[C320-list] Lithium vs. golf cart

[Jack Brennan]

Hi Troy:

I think all sailors will have lithium in five years or so. It’s just a better battery. But, in the short term, the complications and unclear hazards and cost make it difficult to decide.

My goal is simple. I want to wake up in the morning with enough juice left to avoid killing the batteries. Ideally, I should be able to go two days with no charging, although it’s unlikely that I will get nothing from my solar panels in sunny Florida.

There’s a part of me that likes GC2 because it has been around and is a known quantity. I know I can get two days out of a set of four. My charging system is fully capable of handling them. Normally, solar will fully recharge them over the course of a day of sailing.

Still … three lithium 100 amp batteries would be ideal. I just worry that my charging system will not be able to dump in enough amps to make them worthwhile. If I had the means to produce 60 or 80 amp hours, yeah. But the 15 or 20 I get from solar? I’m not sure there’s a lot of difference in charging time.

I think the industry will come up with better alternators that can charge lithium quickly without stealing too much horsepower from the diesel. (I like being able to motor at 6.5 knots.) I think solar will continue to get much more efficient.

I’m just thinking out loud here with no firm opinions. I’m going to do one more weekend trip with my house bank of three group 24s and see how low they get (11.9 last weekend) before I pull the trigger on something.

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, Fl.






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