Robin
Well-Known Member
I never had funds enough left to add the full in/out monitors so relied on (rested)digital battery volts and an old fashioned hydrometer. I thought about one on he lates boat but there seem to be calculation errors in the algorithms and software assumptions on some that lead to inaccuracies over time so I would be left head scratching to explain the discrepancies between theory and practice but the old fashioned hydrometer doesn't work on algorthingies.
I do think a battery combiner facility is essential we had n engine start battery fail totally on a short weekender trip Poole to Lymington and being able to link in the service bank and get started was a great relief as everywhere selling batteries would have been closed on a Sunday or too far away without transport. That said in the very dim and distant We once bump started a Bukh 10 on our then Liz 30 by getting it spinning fast in gear whilst sailing under spinnaker, mid Channel with the decompressor levers open and suddenly closing first one then the other. It was when they were drilling for oil in the westbound lane and we were being carried by the tide too close to the rig safety launch. In the event the engine was not required but at least we got some charge in for starting when we finally got to our mooring. We added another and dedicated start battery after that but the bump start was a useful trick to keep up the sleeve
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I do think a battery combiner facility is essential we had n engine start battery fail totally on a short weekender trip Poole to Lymington and being able to link in the service bank and get started was a great relief as everywhere selling batteries would have been closed on a Sunday or too far away without transport. That said in the very dim and distant We once bump started a Bukh 10 on our then Liz 30 by getting it spinning fast in gear whilst sailing under spinnaker, mid Channel with the decompressor levers open and suddenly closing first one then the other. It was when they were drilling for oil in the westbound lane and we were being carried by the tide too close to the rig safety launch. In the event the engine was not required but at least we got some charge in for starting when we finally got to our mooring. We added another and dedicated start battery after that but the bump start was a useful trick to keep up the sleeve
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