AGM batteries if discharged?

[cardude01]

"I wonder how I’m going to lash the mast down"

Use care as masts may be repaired by splicing, even the old 12 meter boats had spliced masts with big !!! loads.

No Fear crossing , without the mast the side to side motion will be quicker , but you have a basic single engine cruiser , like most cruisers..

Yeah, back to the ole “rolly polly”. [emoji30]

 

[Seevee]

Cardude,


Easy to equalize your Lifelines. I have them, too. Here's the link to the process:


https://lifelinebatteries.com/2015/10/can-i-equalize-agm-batteries/



Basically,

"Our batteries should be equalized at 15.5-16.3 volts for 6-8 hours"


Also, the Lifelines are second to none as for quality and great tech support. They answer their phone and give great info: (909) 599-7816 CA https://lifelinebatteries.com


Concord makes the Lifelines and also makes top quality aircraft batteries. I've been using them for close to 20 years and getting 6 to 7 years out of their aircraft batteries.


Good luck with the boat and keep us posted.

 

[Ski in NC]

500Ah bank with nothing on but bilge pumps should be plenty "up" after 30d.

Do have an adapter for your 30A shore connector to go into an extension cord? That would be handy to power up the charger if you can find a local to loan/rent a portable gennie. Charge batts while still on the hard.

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

CarDude _ let us know how it goes. Good luck with the batteries and the crossing.

 

[cardude01]

Will do. If I have some wifi or enough cell signal I will try to post up some pics of the damage.

 

[Raybo]

They are salvageable

My four 31M-AGM 100ah batteries were deeply drained (less than 2vdc)when I left her in Pensacola last summer. I put them on a slow charge as recommended by Interstate Batteries. They are fully functional with minimal damage.

 

[Martin J]

One thing about agm's any reputable battery place can get a fully discharged battery back. The trick is not to use a modern charger, if you connect and trickle charge nothing will happen. What you need to do is to overcome the discharged resistance. You need to put a clamp ammeter on the cable , charge at a high rate / voltage and watch the ammeter, it will be zero and slowly climb over a period of time, adjust the rate to some 10amps going in and then back the volts amp down, till you are charging at a normal high rate. Not unusual to be starting charging at 16-18 volts to wake the batteries to start. I've seen sunken batteries recovered using this method.

 

[FF]

For fine dining bring a weeks worth of MRE's .

 

[cardude01]

The batteries were only at 18% when I got here, but after about 8 hours on the charger they are up to 65%, so that’s good news I guess. They are going to try to launch me later today if they can get all the boats behind me moved. One sailboat right behind me is in terrible shape. When the mast broke away it took a big chunk of the deck with it.


Overall, the island and yard look worse than I imagined.





My boat had a little more damage than I knew about, but I expected that. My rear roof support is bent/broken, and my engine hoist was hit by something and is bent beyond repair.



One of the jack stands at the stern was under such pressure that it had indented the hull a bit, but when they removed it and put up another stand the hull seemed to snap back. That has me a little worried. I got into the lazarette and inspected it and can’t see any damage, so maybe it’s Ok?


My plan is to try to come back Monday and Tuesday. Looks like a big front coming Wednesday. The weather here is supposed to be bad Saturday and Sunday but if not terrible I might try to make some headway Sunday.

 

[rslifkin]

I'd definitely get a good hull surveyor to check out the area where that jackstand was to try to confirm that there's no delamination or anything that needs to be repaired. If it all seems ok inside and out it should at least be fine to make the trip home.

For the batteries, they'll likely come back with minimal negative impact. They've been partially charged for a while which isn't ideal, but they weren't left stone dead. Just let them charge as long as practical before leaving so they get some time to get good and topped off after reaching float.

 

[cardude01]

This spot where one jack stand was popped some bottom paint completely off. OK to be in the water like that for a few days?

 

[rslifkin]

You might lose a bit more paint around it, but it shouldn't hurt the hull. Flexing far enough to de-bond the paint definitely says it needs to be checked out carefully when possible, however (assuming that's the stand where the flexing happened).

If you can get your hands on some suitable bottom paint, you could just sand down the surrounding edges a bit and throw some paint on that spot so it's not bare for the trip.

 

[cardude01]

This was not the same stand where I saw the flexing. Evidently some of these stands were moving around a bit during the storm. They were still holding the boat up when I arrived but many were at strange angles.

 

[rslifkin]

Ah, if it's just a matter of paint having stuck to the stand and de-bonding from the hull, I see no reason to worry. Just chip off any loose paint around it, sand the edges of the paint and throw some new paint on that spot when you can.

 

[cardude01]

Ok sounds good. I got launched. No leaks I can see. Main and generator run. Cold AC!

Going to try to leave for FL Monday and cross the GS Tuesday if the current weather forecast holds. Too windy Saturday and Sunday.

