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New Features Coming On The Wakespeed WS500 Alternator Regulator
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Read more: Lithium Battery With External BMS Better For Winter LayupFun you can have with ChatGPT5 A couple of weeks ago I read a particularly interesting article over at Pambo about the risk of trashing lithium batteries over a winter when the boat is stored in a cold location. I highly recommend reading the original article in its entirety, but the key things I took […]
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Read more: Choosing The Right Alternator, Part 1—EfficiencyEven five years ago alternator selection for cruising boats was simple, but now we have more efficient and more powerful options, particularly as we increase voltage.
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Read more: Gone SailingWe have not published anything for ten days and probably won’t for another week or so. Our all-too-short sailing season is coming to a close and so Phyllis and I are taking some time off to go sailing. Not to worry though, as soon as we get the boat hauled in early October we will […]
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Read more: Forgiveness, The Forgotten Selection FactorWe all tend to select our boats and gear by how many cool features they have. But there’s a way more important factor to think about.
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Read more: Engine Warm-Up Best PracticesI have long known that the oft-accepted wisdom that an engine should be warmed up at idle before loading it was wrong. In fact, we should load it almost immediately by going into gear and then slowly increase revs as the engine warms up. Warm-Up A few engine manuals share a not-to-exceed power setting before […]
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Read more: Just Go CruisingLithium batteries, Starlink, big alternators, catamaran, trimaran, or monohull, serial hybrid, parallel hybrid, endless “review1” videos of multi-million dollar boats, which anchor is best… On and on it goes. How is anyone new to cruising going to sift through all this and actually get out there? Here’s the answer: Login to continue reading (scroll down) […]
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Making Large Alternators Safer With Whitespace Programming
9 CommentsReading Time: 12 minutesMembers
Read more: Making Large Alternators Safer With Whitespace ProgrammingSome alternator regulators have the ability to vary output in relation to engine RPM, a great feature that can mitigate the risk of damage to our engine and reduce the risks in close quarters boat handling, but how do we arrive at the right settings? Here’s a step by step guide.
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Read more: Engine Temperature Gauge HackThe little Yanmar engine in our J/109 is cursed with the basic panel with no gauges other than rpm. While I have taken a bunch of precautions against overheating, which I have written about before, I really wanted to be able to read engine temperature.
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Read more: Never Trust a HurricaneAs you can imagine, I’m watching Hurricane Erin very carefully, and this morning, as is my habit, I was reading the forecast discussion when this jumped out at me: After 36 hours, there has been a notable increase in forward speed among the models when Erin becomes embedded in the mid-latitude westerlies, and the NHC […]
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Read more: Lithium Battery Reliability and BackupStill Required? Ever since we published my thought that lithium batteries had come of age, I have been pondering whether or not they have reached a point of reliability that would make me comfortable installing them on an offshore boat without the lead-acid serial backup we have recommended for years. After all, we now have […]
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Read more: Radar Reflector Mounting HackOut of the way, and no chafe issues.
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Read more: Wakespeed WS500 Pro Programming HackPowering the Wakespeed WS500 Pro while configuring.
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Read more: 18 Tips To Install A Cruiser’s AlternatorHow to buy and install a real live-aboard cruiser’s alternator that will be reliable over the long term.
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Read more: Wakespeed WS500 Alternator Regulator Deck DisplayDisplaying Wakespeed WS500 alternator regulator information on a plotter.
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Read more: Lithium Batteries Come Of AgeA full system example from Victron. It looks intimidating at first, but if we take our time and understand the basic concepts, it’s actually quite approachable—kudos to Victron. That said, it’s our responsibility to make sure that our installation is safe and conforms to the standards for the country our boat is flagged in. And […]
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Read more: Efficient Generator-Based Electrical Systems For YachtsAn analysis for any live-aboard cruiser who is considering a lifestyle that will require more than about 250 amp-hours at 12 volts (3 kWh) of electricity daily.
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Read more: Victron NG Smart Lithium BatteriesBen Stein, over at Panbo, has just published a good review of the new Victron NG LiFePO4 batteries and related BMSs, well worth the time to read for most any cruiser who is even faintly interested in lithium batteries. I won’t try to duplicate the excellent job Ben has done describing what makes this new […]
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Read more: Norseman 447Some thoughts on one of Bob Perry’s best designs and buying older cruising boats in general.
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Read more: Getting Tether Length Just RightDon’t assume from this photo that I make all my tethers this way. I only use dynamic climbing rope (DCR) in low-traffic areas because of the roll-under-foot danger. More on this and much more about tether construction in the chapters linked to below. Also don’t get confused by the tools and fittings in the photo, […]
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Read more: Radically Swept-back SpreadersI have seen a lot of weird stuff in my day but…
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Read more: Right Sizing an AlternatorReplacing the stock alternator on our engine is one of the most useful upgrades to a cruising boat but how can we make sure bigger is not too big?
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Read more: Taking The Week Off
We will not be publishing any Articles or Tips this week, or for most of next. My daughter has just finished her residency and is now a fully qualified board certified paediatrician and so we are off to visit her and help celebrate the culmination of 12 long years of study, exams and residency (including […]
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Read more: Multihull and Monohull Storm Tactics ComparedStorm tactics differ between monohulls and multihulls, so here’s a look at each of the ways to survive a storm at sea, with the benefits and drawbacks of each depending on the number of hulls.
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Read more: Jordan Series Drogue Double-Proved EffectiveA breaking wave bearing down on Nehaj with JSD deployed ©Susanne Huber-Curphey, all rights reserved One of the things that makes me crazy is offshore sailors who claim that getting rolled upside down is just a risk of being out there; yeah, I’m looking at you Don McIntyre. The other, and related, thing than makes […]
