Friday the 19th of February, 2010
Went to the boat yesterday with my neighbor's borrowed 1/2" drill to drill the 3 5/8" hole in the aft cabin bulkhead to mount the ABYC recommended battery switch. I've included the picture of the drill. It was my neighbors fathers drill " A SUNBEAM DRILLMASTER" I'd heard of Sunbeam Mixmaster kitchen mixers. But, I never knew Sunbeam made drills! The drill worked perfectly and didn't break my wrist, as 1/2" drills are famous for doing. So, another trip to HURDS HARDWARE and I had the correct screws to hold the switch to the bulkhead. I also mounted the combiner relay that automatically closes to charge the starter and house batteries when the engine starts and isolates them when the motor is off. No more remembering to change the switch to charge both batteries and remembering to switch it to an isolated position when the motor is off. Won't be too long until I un-winterize the motor and see if everything works out ok.
I visited with Mark from Amazing Grace. He wanted to show me his battery management scheme, fuel bleeding setup and engine oil transfer pump for easier oil changes. Mark has done lots of work to Amazing Grace, a 40' Marine Trader with 120 hp Lehman. We like those Lehman.
I didn't do much more as I need the cables that I had ordered to complete the battery switch and inverter connections. Still pondering NOT using an 8D battery for starting. Mark uses a group 24 battery. It's way too small in theory. But, in actual starting situations the Lehman starts in about 1/2 a revolution. So, the 24 is fine. Mark also has a HUGE golf cart battery bank (8) 6 Volt batteries in one 12v configured bank. Gazillion amp hour capacity and could be used to start the engine if needed. Anyhow, I used some small pipe clamps to secure the nice 2/0 cables that Deltaville Boat Yard made up for me in November. I got the positive cable connected to the newly installed battery switch. That is it until my shipped cables come in.