Typhoon battery

[Steven_Shore]

I don't need much power - two LEDs - one being the masthead nav light the other being a mast mounted deck light, and one incandescent stern light (which will eventually be replaced with an LED). I may also add a 12v outlet to power my iPad chart plotter.

Can anyone recommend a good battery/battery type?

Thanks so much, folks!

[JWSutcliffe]

On an amp hour per dollar basis, my best success has been (and I hate to admit it) a Walmart marine dual purpose battery. After 4 years of service it doesn't have quite enough cranking amps to start my diesel, but now its my house bank backup still working well for that.

[Paul D.]

Those iPads and related devices take more power than one thinks to charge. See the Good Old Boat from a couple months ago for a chart of how much.

When I had our Typhoon and thought about adding a simple electric system (never did) I would have used a good, no maintenance deep cycle lead acid battery from a Consumer Reports or Practical Sailor listing. Probably the better Sears, Costco or Walmart versions would be fine in my opinion, but look around. If you hook up a small flexible solar panel at less than about 1.5% of your battery's amperage, you won't need a charger and you can leave the thing charging aboard when you are not there.

I'd also mount any lead acid battery solidly so it won't go adrift, and in a box in case it leaks.

Good luck.
p.s. This weekend, out sailing around Madeline Island for the 4th festivities, I saw a Typhoon on a mooring. Very lovely. This one could use some refitting but the bones looked very sound. I almost wanted to take her home and just work on her again like our old one. Such a fun and beautiful boat. Just something about them eh?

[Steven_Shore]

Thanks Paul,
I will look into your suggestions. I'm most interested in powering the nav lights as I enjoy an evening sail from time to time. Being able to velcro an iPad to the bulkhead with a chart plotter will aid me in avoiding some of the nastier structure that exists among the Norwalk Islands where we sail in Connecticut.
I spent the spring restoring our '76, replacing the rails all around, the standing rigging, the furler, the jenny and putting a Pearl White Interlux paint job on the hull and a fresh, Bristol Beige non skid surface on the deck. I enjoyed every minute.

[RLW]

OMG! I hope I can bring mine back to that level of beauty. Nicely done!

[Steven_Shore]

Rich - her name is 'carla', in honor of Mr. Alberg.

[Paul D.]

Steven,

Excellent work! She's a real beaut'. Even a flag halyard too. Well done sir. I noticed what look like the original port lights. Mine was a '76 as well and her port lights crazed and the chrome came off the plastic trim rings. Yours look pretty good from the picture but if they start to decay in the sun, Spartan makes a lovely bronze round fixed port light (P577) that looks and works great. I swear my boat looked $5,000 more expensive after I installed them! Wish I had photos but all that was pre digital and I don't have those old photos digitized. I did have a story in Good Old Boat November 2000 with refit details and photos. I agree, a wonderfully fun project.

http://www.robinhoodmarinecenter.com/sp ... xed-ports/

[Steven_Shore]

Thanks Paul.
You should have seen her last October. She was, quite literally, a wreck.
I was scared going into the project. There were two hand-sized holes through the hull below the waterline.
Once we got going, with the help of two good buddies, one of whom is my partner in the boat, confidence grew on a daily basis. I plan to assemble a journal which I will place on the site eventually. For now, I'd rather sail her than write about her...

[RLW]

Steven...

Seeing the "before" heightens my respect for the "after!" I thought I had a mess on my hands; but compared to yours mine was Bristol fashion when purchased her last winter. I look forward to learning more about your project when you post your journal.

Was s/v Carla a storm salvage? BTW...great variation on the tribute name theme. I wonder if there are others out there.

[Steven_Shore]

6 weeks after we got her she broke off her mooring in a gale and washed up against a sea wall and got lodged beneath a dock. We're still not sure what happened as the pennants remained securely cleated and the shackle attached to the pennants was still securely fastened.

That was last October. In addition to the two holes in the hull, the stern transom quarter was bashed in and between the ripped out pulpit, stanchions and Spartan motor mount, there were 25 nasty holes on the deck.

The insurance company gave us the choice: total her or accept a settlement of 75 cents on the dollar, which we accepted.

It just seemed like bad Karma to total her...

[tjr818]

Bad Karma for sure, but possibly bad insurance too. Who were you insured with?

[Steven_Shore]

Why do you say that Tim?

[tjr818]

75 cents on the dollar for a boat that you have owned for six weeks seems wrong to me. I, luckily, have never had a boat totaled,but when that has happened to one of my cars (actually two of my cars) I received replacement value.

[Steven_Shore]

It's a 39 year old boat! there's a deductible and it wasn't that expensive to begin with...

[Neil Gordon]

If the boat is declared a total loss, the insurance company pays the face value of the policy and (fairly) expects title to the boat. I think it's a fair negotiation from there to offer a lower percentage, which could be well worth it to someone who can either put loving sweat equity into the repair project or otherwise wants to repair rather than scrap, for whatever reasons.