Wet slip bilge battery etc

[Nick Hughes]

So after trailering the boat to our local lake last weekend and then my wife backing the empty trailer into another car and smashing a taillight, we've decided to find a slip and will be moving in this weekend. Covered lifts are a wait list, but we do have shore power. Given that I'm dropping it off in a few days, what do I need to do? First off, does the auto bilge run off the house or main battery? I assume I need it on even though these boats are neutral bouyant? Is there a waterproof battery charger I can get at say Home Depot to combat all this? Hoping someone can help, since I feel like I need to make some decisions quickly.

 

[OrangeTJ]

If you have shore power, which it sounds like you do, I'd just get something like a Battery Tender Jr., plug it in leave your bilge switch on and not worry about it.

 

[Ronnie]

Agreed just make sure it's a charger maintainer and you should be fine. Consider the guest brand of charger / maintainers. I think they still make a single bank 5 amp model for under $100.

 

[swatski]

If you are looking for a more permanent solution, I would talk to @ChargerGuy.

 

[Noko]

So after trailering the boat to our local lake last weekend and then my wife backing the empty trailer into another car and smashing a taillight, we've decided to find a slip and will be moving in this weekend. Covered lifts are a wait list, but we do have shore power. Given that I'm dropping it off in a few days, what do I need to do? First off, does the auto bilge run off the house or main battery? I assume I need it on even though these boats are neutral bouyant? Is there a waterproof battery charger I can get at say Home Depot to combat all this? Hoping someone can help, since I feel like I need to make some decisions quickly.

Sure, blame the wife for the accident.

 

[Nick Hughes]

Ok, so Amazon has the battery tender Jr. For $23 and I can get it on Saturday. Since this one has the clips, I need to choose a battery, would that be the house or main that the bulge runs off?

And technically it was the wife's dad, but still.

 

[M@__]

How many amps is the tender and how many amps do you think both your bilge pumps will pull when pumping? Just sayin' Sir Issac Newton has a way with things.

 

[Nick Hughes]

I dont think theres any question the tender (.75A) can support the variable draw of the bilge (unknown draw). I just wasn't sure what battery it runs off of, have to play around with it this weekend.

 

[M@__]

You're right if you don't have a leak and the bilge never actually pumps. Personally I added a back up bilge and mechanical float switch hardwired to the battery. If both of mine are running that would be around 4 amps...

 

[swatski]

You're right if you don't have a leak and the bilge never actually pumps. Personally I added a back up bilge and mechanical float switch hardwired to the battery. If both of mine are running that would be around 4 amps...

You are right, if your bilge pump and switch are drawing 4Amps continuously you need a bigger charger. But at that point you probably have some other issues.

If on the other hand you are like most of us here, and you Yammie just leaks a little bit, a trickle charger will certainly do.

@Nick Hughes If you have a battery switch that separates the batteries, a quick way to test which circuit (pump switch has an LED).

 

[Julian]

I'd put in a more permanent charger like a Guest or Prosport, that way it will be better attached to the battery (screwed down to the posts vs the aligator clips) and attached the a wall of the boat. Plus you could add a though hull plug later if you want....so that WHEN you put the cover on and THEN realize you forgot to run the wire for the charger, you won't have to uncover and climb under the cover in hot summer sun (ask me how often I've done that! LOL) @ChargerGuy often has some great deals available.

 

[Island Jay]

The right way to do this is with a dry mount charger, like a ProNautic P. They can charge batteries and act as a power supply at the same time.
If it says waterproof on the charger, or is $20 home depot special, I can pretty much guarantee it will be a waste of money. They charge, but cannot supply power at the same time. So if it rains hard for say 24+ hours, your batteries may not recoup and the system fails.

 

[Matt Phillips]

I do not have the benefit of electricity at the dock so had to go the solar charger route. In the end, I like this route because you never know if someone will unplug you and the accidentally forget to plug you back in. I also went with a separate switch and fuse on the house battery to run the bulge pump when on the lake. Here's the link to my install post on it: https://jetboaters.net/threads/solar-battery-charger-install-w-pics.3414/#post-56919

If you're leaving your boat on the lake, here's a couple of other recommendations I have (based on my experience):
1.) I STRONGLY recommend going with the towing/cover over the separate bow and cockpit snap-on covers. Besides being much better at keeping the rain out, those covers also completely cover the swim step and keep the ducks off that area. This cover also makes it harder for people to get inside and 'take a peek at what you have.'

2.) I'm not sure if this is true for your 2015, but on my '09, when at idle speed my anchor locker back-fills up with water through the drain hole. As a result, I have to lay the anchor line on the floor of the boat when leaving it in the slip to keep it from mildewing. Check your anchor line sometime when you've been out and haven't used the anchor. If it's wet in there, then you'll know.

3.) Between trips, make sure to remove your man hole plugs and leave them draped across the top of the holes. This serves two purposes: first, they can swell when left in and can become very hard to remove and second, if someone decides to make off with your boat, this will slow them down a lot.

I've found leaving the boat on the water is a pretty big convenience...it takes about 15 minutes to open it up at the beginning of a trip and about 25-30 to cover it up again.

Enjoy!

 

[Nick Hughes]

Thanks for all the info, I will take it all into account as I keep making minor adjustments. 1 more question, for the bilge to run, do the keys need to be in the ignition and in the "ACC" position? After I got home I realized that I never really listened for the pump as I was shutting it down. I figured out that the bilge runs off the deep cell house battery, so I left that one switched on. But if it needs ignition, its not on. Not too worried, should be back this weekend.

 

[Matt Phillips]

In my stock set-up with two battery switches, the "house" battery had to be left on. That's one of the reasons I went the bypass route...I can turn the battery off (end ensure there's no drain anywhere else) yet still have power to the bilge pump. With my set-up, the light on the bilge pump is also always on. Sometimes people ask me a question about it as we're leaving the boat, but that's better then them being "helpful" and turning that switch off.