Gel to DIY Lithium, Sailboat Upgrade Part 1! (Ep. 64)

[@escheytt9326]

Amazing success resulting from your perseverance, knowledge and desire to "WIN", great job.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks!

[@constable49]

Madi, I love you, not in a wierd way, please never aspire to become more "professional." That is a huge compliment, I can't wait for your next video. You have a 74 year old Austraian fan so grateful for your honest, refreshing, down to earth presentation. Please do not aspire to present everything other than the way you do it now. As an Aussie It ruly appreciate the vocabulary. You are a real treat and a treasure. Can't get enough. Please keep them coming.

[@davidross976]

Madi, your smile and enthusiasm are infectious. Your hard work is paying off. I admire the courage it takes to take things apart and know that somehow you will make it all work again. You rock!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks, David. It was a hell of a feeling...

[@sl0rion]

That spark of joy when your batteries went live was epic...as one who has been watching for a while, I felt it along with you! Prost!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Prost, Chris!

[@Twelvestonestacking]

Goodonyas girl...go get'm tiger! Well done!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks, Scott! ^_^

[@mikeunum]

Haha, i can imagine now how you disambled your doll. At the end the head wot go back to it's place. 37:54 - I can imagine this too. That moment is special. Never forget it.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

"Oh look, the arm is on the neck and the head is on the knee again... huh". Pretty quickly my folks realized lego was the best toy for me. haha.

[@doug1olson]

To cut that battery cover plate, you could drill a few small holes from the bottom and use those to draw the cut line on top.

[@germo35]

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

That's a very Cheshire cat emoji, haha!

[@germo35]

@@TheDigitalMermaid So glad to watch your progress! Keep on pushing! If you ever sail to the Canary Islands you will be welcome!

[@hottractor1999]

You were so calm and collected when you turned your batteries on, amazing restraint. :)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Haha! By my standards, that was pretty restrained. :P

[@darkhorsegarage9623]

So much fun listening to your internal dialogue. This is fun learning about the process.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Heh, I never thought my "talking to yourself" would turn out to be a good thing. :P

[@upnorthandpersonal]

Hope your summer building out the boat will be full of positive events such as when your battery first powered something real :)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Holy crap that's generous!! The boat build is getting off to a slow start, between trying to catch up with videos, house and $dayjob, and kinda taking a breath from the boat. Starting to get the itch, so I should be back down there before too much longer! Thanks again my friend, that's a hell of a kind superthanks! ^_^

[@scottsorby7966]

Well done Maddy that's a hell of an accomplishment especially under the pressure of darkness and unfavourable weather

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks Scott! That was a really long day...

[@SevenBates]

I got so excited at the pump coming on and then you were beaming at the camera too, and it was so awesome. Congratulations 👏

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

It was such a relief... I was so tired, and when it came on, I knew I had the worst behind me. :)

[@pearse500]

Love the tenacity grit and determination, things get done by people with an abundance of those qualities. More important the ability to enjoy the benefits with unfettered outpouring of emotion 👏

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I grew up in a place on Canada's east coast where I was surrounded by people with an abundance of those characteristics. I'm honoured to have someone they see that in me, thank you. :)

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

HOWdy T-D-M Madi, Pulling the "TRIGGER" on the Batteries Thanks COOP the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA ...

[@harrisji]

I learned to love Japanese saws.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Cutting on the pull stroke is sooooo much less annoying!

[@horstkotte6114]

One Tip: The Breaker/Switch Panel is a great place to selectively power some circuits while working on others. The trick is to put a battery in front of it and connect it to ground and outgoing circuits (with proper or preferably pedantic circuit protection). For powering some led lights, I just run a very small fuse to reduce the risk of something getting warm if I short stuff out. Also great for troubleshooting and much cheaper than a power probe or similar.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

So, funny you should mention... I was helping a friend try to chase the source of excess galvanic corrosion on his boat, and he put _EVERYTHING_ on individual fuses. I thought it was a touch overkill, but wow was it handy in that case. So my current plan is to have most breakers feed little distribution blocks with those automotive-style fuses. Like one break for lights, then a fuse of each actual light. Use the breaker to isolate a section, and use the individual fuses to isolate the exact circuit.

