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E38-200 Next steps and prep for electrical system upgrade

Here's an update on Quincy's electrical system upgrade. We are currently in the procurement and space planning/layout stage. Before we start tearing things apart I'd love to solicit comments, concerns, and advice. What am I missing?

Before getting into the electrical system, last week I installed an AIS unit. We went with the Em-Trak B954 after looking at a couple of options.


It seems like a good way to combine modern functionality (like wifi and Bluetooth connectivity) in a plug-and-play product without replacing our entire VHF setup. When we had the mast pulled last year I replaced our antenna and wire with one that's AIS compatible. We went with the 5W SOTDMA model, which looks like their top-end class B unit. The only challenge I've had so far was getting the unit to fit into the bracket properly. I haven't put it through much testing yet but boats show up on our old GPSMap 4208 plotter and my dock neighbor sees us on his.

Below is an overall system schematic and DC wiring diagram of the project as designed currently. We're working with Bruce Schwab at Ocean Planet Energy on the system design. The schematic is his with some markup by me and the wiring diagram is mine.

Quincy Electrical Upgrade Schematic .png


Quincy DC Wiring Batts - Chargers - Mains.png


Here's our plan for physically locating the system:

House batteries: two in the aft locker of the starboard settee and one in the inboard portion of the port settee locker just forward of the galley and aft of the mast. This is where our current house and start batteries live. Not ideal to have them separated like this but I'll make sure we have equal-length wires from the bus to the positives and negatives and live with the ambient differences between the two lockers.

IMG_9974.JPG

IMG_0030.JPG


Start battery and DC-DC charger: move to a battery box in the forward part of the cockpit locker, just inboard of the holding tank (where my cleaning products are in this photo). We're switching this from the existing gel to a group 24 AGM. This way we can add the third house battery and also use the space currently taken up with the starter cable for the new alternator cables since the new alternator has an isolated ground and the cables will need to be up-sized and kept as short as possible. I may need to run the cable from my negative main bus around via the cockpit locker too, depending on how much space I have in the conduit for the alternator cables.

IMG_9202.JPG


Inverter/Charger: mount in the middle locker under the starboard settee where the existing unit lives, except shifted forward as much as possible to allow for better access to the business end which should be about where the vents stop on the right-hand side of the existing unit in the photo. The Multiplus is longer, the same width, and less deep than the existing unit. I'm going to enlarge the opening for better access and install the Lynx Power In / Lynx shunt / Lynx Distributor outboard of the inverter on a board I'll attach across the chainplate stringers.

IMG_0226.JPG


MPPT's and solar busses: in the cockpit locker on the bulkhead between it and the shower, behind the shelf above the holding tank. We'll have two panels mounted on the dodger and one on the bimini so I'll bring all wires from them into the cockpit locker and then bring a single wire from each bus forward to the charge bus.

IMG_3775.JPG


Wakespeed alternator regulator: in the engine compartment above the access panel from the aft cabin or at the bulkhead above the aft end of the engine depending on how I route my sense wires between the batteries / Lynx shunt and the Wakespeed. I'm going to replace my blower ducting and will place the end of the cooling air duct as close as possible to this and the back of the alternator. According to Bruce these units are good at handling higher engine compartment temps without creating problems. If I can fit the sense wires in the same conduit with the alternator wires I'll probably mount it forward. If I need to run them around through the cockpit locker and forward along the starboard side of the boat I'll probably mount it aft of the engine. Here is a diagram of the wiring harness.

Wakespeed Wiring Harness.png

IMG_0352.JPG

IMG_0348.JPG


Shunts: on transverse bulkheads under the starboard settee

Negative main bus and BS Safety Hub: outboard of batteries in the aft locker of the starboard settee.

Cerbo GX: I'll probably pull the vinyl out, glue a board to the inside of the hull at the back of this space, and mount it in this small locker space behind the starboard settee adjacent to the nav station (where the data cable is coming out from in this photo).

IMG_9998.JPG


That's the plan as it stands now, out of my head and in writing. Writing it out in this format has been helpful and as I said at the outset please comment, advise, poke holes, etc as you see fit. I have a bias toward research and planning so I need to push myself to start tearing things apart, but this forum's collective wisdom is too valuable to pass up before I begin.

Thanks in advance!
Jim

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