Electrical System
Installing a new electrical system
Every single wire and electrical component was removed from the boat, without exception, to make way for an entirely new electrical system. I designed the new system to meet several key requirements:
Provide both 110v and 220v AC & 12v DC power
Support an all electric galley (removing the hazard of LPG from the vessel)
Capable of full autonomy for extended periods in remote locations
Remain simple and user friendly
Utilise modern navigation tools
Stay within budget
Installed to ABYC specifications
At the heart of Trim’s electrical system are two separate battery banks:
A 450 amp hour house bank consisting of 3 x L16 Firefly Carbon Foam AGM deep cycle batteries.
A 900 amp hour ‘heavy load’ bank consisting of 8 x Trojan T105 6v FLA deep cycle batteries.
The ‘heavy load’ bank was sized appropriately to accommodate the large AC demands of an all electric galley, capable of drawing up to 300 amps @ 12v through two inverters. The separate house bank supplies 12v to all critical systems including lighting, navigation, autopilot, pumps and auxiliary appliances. Each bank is monitored separately via its own shunt, with all the data available through the Victron connect App over Bluetooth.
Charging inputs include: 1kw of solar panels through two Victron MPPT charge controllers, 400w D400 wind generator, 135A alternator on the main engine, 100A Mastervolt battery charger powered by 2200 watt portable generator or shore power.
A Vesper XB8000 AIS unit forms the backbone of the electronic navigation system, allowing all essential NMEA2000 data, Including AIS targets, depth and wind, to be broadcast over the network and displayed on a tablet or computer.
I built all circuits to meet or exceed the requirements outlined by the ABYC, utilising heat shrink and tinned copper, crimped terminals throughout the installation. Circuit protection was always given the utmost attention to ensure that every circuit on the boat was fused appropriately.
