12v or 24v
Well I went 12v, and just because that is what my previous boat was running, half way through I was not sure if I had made the right choice, but too late then. Some of the runs are long and been a Cat this is made worse in the hull furthest away from the distribution board. Anything larger would be better to go 24v. Its not really anymore expensive and many of the wires can be thinner 1 volt of voltage drop is much worse on 12v other than 24v. Thinner wiring means lighter too.
Batteries and Charging
I have 450ah house bank (3 * 150ah), the batteries are PowerCell AGM Deep Cycle mounted under the saloon seats
Separate Batteries for the 2 engines and the Genset, around 80 ah I think.BR>
Charging I rely on the standard engine alternators, did consider high output units but so far as I have had to run the engines quite a bit, the standard ones have been OK. I also have a 25amp battery charger, which was a late addition but would recommend one, its a 3 stage charger so is designed to vary the charge current as required. Great for when you pull into a marina after you have been at anchor for a few days and the batteries are getting a bit low. Just plug her in, use it when the genset is running as well. Also I have 2 120w solar panels that charge both the house bank and the genset batteries.
Genset
Almost bought a Lombardini the same as the engines, and looked at the Panda sets, but in the end was tempted by a Diecon set which is distributed by TNT. The package works fine but it physically around twice as big as the Panda unit. Even though I built a sound proof cabinet for the genset the installation is still quite noisy. Not too bad when you are sailing, so the idea is to run the unit before you get to your tranquil anchorage to heat the water for showers. Next time I'd buy a Panda, smaller, quieter but cost almost 3 times as much.
240v
I have 240 volts throughout. An invertor for low power stuff (1800w), Genset for high current demands and shore power for use when in the Marina. Provision was made for an airconditioner - ducting and wiring, but the compressor never purchased and really have only thought I would have used it once, so not sure of its cost effectiveness. Maybe for long stays in a marina during hot summer days would be of benefit.
