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
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David and
Cousin Dan
discuss electronics on board Gyatso in Oriental, North Carolina. |
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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:
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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. |
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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:
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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.
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We
lock the step-down inverter to the dock rather than keeping it on the deck
or in the cockpit. |
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