[C320-list] Start Battery

[Warren Updike]

Welcome to the club, Mark and wife. 
First, let me confirm your decision on the C320 and this list. Our list is one of the most valuable resources for 320 owners. The best way to search the list is here: groups.google.com/group/c320-list  It's a better search engine than on the website. 
In asking for info, make sure, as you did here, that you reference your hull no. and engine as things change from year to year and what applies to a newer model may not apply to your #8.
We've had our #62 for 12 years and have made a number of upgrades including the starting battery. There are two approaches described on the website for the battery upgrade. However, as technology and equipment has changed over the years, there may be better options today than when some of this stuff was penned. Like, using a jump-pack instead of a start battery. However, I'm not sorry I have the start battery as it was 9 years old before it died. Also, in my upgrade, the start battery is not reserved and is used for starting all the time. I'm sending you separately an article I did no our battery/charging upgrade for reference. Just consider every decision in design against the various ideas you can get from this list. 
BTW, if your engine cranks slowly on battery, have a load test done on them as they may be on the way out.
Enjoy your 320,

Warren and Pattie Updike
1994 C320 "Warr de Mar" #62
Middle River, Chesapeake Bay

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Cole [mailto:boatnboot at q.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2016 5:00 PM
To: Catalina 320 Association
Subject: [C320-list] Start Battery

Hello!

I’m new to the group and this is my first post.  My wife and I just bought a 1993 320, hull #8, and enjoyed sailing her this summer, but now it is time to tackle a few upgrades.

Has anyone added a start battery to their boat?  I currently have two 4D house batteries but no dedicated start battery.  We want to spend about half of our cruising time on the hook so I would feel a lot better with a start battery. The boat has a relatively new Xantrex charger that will handle 3 separate batteries so I think I’m good there.  The engine (Perkins M30) fires right up if I’m still plugged into shore power and the charger is on, but takes a long time to start and turns over slowly if starting from the batteries.  The 4Ds are a few years old and I’m about to go through an equalization process with them, so maybe that will help…  Any suggestions on the installation?

Thanks for any info!

Mark Cole
Fiddler’s Green
Tacoma, WA