Fittings electrical systems in Cape Cutter 19

[Paul Flint]

Dear All

I'm new to owning a Cape Cutter 19, having down-sized to 'Chunky Monkey' three months ago, and am getting items together to fit an electric system to the boat. These to include a tricolour navigation light (purchased) for the top of the mast, waterproof control panel with 6 circuit breakers and battery indicator (purchased), interior LED lighting, charging points from which to run and recharge phones and tablets for navigation, trickle charging from a solar panel and perhaps, eventually, a tiller pilot.

Apart from the fact that Chunky Monkey already has a TackTick depth sounder and log, that uses a miniature solar top-up system (perhaps standard in many CC19s), it will be a case of starting from scratch. I envisage the battery sitting aft of the centreplate, behind the small bulkhead, and have seen some useful comments on this forum about fixing batteries in place.

As there is a lot of experience available through this forum, I should welcome advice from members on things that really should be done and also things, at all costs, to avoid doing (even with respect to other upgrades).

I’ll share my own experience as I progress – when the weather has improved!

Many thanks and seasonal greetings to everyone,

Paul Flint

[zimp]

Dear All

I'm new to owning a Cape Cutter 19, having down-sized to 'Chunky Monkey' three months ago, and am getting items together to fit an electric system to the boat. These to include a tricolour navigation light (purchased) for the top of the mast, waterproof control panel with 6 circuit breakers and battery indicator (purchased), interior LED lighting, charging points from which to run and recharge phones and tablets for navigation, trickle charging from a solar panel and perhaps, eventually, a tiller pilot.

Apart from the fact that Chunky Monkey already has a TackTick depth sounder and log, that uses a miniature solar top-up system (perhaps standard in many CC19s), it will be a case of starting from scratch. I envisage the battery sitting aft of the centreplate, behind the small bulkhead, and have seen some useful comments on this forum about fixing batteries in place.

As there is a lot of experience available through this forum, I should welcome advice from members on things that really should be done and also things, at all costs, to avoid doing (even with respect to other upgrades).

I’ll share my own experience as I progress – when the weather has improved!

Many thanks and seasonal greetings to everyone,

Paul Flint

Dear Paul, difficult to answer your very general question but let me say something about the electrical system of Zimp. The battery is placed under the cockpit floor, aft of the centreplate. There is main battery switch to switch off all electricity when there is nobody on board. Zimp has a circuit breaker panel with 12 circuit breakers. There are separate circuits for navigation lighs, GPS, tiller-pilot, cabin lights, 12V outlets, radio, compass-light, log/depth and voltmeter. The outboard charges the battery. The battery is a simple 35 Ah lead battery in a box. The box is fixed with straps.

[Paul Flint]

Dear Bert

Many thanks for responding. It sounds as if I may be proceeding in the right direction.

My local marina, when servicing the 6HP outboard that came with the boat, advised me that it wouldn't be cost effective for me to adapt the outboard to recharge the battery, which I had hoped to do. It certainly makes sense to me to harness the outboard's potential.

I've retreated indoors at the moment during our challenging weather to varnish the wooden fittings that can be removed from the boat.

All the best, Paul

[zimp]

Dear Paul,
That's definitely true, installing a charging unit on an outboard will never be cost effective, but it is convenient. I use a CTEK charger to make sure that the battery is 100% at the start (March) and the end (November) of the sailing season.
Bert