I received a good question from one of our readers yeaterday that needs to be shared because I'll bet a few of you out there are trying to do the same thing.

Garry writes:

My new fishing boat has a merc 60 hp 4 stroke efi outboard with 18 amps of alternator output.

Can I safely connect the starter battery and deep cycle trolling motor battery in series, to charge the deep cycle with the outboard engine? Of course I would install a switch to isolate the deep cycle when in use to avoid draining the starter battery.

 Garry, the key phrase here is series vs. parallel. No, you don't want to be series connecting your trolling motor battery to your engine starting battery. That said, a properly connected battery in parallel will work nicely. Just understand that the starting battery will recharge much more quickly than your deep cycle unit. Also, you don't tell us what the technology for the deep cycle battery is. If its a gel cell, you probably don't want to connect it to the outboard at all. If its a flooded cell or an AGM, things should work out here.

So, the diagram at the top of the page comes from a drawing supplied by one of our sponsors here, Blue Sea Systems. This diagram shows how to accomplish what you want to do properly. Just substitute "Trolling" for "house" in the drawing and you'll be good to go. 

Our friends over at Teleflex Corp. sent this in over the transom a few days ago. Good advice worth sharing:

NOW’S THE TIME TO TURN YOUR ATTENTION
TO YOUR BOAT’S HYDRAULIC STEERING

Annual Maintenance and Regular Inspections Will Insure
Top Performance And Long Life

Every year about this time, boaters across the country start to get the itch. The days get a little longer, and a little warmer, and it just seems natural to grab the toolbox and the wash bucket and head for the boat. After taking it easy for a couple of months, the old gal is going to need a little TLC.

Most of us head for the transom to give the outboard or stern-drive a little attention. Now’s certainly a good time to change the engine oil, check the filters and take a look at the gear oil in the lower unit.

But few of us think to look a just a little bit forward and check out the hydraulic steering system. In fact, when asked, most boat owners said they had no idea there was anything they should do, or could do, to maintain their hydraulic systems. As a result, this vital control system receives little or no attention, and small problems resulting from normal wear and tear are left to become major headaches – and sometimes, costly repairs.

At Teleflex Marine, we’d like to encourage you to do a little preventative maintenance at least once a year, and to take the time to inspect your steering system every time you put your boat in the water. A few minutes looking things over will help you catch little problems before they become big ones.

ANNUAL PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE

Every spring before putting your boat in the water, or more often if you put a lot of hours on your boat, you should perform a complete system check. You’ll need a wrench or two (the proper sized box-end or combination wrench is recommended over an adjustable wrench.) A torque wrench will also come in handy to make certain you tighten all fittings to spec. You’ll also need a good quality marine grease, like Sierra Premium Marine Bearing Grease, and an ample supply of rags or paper towels.

1.         Back at the engine, remove the support rod from the steering/tilt tube. Clean out the steering/tilt tube. Really clean it out. Old grease can harden and needs to be removed, not to mention the fact that old, dirty grease will contaminate the new grease. Do yourself a favor and get rid of the old stuff before you re-grease.

2.         Grease the support rod liberally and insert back into the tilt tube. Also grease the tilt tube itself, as well as the support bracket holes. Put a little grease on the threads before you insert the washers and tighten up the nuts. (DO NOT remove the tiller bolt to re-grease the cylinder.)

3.         Check the tightness of ALL fasteners and fittings throughout the steering system. Yes, this means getting under or behind the dash to check the back of the steering helm pump.

4.         Remove the steering wheel and re-grease the wheel shaft.

5.         Lastly, inspect the hydraulic oil for cleanliness. Flush the system with clean oil if it’s dirty. (This may be a task best handled by your dealer, as they’ve probably got an automatic pump that will refill and re-bleed your system.)

DO A QUICK INSPECTION BEFORE EVERY TRIP

Let’s go over those system checks you can perform before every trip.

Level Check - Check the fluid level in the highest helm pump. If the level is a little low, simply top it off with hydraulic fluid. (Take your time and keep a rag handy so you don’t make a mess.)

Turn Test - Once you’ve checked the levels and replaced the cap in the helm pump, turn the wheel smartly from side to side. You’re looking for immediate response from the engine or drive unit. If there’s a noticeable lag in engine movement when you turn the wheel, you’ve got a problem somewhere in the system that needs to be corrected. Be sure you run this check on all the steering wheels on your boat, including the autopilot, if you’ve got one.

Hose Check - Next, take a minute to look at all the hoses and fittings. You’re looking for wear, kinks and/or leaks. A hose might be rubbing against a bulkhead and creating a weak spot. Maybe a fitting has worked loose and there’s a little leak starting. Catching these problems early makes for easy fixes.

Ram Inspection - Lastly, inspect the steering tube and support rod, take a look at the exposed ram shaft and make sure everything moves smoothly as the engine pivots from side to side. Take a close look at the seals and wipers, and check for any bends, nicks or damage to the steering ram shaft. (If you boat in saltwater, make sure you’ve installed a grounding strap to protect from galvanic corrosion.)

If you notice a leak, a kink, a catch or any other “hitch in your getalong”, figure out what’s causing the problem and get it fixed before heading out for the day.

