

Thanks,

Pat

-----Original Message-----
From: Alexandre Uster von Baar uster@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>
To: amelyachtowners <amelyachtowners@...>
Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2016 6:43 pm
Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Lightning Strike Chesapeake

 

Definitely sorry to read about this Pat,
This is always my fear… and yes definitely lots things affected can not be apparent, so make sure the expert you use is not related with your insurance. 2 years later, i am still fighting my insurance…

Sincerely, Alexandre
SM2K #289 NIKIMAT
Club Nautico de San Juan, Puerto Rico

--------------------------------------------
On Fri, 6/24/16, Patrick Mcaneny sailw32@... [amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...> wrote:

Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Lightning Strike Chesapeake
To: amelyachtowners@...
Date: Friday, June 24, 2016, 2:24 PM


 










Kent, I will keep his contact info. I would
like to find someone close to home so I could be available
to help assess situations and oversee work . Sorry to say ,
but I little faith , thus like to have eyes on. There are so
many things that could have been affected , yet not apparent
. I would complain about this being a hassle , but then
compared to what you have been through , its a mere hiccup
.

Thanks,

Pat







-----Original
Message-----

From: Kent Robertson karkauai@... [amelyachtowners]
<amelyachtowners@...>

To: amelyachtowners
<amelyachtowners@...>

Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2016 9:51 am

Subject: [Amel Yacht Owners] Lightning Strike Chesapeake










 















Hi Pat, sorry to hear about your lightning strike.  I
have been very comfortable with the Deltaville Boat Yard.
 Keith Ruse runs the yard and really likes Amels.  His
electrician was the only one I could find in the East coast
who understood the engine electrical isolation issue and did
a great job on it for me.  Call Keith 804-776-8900 and talk
to him about your damage.  Maybe ask to speak with the
electrician to make sure he's familiar with your
equipment.  Things like the 24/12V autopilot (which I
don't fully understand yet) would let you know if
he's up to the job.  The one who did my engine
isolation was Neal.





Hope you get it sorted out without too much
hassle.

Kent

SM243

Kristy

Currently Curaçao 









On Jun 24, 2016, at 8:22 AM, Patrick Mcaneny sailw32@...
[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>
wrote:




















 











James, I am
sorry to read about your problem. I have owned my boat for
about ten years , and have felt fortunate that I have not
had to deal with some of the problems others have had ,
until this past Tuesday. For the past 40 years of owning
boats , I have had my fingers crossed every time an
electrical storm moved through my area , my luck ran out
Tuesday. While I see know physical damage to the boat , most
of my electrical instruments have been damaged. James if you
or anyone have found someone well versed in the electrical
side of the Amel in the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay I
would appreciate their name. James , best of luck to you and
I hope you only have smooth seas ahead , you deserve
it.










Pat



SM Shenanigans



Sassafras River , Md.












-----Original
Message-----


From: James Wendell ms42phantom54@...
[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>


To: amelyachtowners <amelyachtowners@...>


Sent: Fri, Jun 24, 2016 6:49 am


Subject: Re: [Amel Yacht Owners] Battery Compartment
Explosion














 























I
hear from Danny that the SM has battery compartment venting
at the bottom that allows air to move up through the battery
compartment. That is the way to do it, as it allows make-up
air to enter and go out the exhaust and therefore vent any
hydrogen sulfide if it is released. While wet cells will
release small amounts of H2S in operation, normally, AGM
batteries do not release gas, as it is recombined
internally. Vents at the bottom would also prevent any
gasses from leaking into the boat itself.










The
54 does not have any ingress, only egress through the
vent. It is sealed tight. That is what caused the build-up
of hydrogen gas. The batteries themselves did not explode -
2 of them cracked a bit at the top, which is what caused the
gas to release. The others were damaged as a result of the
explosion.










I am
sorry to disagree with other opinions, but air circulation
is needed. Yes hydrogen sulfide is a toxic agent, but after
my experience, it would be far better to let a little bit of
it vent into the boat in an emergency situation, versus
contain it in an enclosure that is essentially a bomb when
the battery vents faster than the passive vent can exhaust
it outside. In reality, it would not vent into the boat if
the air intake is lower than the exhaust. H2
S is lighter than air and will rise naturally.










Just
for clarification, there was no essentially no charging
occurring here; while no one has definitively identified the
culprit, the accepted conclusion at this point is that one
or two of the batteries suffered an internal short and
breached on their own - likely because they were nearing the
end of life at 4 years, but they came with the boat and I
have no record of their service history. There was a slight
solar power charge coming in, but it was early in the
morning and little sun would have been illuminating the
panels. There IS temperature compensation, and the solar
charger is a nearly new 45-amp Morningstar MPPT controller.
While it certainly could have failed, it was operating fine
just before the event.










I
will report more if my insurance surveyor or the electrical
experts here in the yard are able to offer additional
inputs.










Just
as a side note, I know Amels are good boats, and I see that.
They are well built. However, I have noted some
less-than-stellar design decisions that likely are more the
result of EU regulations rather than Amel
philosophy.










I
have owned the boat now for just over a year. I have
only sailed/motored it for 4 days last June. Imme
diately after that initial delivery the engine failed. I am
not going to repeat that story, but the final analysis
proved that during my 4-day motor from FL to MD, saltwater
had migrated into the exhaust manifold and up into the head
- not because of cranking. When the water evaporated a week
after arrival in MD, salt crystals remained in the engine
and pitted the valves and valve seats. That seriously
compromised the engine and the only good solution was a new
engine. Yes, I could have rebuilt it for about half the cost
- not worth it as there was a fair amount of external
corrosion on the starboard aft side of the engine. The
second design flaw is that there are NO fuses in any of the
primary DC feeders from the batteries. That is a serious
issue, as any short-to-ground or system overloads would have
overheated the circuit and caused the affected wire to melt
or catch on fire. Fuses are needed to protect the wires at
the battery. I changed all of that and now have an array
of fuses in the compartment adjacent to the batteries. And
now the sealed battery compartment issue.










