seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

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seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby peaze on Sat Nov 15, 2014 12:11 pm

Hello!

First of all introducing myself in one line "new PocketShip builder around campus, in Rio, Brazil"; second I would like to congratulate all and each one of you whom have post in this forum, either as Q´ers or A´ers and thanks for the tips I was/am able to pinch...

Now, I am seeking suggestions for electrical scheme and which toys to install or not to install (fewer the better as for my philosophy), etc.
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Re: seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby mtsailor on Sat Nov 15, 2014 7:21 pm

Hi. Simple is good for me, too. I put in a car battery and a 15 amp solar charger. A marine DC panel feeds running lights and an automatic bilge pump (which has not been used...just in case). The cabin is lighted by stick-on LED lights and an oil lamp, so there are no wires tacked to the cabin walls or overhead. I have a battery powered anchor light which can be hoisted up the mast and a cigarette lighter outlet allows running and charging of a marine handheld radio, cell phone and my ham handheld radio (callsign KA7G). A wristwatch-type GPS provides speed and compass info when needed.

John at CLC published an excellent electrical wiring schematic of PocketShip #1 on here a while back.

Good luck.
Jer (aka mtsailor) - s/v Carlyn J, Flathead lake, Montana.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtsailor95/
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Re: seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby peaze on Sun Nov 16, 2014 8:48 am

Thank you Jer

I will check John´s post, actually I´ve searched but I guess because I might was on the stupid excited mode did not see it -- do it again with more care.

Your boat is superb and elegant, congrats!!!

luis peazê
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Re: seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby Pascal on Sun Nov 16, 2014 4:13 pm

I was able to find the wire layout for Pocketship 1. John at CLC sent it to me awhile back. I am sorry to say that I cannot attached the file :oops: . Send me an email at [email protected] and I will send it to you that way. Good luck with your build.
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Re: seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby peaze on Sun Nov 16, 2014 5:19 pm

How nice of you, Pascal (Hey, I used to program Pascal back in the late 70´s early 80´s)
I´ll email you, thanks a lot.
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Re: seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby craig on Sun Nov 16, 2014 7:43 pm

I know the diagram you are referring to. The search feature on this forum is broken. To search, I use Bing.com. Type your search term in the box, then enter "site:pocketship.net" to restrict your query to this site. I entered "electric layout site:pocketship.net" and the desired post is third from the top (this post is second):

https://www.bing.com/search?q=site:pock ... orm=APMCS1
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=95
Titania, launched January 2015
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Re: seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby peaze on Mon Nov 17, 2014 3:55 am

Great Craig!
I was able to get a pdf from Pascal and I guess I should place here for others, will after decide/try my scheme and left my modest suggestion; your trick reminds me the time we had no keyboard on computers, need to puch cards and talk to the machine via hexdecimal alfa language, good times. Fair winds and happy sailing.
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Re: seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby truenorth on Thu Nov 20, 2014 11:10 am

The electrical scheme can be very simple or very complex. Officially, because of its size, if you don't have a motor, you do not need any electrical on board at all per the U.S. Coast Guard. You can use a battery-powered flashlight to light the sails at night and you can use LEDs and other such lights for convenience. However, that's boring. Nearly all PocketShips today have the battery in the forward locker with wires running from it to at least the forward navigation lights.

The trick on PocketShip isn't what to run but how to run. Exposed wiring is ugly and dangerous. Most builders go out of their way to develop schemes to hide wires. There are three ways to run from the stern to the forward locker. The first is to run the wires through the seatbacks before you seal them and into the cabin along the seam where the topsides meet the hull panel inside the cabin. The wires can then be covered with a molding or some hollowed wood. The downside is it's a visible molding (which isn't bad at all - most boats have this); the upside is it's very easy to do and if you need to access the wires, you can get to them.

Another way is to run under the floorboards. In this scheme, any wiring from the stern comes through the lazarette wall (what would be bulkhead 8) generally under the footwell. The wires then run along the cockpit deck from underneath and then under the sole (floorboards). You should house the wires in some conduit to avoid contamination. The wires run through holes in the floors (remember "floors" on PocketShip are those triangle support pieces) until finally reaching the forward locker.

The final way is to run wires through a hole under the floorboard at the base of the lazarette compartment. This is still bulkhead 8 but the advantage here is that there are no visible wires at all and therefore nothing to get hit and get loose. The downside is extra care must be made so ensure that the holes you create are properly sealed as this is a low point in the boat and the lazarette must be "inviobly watertight" in the words of John C. Harris. Otherwise, water can get into the cabin if you're not careful. The key is to ensure everything you do is accessible in case of the inevitable failure. Believe it or not, this was the most complicated part of the whole process. It included such things as extra lift outs for the rear cabin sole, industrial-grade conduit to house the wires, multiple bus bars and redundancy, and fuses/kill switches throughout.

My boat uses #3 to get wires forward. I'd say among PocketShips I'm aware of, mine is probably the most electrically complex. In hindsight, maybe too much, but it is what it is now!

Aft/Stern: Stern light, horn, bilge pump in laz area (both horn and bilge pump have hot connections), GPS, rear speakers (installed in bulkhead 8), RAM 3 VHF handheld, 2-12V "lighter" sockets. Also have small speakers installed in the cockpit lockers.
Forward/Bow: Navigation lights, forward speakers, cabin lights, radio, VHF, 2-12V "lighter" sockets, second bilge pump
Mast: 360 anchor light, VHF antenna embedded in mast. I may do a steaming light and/or a deck light on the mast if it'll fit.
Recharge: 2 solar panels and a controller (essential). Considering a shore power set up.
Battery box: has 2-12V lighter sockets here, too.
Runs through a battery kill switch and an 8 panel marine circuit box.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

Developing my scheme was interesting and fun for me. I tested all the connections before sealing everything up and so far so good. But if you don't like wires don't do this because it's a lot of work. I plan to take my boat offshore, sailing on Lake Superior and perhaps the Bahamas for days at a time, so I wanted the extra comfort and protection of a robust system. You can get a sense of the work by visiting my blog here:

http://sunmonkeypocketship.blogspot.com ... lectronics
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Re: seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby peaze on Sat Nov 22, 2014 9:52 am

Thank you Truenorth, I also am looking the link I´ve found posted by JH " viewtopic.php?f=3&t=95&p=674#p674 " Hey, looks like you are having fun sailing and that´s the way to go, Cheers!
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Re: seeking suggestions for electrical scheme

Postby hood on Mon May 18, 2015 3:34 pm

electrical system
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