Electrical Systems - sv Gyatso Refit & Repairs of Tayana 37 sailboat

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Refit & Repairs: Electrical Systems

Coming soon: more information on refit and repair projects related to the electrical systems on our 1985 Tayana 37. Here is some initial information and photos gathered from other sections of our website:

Getting Acquainted with the Electrical Systems

	David and Cousin Dan discuss electronics on board Gyatso in Oriental, North Carolina.
	David studies Nigel Calder's reference manual -- the boat owner's "bible" -- while in North Carolina.

Solar Panels

When we designed our refrigeration system, we did it with the idea of adding solar panels. After shopping around a bit, including having one technician present us with a bill for discussing the project, we found our guy to do the work in our homeport of Annapolis: John Lavelle of Merke Marine Electronics. He did an outstanding job installing two solar panels on Gyatso, along with a Solarboost regulator. He also fixed a wiring problem with the battery bank which will hopefully extend their useful life and helped us trouble-shoot other small electrical problems before our departure in the Caribbean 1500 Rally. Here are some photos:

John from Merke Marine Electronics installed the 65 watt solar panels on top of the bimini, adding mounting brackets directly to the strong, 1" stainless steel frame. They are screwed on with four bolts so that the panels can be removed relatively easily if needed. Lisa worked carefully with John to design the system in a way that she could remove and re-install the panels herself.

John worked with Lisa to create a design that met all of our needs. We wanted the solar panels out of the way and preferably not mounted on the dinghy davits for a variety of reasons, but mainly so that it would not interfere with the Monitor windvane when we were offshore. John mounted the solar panels above the bimini but below the height where the boom lies in the boom gallows. It was a perfect solution, and the new solar panels are working like a charm. Better yet, they are barely noticeable in their location on top of the bimini.

Alternator

While preparing for the Caribbean 1500 Rally in 2006, we had Bay Shore Marine in Annapolis conduct a thorough inspection and overhaul of our Yanmar diesel engine. Our favorite mechanic, Scott, discovered several cracks in the alternator on the engine. Luckily, we caught it before it had failed completely and replaced it with a new, higher output alternator. Here's a photo of the old alternator after it was removed:

The old alternator was found to have several cracks and was replaced with a new, higher output alternator.

Step-down Inverter

In order to use shore power at some marinas in the Caribbean and at any marinas in Europe which are on a 220 volt rather than 110 volt system, we decided on a simple solution: a portable step-down inverter used on construction sites in the UK. It converts 220 volt/50 hertz power to 110 volt/50 hertz power. The only difference from what we are used to using in the US is that it is 50 hertz rather than 60 hertz, but all of the electronics onboard run fine at either. With just a few simple adaptors, we have used this system without any problems for three years. We had ours fitted up at Rodney Bay in St. Lucia.

We lock the step-down inverter to the dock rather than keeping it on the deck or in the cockpit.

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