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

Congrats! Know you are happy the engine and gen (and a/c) are running ok. Good luck with the crossing.

 

[dhays]

Good new so far. Please check all the bilge pumps to make sure they are working before you head out.

 

[cardude01]

Pumps working. Check out my new custom mast arrangement.



I need to come up with a way to secure my board. It’s holding pressure against the railing and the mast stay in an attempt to keep the mast from wiggling and possibly breaking all the way. There is just a little bit of aluminum left holding it up there, plus the sail.

 

[rslifkin]

I'd be tempted to lash the 2 pieces of mast together just above the radome. That should minimize any front-back wiggling going on up there and reduce the risk of the pieces becoming separate.

 

[cardude01]

I found a better board for a more stable brace. Will also lash that board to the mast stay.

I don’t have a ladder or mast steps (will have those next time) so can’t get up high to the spreaders yet, but yeah I would like to lash the two pieces of the mast together somehow so they don’t disconnect and come crashing down. The more I look I think the only thing holding it together at the break is the in-mast sail. That’s probably pretty strong tho right?

 

[rslifkin]

Yeah, assuming it doesn't get chafed to bits, the sail should be plenty strong enough to keep the pieces from fully separating. It just won't prevent them from moving around a bit.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. cd. Woo-hoo! She floats! Best of success with the crossing.

 

[Larry M]

Greetings,
Mr. cd. Woo-hoo! She floats! Best of success with the crossing.

What he said!

Bill: All things considered, I think you’re doing great considering the circumstances. I bet you’re sleeping better at night.

 

[cardude01]

Here is my proposed “float plan”. I’m getting the wind info from Windy. Does it look reasonable? Sunday will be the most iffy day as I will be fighting some wind early, but it’s supposed to lay down a bit later in the afternoon. I’m hoping since I’ll be in the lee of Abaco for the first few hours I’ll be OK.

Day One
Depart GTC Sunday 10/20 mid-late morning so wind down down a bit. Destination Great Sale Cay if winds not too bad. If I can’t cross from Fox Town to Great Sale because of wind/chop will stop and anchor around Fox Town or maybe more secluded Cave Cay. Great Sale is 51 miles so should be there around 6-7pm depending on when I leave.

Day Two
Monday 10/22
If I made it to Great Sale I will shoot for the West End Marina (but might just anchor out in basin if allowed since I will leave super early for crossing to FL). The marina is 61 miles from Great Sale and should take 8.5-9.5 hours. If I did not make it to GS I will head for Mangrove Cay or maybe just anchor around Sand Cay just north of West End if winds stay low for the night.

Day Three
Cross from either West End marina (hopefully) or anchored out around Sand Cay just off tip of West End. Crossing to Lake Worth inlet and will anchor near the inlet just south. Lake Worth 1 anchorage on Active captain. The crossing is about 60 miles and should take me 8.5-9 hours depending on current and amount of crabbing I have to do. Will leave at first light so I can get anchored before nightfall.

 

[dhays]

I found a better board for a more stable brace. Will also lash that board to the mast stay.

I don’t have a ladder or mast steps (will have those next time) so can’t get up high to the spreaders yet, but yeah I would like to lash the two pieces of the mast together somehow so they don’t disconnect and come crashing down. The more I look I think the only thing holding it together at the break is the in-mast sail. That’s probably pretty strong tho right?

View attachment 95470

That looks pretty good. If you could secure the two parts together at the break it would be better, but you can only do what you can do. There is a wire running down the luff of the main so that is very strong. I would just be nice if your mainsail could survive.

Anyway, the boat looks really good all things considered.

 

[High Wire]

Cat 5 tested!

Radio working?
GPS working?
Nav lights working?
Pesky customs stuff in order to bring her back?
Godspeed!

 

[Larry M]

Bill: I'd get as early a start as you can each day. You're on the eastern side of the time zone and days are getting shorter. Today the sun sets at Forth Worth at 6:49 and last light is at 7:12 pm. I find it easier to leave in the dark than it is to arrive in it.

 

[cardude01]

Yeah without my radar I’m scared of the dark. Tried to leave Great Sale at 6AM today and couldn’t do it. Will leave at the earliest possible time tomorrow morning.

I’m thinking maybe 9-10 hours tomorrow crossing so def cutting it close.

 

[FF]

"This spot where one jack stand was popped some bottom paint completely off. OK to be in the water like that for a few days?"

When finally hauled in a boat yard , I would block the boat so the old blocking spots are clear.

I would then use a chemical stripper that is GRP OK to clean the pad areas.

I would look for cracking from a point overload , as well as a ground exit from a lightning strike.

IF all looks well a, music tuning fork held against the surface should sound like the fork held in the near area.

 

[cardude01]

Ok, thanks for the tips Fred.