[92GTA]

I just bought a 1961 30' Chris Craft 6 sleeper cabin crusier. It's a resto project that has been in dry storage since 1989.

This is my first motor boat, I'm used to sail, so please forgive my ignorance as I learn.

From what I can tell, the Optima "Troll Fury" package with it's 2 D34M Deepcycles for a total of 110amp hrs @ 12 volts looks like the best bet to power the boats systems. Also being that I have 2 283ci SBC's, it looks like I can use this setup to start them since Optima states that they are Dual-Purpose.

I'm going to be going through Mariner.org on Monday using the Hull # to obtain the boats plans and electrical diagrams and all other information I can get on this CC.

I'm going to be living on this CC atleast 5 days a week and the marina in my area only has 3 electrical hookups on their slips which I can't stay plugged into all of the time. I'm presuming that this CC is set up to charge the battery whenever plugged into the dock as well as when the engine are running, correct?

So with that in mind, are the Optima's I mentioned the best choice for the longest run time? Will it run a 30' cabin cruiser for an entire week before needing a recharge? Heck, if I can, I'd even run twin "Troll Fury" set ups for 220 hrs of run time but I don't want to get carried away because I have no idea how long these things take to fully recharge plugged into the dock. Does anyone know? Optima says "Battery charger: 13.8 to 15.0 volts, 10 amps maximum, 6-12 hours approximate". Then they show "Rapid Recharge: Maximum voltage 15.6 volts (regulated). Maximum current: No limit as long as temperature <125°F (51.7°C). Maximum recharge time: Charge until current drops below 1 amp". However it seems to me that trying to Rapid charge will wear out the batteries much quicker so I'd prefer to charge them normally for the 6-12 hours mentioned.

Lastly, what does "Reserve Minutes" mean exactly when I'm looking at the batteries specs?

Thanks! Alex

[AMG]

Hi, I would rather have twice that battery capacity and charge them every second day to be able to run a refrigerator a o. For starting the engines you should have another pair of batteries that remains charged all the time. And even if it doesn´t fit an old beauty, I would add some solar panels to get extra power in between...

Good luck with your project and remember the old (and boring) rule, it will take you twice as long and cost you twice as much as you are thinking today...

[92GTA]

Originally Posted by AMG

Hi, I would rather have twice that battery capacity and charge them every second day to be able to run a refrigerator a o.

I don't understand a o? So you think I should infact go with 2 of those setup for the 220amp hrs and also have a dedicated set of standard Optima's for starting the engine? Seems like a good idea however keeping the starting batteries at a constant charged seperate from the other batteries seems too much work. If I get 2 of the dual-batt setups, then I can switch to the other when the first goes dead instead of drawing from all 4 at the same time. Hopefully I'll always be able to charge them as they each go dead. That should always mean I have enough power to start the engine when needed.

Hmmm, I do suppose I could get a small solar panel just for keeping the starting batteries and the other dual-batt setup at full charge.

[AMG]

I mean a refrigerator Amongst Other power users. The frigo is normally running even when you are not using lights, radio/TV or what you´ll have.

Battery separation is built in with chargers today so it is not a big deal. You shouldn´t run the batteries dead either. But you will learn all of this from the suppliers I guess...

Btw, on the new two-cabin, twin engine 40-footer we are building, we will have 6 x 110 amps as standard.