Greg Hansen has almost completed what has turned out to be an almost total wiring of the boat which included the following:
1. Re-design of the anchor windlass power system
I had earlier accepted Greg's advice to alter the anchor windlass setup from from supplying electrical power from small battery at the bow that is trickle charged from the house bank to supplying it directly from the engine starter battery via heavy electrical cabling.
There would be several advantages from the change: (1) Power would now be supplied from a hefty starter battery rather than a smaller AGM battery more suited for supplying steady power rather than starting engines, (2) The cost of the cabling would in the long run pay dividends because there would no longer be the need to replace windlass batteries, (3) Because the windlass would always be worked with the engine running there would be no practical limit on the frequency of anchor lifts whereas the old system had limitations since it relied on a slower trickle charge to replenish the windlass battery, (4) There would be less weight at the bow of the boat, a big benefit to Pachuca with her long and slender bow.
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| Rewired Windlass |
It broke my heart to dismantle the trickle system because it represented a personal triumph of design and implementation. My brother Arnold, an electrical engineer, supplied the design then Stephen used an amazing on-line simulator to see the behaviour of the circuit using various resistors, diodes, and the relay. Stephen also provided a large heat sink which nicely took care of heat issues. But we all agreed that the sacrifice of the good work was justified.
After confirming that the Orca VE 2000 windlass could reverse to drop as well as raise the anchor Greg installed the required wiring which included a heavy breaker at the navigation station.
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| Windlass Breaker |
In future I will be able to raise and lower the anchor from the steering station, yielding great improvements in efficiency and safety. But that led to the problem of finding space for mounting the new switch at the steering station, which led to a rebuild of the binnacle documented later.
2. Re-wired all of the battery cabling
Two of the house batteries and the starter battery had been re positioned to the starboard quarter berth locker which necessitated a lot of cabling work. While he was at it Greg replaced the cabling between the two house bank batteries in the cabin. During this work Greg suggested that we split the four house bank batteries into two separate banks in order to minimize the risk of one bad battery bringing down the entire house bank. The cabling work included running special wires to the BEP voltage and amperage monitor, which I modified to display voltages for "HOUSE 1", "HOUSE 2", and "STARTER".
3. Replaced all of the internal 12v lighting
All of the internal lighting is now LED. Dome lights were installed in the aft bunk area, clothes locker, head, and navigation station. For the first time I am able to use a red light at the desk when navigating at night. Large LED lights were installed in the cabin and galley, and new high quality brass lights were installed over the cabin bunks and forward V section bunk.
4. New Switches
A new switch allows me to direct power from the solar panels and wind charger to either house bank, and another one which allows me to use power from either house bank. (House Bank 1 is the two batteries aft rated at 480 a/h and House Bank 2 is the two batteries in the cabin, rated at 540 a/h.) Note that the starter battery is charged solely from the engine alternator, and when it reaches full charge a voltage sensitive relay directs the alternator charge to the house bank.
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| Switch to direct solar and wind power |
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| Switch to select which house bank to use |
5. New lighting
Wiring has been set up for new lights at the cockpit and in the space below the cockpit and Greg expects to receive and install the new lights in the coming week.
6. Upgraded the 240V wiring to current standards
Greg was legally and ethically obliged to upgrade the 240V AC system to current standards and I certainly did not object to that. He put the heavy cabling in conduit, installed an RCD, and neatened the entire setup.
6. Installed an electrolysis blocker
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| Electrolysis Blocker |
7. Tidied Electrical Panel
Greg did a marvelous job of removing redundant wiring then tidying up the main electrical panel. He also replaced switches with breakers in a new extension panel that I had installed on the door. I sacrificed the ancient (but working) Lowrance GPS in order to accommodate the panel for the 240V A/C breakers.
I finally have for the first time a very good understanding of the boat's wiring and plan to document it at first opportunity.
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| New switch panel lower left, A/C breakers at right |
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| Wiring now tidy and and labeled |
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