Steering is a vitally important control system on your boat. The ability to safely and confidently maneuver at speed or in close quarters makes for an enjoyable – and safe – day on the water. A little attention to your steering system before every trip, and regular maintenance will assure you of proper operation – and long lasting performance.

For more information on care and maintenance of your hydraulic steering system, be sure to check out our website at www.teleflexmarine.com, or call our technical service line at 604-248-3858. And don’t hesitate to contact your local boat dealer if you suspect a problem. They’ve got the expertise and the tools to get you safely back on the water.

I received a query from one of our readers today that is worth sharing. Although not too popular at the moment, this fellow is working on a boat with a 32 volt DC system. Some years ago these systems were quite popular. Not so much today. I spend more time answering questions about how to convert the older boats from 32 volts to either 12 or 24 volts. The question regards the use of conductance battery testers such as the one I use shown here:

Midtronics EXP Conductance Battery Tester

Anyow, the question goes like this:

Hello Ed,
I am a student working with a 32volt system and wanted to ask you for your advice with the system. Specifically how you might diagnose overall battery bank health with a conductance tester. Is it possible to do or must you break the bank apart into its components analyzing each component battery individually? I have very limited experience with such a tester but want to develop an understanding of its usefulness. If it is the case that the tester is not applicable to the 32volt system then I am relying on the congregated info regarding each battery within the system and as such I am interested in your approach when summarizing the overall health. I guess ultimately I am more interested in your tactical approaches with the larger 32volt systems then individual battery analyses. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Zander

Bad news Zander. All of the units I'm familiar with only work with either 6 or 12 volt batteries. My EXP unit shown above will also test 12 and 24 volt charging systems. I believe that your 32 volt system is using 8 volt batteries, which these days are quite rare in the marine realm. They are still used in electric golf cart applications for extreme deep cycle applications. So, even if you isolate each of the batteries in the system and test them individually, I'm not aware of a conductance tester that will work with them. Maybe another reader has found one that does?

As for the value of separating each battery in a paralleled system and using a conductance tester I have done it on new installations that weren't too large to see how it would play out. As long as your tester can be programmed for the maximum cumulative CCA that the parallel combined batteries are rated at, you can give it a go. My unit is good for a maximum of 3000 CCA. But frankly, I don't recommend this method as the most accurate. Small things like cable connections can make this dicey. These meters are really quite sensitive to any electrical resistance that exists and even a slightly loose battery cable clamp can throw your readings off.

Last week we answered a question submitted by Joe the electrician. So, he had been asked by a potential customer to wire up a floating residence that was simply described to me as a barge that someone was going to build a house on and move into. Unclear to me was whether this was going to become a mobile craft or just sit parked on one place forever. Turns out it may make a difference in how he may approach the wiring questions Joe presented to me. After publishing the post where I basically advised treating the whole thing as a boat, a friend contacted me to remind me about an area found within the national electrical code that addresses "floating structures". I usually think of these as casinos and such but frankly tend to forget that there are areas of the US, such as Seattle where year round live aboards do live on small floating sturctures that never move. Not really boats at all with any of the associated dynamics that we need to think of on boats. So, by way of comparison, compare the photo below of yet another liveaboard found on the waterways of Amsterdam to the photo in my Joe answer below.

The boat shown above is my idea of a boat. It's got a pointy end (bow), its got a rudder.. It was originally designed to move through the water. So, as far as I'm concerned its a boat vs. a "floating structure". Now I'm not sure if this boat has moved from its berth in many years or not. It was pretty clear to me that someone was indeed living on board as we went by it.

So, back to Joe's original questions about the ype of wire to use, grounding systems and the like. I guess you need to answer the basic question first....is your potential customers craft a boat or a floating structure. If the determination is that its a floating structure, you can save a lot of money going with the NEC wiring recommendations.

We received a great query from a reader just the other day that needs sharing. Joe is a land based electrician that has been asked by a client to do some rewiring on a houseboat that the customer is actually building on to an existing steel barge platform. It could end up looking as elegant as the one shown in the photo below that I took of a typical Amsterdam houseboat found along the canals routed throughout the city.

Amsterdam house boat at its most elegant. Not bad little harbor cruisers tied up to it either!

So, to Joe's questions. He begins by asking about a main circuit breaker for the system coming into the boat, but also, his customer is installing a rather large on board generator. Joe, yes, a double pole main breaker is required and a GFI (ground fault interupter is a good idea. Today, use an ELCI. To learn more about those and get a brochure that describs the installation, go to our sponsor here, Blue Sea Systems (http://bluesea.com/)  to get all the details.

Joe asks about grounding. For that you really need to get a look through ABYC's E-11 standard that describes the requirements for on board AC and DC systems. Joe, you can purchase a copy of that by going to our website at: www.abycinc.org You really want to look over this standard before you dive into this project.

Joe asked about using household wire or boat cable for this job. House wire is single strand and forbidden for use on boats. Boat cable, which is multi-stranded is the only way to go here.

Joe, please spend the few dollars on purchasing E-11 and get the answers and detail you need to do this job correctly and safely! And, thanks for having the foresight to ask about this important issue.