Perhaps
I am venting now, but as others have noted, I will persevere
and resolve all of these issues. I do appreciate the quality
that goes into these yachts.










Thanks
for the support - that is what this group is all
about.



Jamie
Wendell





















 



s/v Phantom Amel 54
#044



















On Friday, June
24, 2016 3:28 AM, "Jean-Pierre Germain jgermain@...
[amelyachtowners]" <amelyachtowners@...>
wrote:

















 





















Hello James,








Your AMEL
ownership has been marred by unusual problems; mine has also
not been a bed of roses but for different reasons. 








I had a NICAD
battery runaway once. At High altitude, The events take a
different dimension. 








Persevere, these
are good boats and you will be well rewarded
eventually








GL








Jean-Pierre
Germain



Eleuthera, SM007 










On 24 Jun 2016, at 08:10, Danny and
Yvonne SIMMS simms@...
[amelyachtowners] <amelyachtowners@...>
wrote:




















 
















Hi
James, how horrible. We all feel for you. You say the
battery compartment is sealed apart from the vent. On our SM
299 there are five vents at floor level in the bottom of the
battery compartment to allow air to enter. Does the 54 not
have these vents.



Regards



Danny



SM
299 Ocean Pearl
















From: "James
Wendell ms42phantom54@yahoo..com [amelyachtowners]"
<amelyachtowners@...>
To: "amelyachtowners@..."
<amelyachtowners@...>

Sent: Friday, 24 June
2016 12:30 PM
Subject: [Amel Yacht
Owners] Battery Compartment Explosion











 























I am
not sure if anyone has ever experienced what just happened
to me, but I think it is important info for everyone out
there. My battery compartment exploded early yesterday
morning. No one is certain exactly what happened, and no one
who has investigated the accident has ever seen this occur.
I am still up on the hard in Annapolis trying to get my new
engine installation completed - that was a subject of a
previous thread, and I will update everyone who followed
that thread separately once I get my new engine
running.








The
explosion was quite severe and apparently set off my smoke
detector which everyone in the yard heard. There was no
fire. Oddly no one claims they heard the explosion itself,
as it may have happened before the contractors started to
come in for work. It blew the lid completely off of the
passageway berth and into the ceiling, jamming it between
the wall of the aft closet and the wall near the nav station
closet. Fortunately no one was on the boat at the time, but
if someone had been in the passageway between the main
saloon and the aft cabin, they would have been seriously
injured or even killed. I do not want to even speculate what
would have happened if someone had been sleeping on the
berth. I had some parts and tools sitting on the berth
cushion and they were either shredded, melted, or survived
depending on the material. It
was a scary situation.








I am
working with my insurance company and they hired a local
surveyor to assess the situation. They, as I do, want to
know the reason for the explosion. Beyond the damage to the
compartment lid/berth and the surrounding woodwork, here are
the facts:






At
least 2 of the AGM batteries had been breached with cracks
in the tops. None of the VRLA valves had popped.
A few
of the batteries were b
ulged out at the sides. Not clear if that happened
initially or as a result of the explosion. Ultimately about
half of the 12 on the 24-volt side were "bad."
My
shore power connections were off. The only charging source
would have been wind and solar. Both of those systems have
been working correctly for a long time, and early in the
morning there was no wind and not much sun. We do not think
it was an overcharge issue. I have multiple monitoring
systems including the Xantrex that came with the boat, plus
a Maretron monitor and Blue Sea meters. All were nominal
when I left the boat before the explosion. Voltage was about
27.5 and there was a small load of maybe 3 or 4 amps DC,
easily absorbed with the solar panels.
The
batteries are a little over 4 years old and came with the
boat. I have never had a problem with them
, and the charging systems have never pushed above 28
volts.The
battery setup was reworked last winter by a very good
contractor here in the yard. They added fuses to all the
loads, and it has worked very well for months now. I find it
hard to believe that there was no primary battery fusing on
the boat at all, but that is still another topic for review.
However, the explosion would not have been related to
current flow and hence the fusing was not an issue one way
or the other.I
have 12 Intimidator AGM batteries in the battery area with a
12V starting battery.Testing
them after the accident revealed about half of them to be
unserviceable (either electrically or physically).






It is clear to the investigators that the
explosion was the result of hydrogen gas buildup in the
battery compartment. The problem they observed is that
(while there is a vent at the forward part of the battery
compartment, Amel seals the compartment completely).
Normally the vent is OK, as any residual hydrogen will
escape out the vent.. But the Amel setup prevents any makeup
air from entering the compartment. Normally AGM batteries do
not vent externally, as the hydrogen sulfide normally
released in a flooded battery is actually recombined in an
AGM setup. There are valves in a VRLA battery, which are
supposed to open if the internal pressure gets too high.
However, if the casing is breached, gasses will release
immediately, which is what happened here. What no one knows
yet is why the batteries cracked open. The bottom line is
that the vent could not release the gas fast enough, and the
hydrogen gas exploded as it built up
in the sealed compartment.








I am
going to modify the configuration by adding ventilation to
the front of the battery compartment. I am also going to
install 13 new Lifeline batteries (12 31-XT and 1 31T
battery for starting). Good quality batteries with a
modified install should prevent a recurrence. What a
mess.................








All I
can say is thank goodness no one was hurt.






<
div dir="ltr"
id="yiv8910840589yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1466724755081_7177">Jamie
Wendell







 



s/v Phantom Amel
54 #044



















































































































































































































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