I had chosen Kuah (Bass Harbour) to meet up with Rob and Tricia on “Bluet” for Chinese New Year on February 3. Rob, Tricia and I spent a pleasant few days together. Unfortunately, they are heading out soon to try and find some work and continue their adventure. This is definitely one of the more difficult parts of the adventure – saying good bye to people whom have become very good friends.
I replaced the house bank batteries with two Trojan TMX27, 105 Amp Hour, Deep Cycle batteries. I was tempted to go for the modern technology and buy Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries. At more than twice the price than that of the TMX27 lead acid batteries I baulked. Also, the old charging system can not easily handle the charging requirements of the more modern batteries. The AC Delco deep cycle batteries had done well lasting just over 5 years. These batteries are cycling everyday to keep, mainly, the fridge running.
Rob from “Bluet” mentioned that he still had his charging alternator from the Volvo penta, single pot, engine that they had had on their boat. He removed the inboard engine ten months ago as it deceased or was about to. They now use sails or the outboard motor attached to the stern to move the boat. The alternator is similar to the one on my Volvo engine. I purchased this from him along with an Adverc smart regulator. This gives me more spare parts to rebuild my battery charging equipment should it fail.
Rob from “Bluet” mentioned that he still had his charging alternator from the Volvo penta, single pot, engine that they had had on their boat. He removed the inboard engine ten months ago as it deceased or was about to. They now use sails or the outboard motor attached to the stern to move the boat. The alternator is similar to the one on my Volvo engine. I purchased this from him along with an Adverc smart regulator. This gives me more spare parts to rebuild my battery charging equipment should it fail.