[@horstkotte6114]

@@TheDigitalMermaid Yeah, this seems a bit excessive but might be less work depending on how many tries/disconnected cables are needed to find the problem. A buddy of mine really is into that topic, fearing his aluminum boat corrodes away. He has no permanently attached sacrificial anodes and a voltage normal to measure the current state of affairs. The thing is so sensitive that it catches if the stainless ladder is in the water or not.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

@@horstkotte6114 I don't plan to move on from Mermaid's Rest any time soon, but eventually if I ever "upgrade", it would be to an ice-rated aluminium hulled sailboard, like a Bestaever. So while I've got a plastic boat, it strikes me as a good time to learn "best practices". As bad as galvanic current is, on a full electric yacht with an aluminium hull... yeesh.

[@tomgarbrecht6851]

Danke!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

DUDE!!!

[@johnxrv]

one small red diode turns on and you have a mental moment, but could not help smiling along whit you :-) I all so knowh that kind of relife and satifaction when ones work shows the wanted result. But i can all so see that der i a lot of cabel work, and probely all so multimeter work ahead off you. Good luck :-) willing to bedt you will use bad words a few more time before the boat is converted to electric and ready for real use. Looking forward too folowing the progres.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Dude... That little red diode meant so much!

[@dadzilla007]

That's one Rube Goldburg of wiring your fighting, Good Luck!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

As bad as it is, I've seen faaar worse of poor other people's boats, so I try to count my blessings.

[@zoe..d]

Never would have expected to see a Japanese hand saw whipped out to cut your necklace in half! I've always wondered how loud sailboats on the surface are (water lapping etc) to sonar equipment....

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Pulls saws like those have such thin kerfs, I love them for working in places where I want to lose as little material as possible.

[@KeritechElectronics]

That was total discombobulation! And a nice recombobulation too. Oh... set SCE to AUX :) The sentry charger looks pretty nice and old school, I'd love to see it up close. "No sparks, no drama" - your new catchphrase :)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

"SCE to AUX" - I didn't have that level of drama in this video, but I got a fair bit closer in a future video... ;)

[@loucinci3922]

Use the volt meter to follow and verify the incoming voltage. I'm sure you will find it. When you ripped that board in half, that support piece that held that board up (in the middle), consider screwing a 1x2 along the top to make it thicker to give the boards more meat to sit on. Will also give you more meat to take a screw to secure it down. Thanks for sharing

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Heh, exactly what I ended up doing. :) Found some scrap in the boat yard I could cut up to sister that board.

[@sidperry7748]

Well done Madi , it's hard work with limited tools at hand

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

That's boat life, haha! ^_^

[@StikDragon]

i'm amazed by how many wires and cables there are in there, you wouldn't think there would be that much stuff but it's a proper rat's nest, isn't it!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

There's SO MUCH MORE that's not seen in the engine bay! Rewiring the boat is going to be both a nightmare and soooo satisfying

[@russ_vee_jr4199]

ARGG! It's now 0558 Hrs on 10.02.2 here in New Hampster, USA. I should have been in bed hours ago. It's all your fault because I started watching your DC/DC Charger video, and the morning went downhill from there. HaHa (That's a Joke) I intend to go on the road full time, in my SUV, in the Spring/Summer of 2024, with the Alternator and Solar Panels charging the House Battery Pack. The new Victron DC/DC Charger has captured my fancy, so the title of your video grabbed me like a magnet. You learn your way through a new project like I have been doing for 61+ years, as taught to me by the USAF. Your Trouble Shooting/Problem Solving skills are excellent. You think your way through them and evaluate your options as you go. Skills not normally seen in a Gal. I subbed you about 10 minutes into your DC/DC video. I wish I'd subbed you 64 episodes earlier. I wonder how much sleep I'll miss watching from your #1 video up till now. YIKES! I only wish I'd found you 64 episodes ago, but being late is better than being never.......

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

haha, sorry about that! ^_^ Thanks for joining along, and good luck with your own "liveaboard" project!

[@charles.neuman18]

23:05 I can relate to enjoying taking things apart. Some toys weren't made to be taken apart. Springs and gears would fly out from who knows where. I don't know how some of these things were made. Sometimes I would buy things at yard sales just to take them apart. Pretty fun.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Ripping things apart was such a huge learning thing for me. Young hands trying to reassemble something slapped together in a factory is not a recipe for success, hehe.

[@ritchycamaro]

Wow Maddy, thats real hard work. Keeping everything safe even when tired, great. Qurious to see more!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks, Ritchy! I've already started on the next video. :)

[@smb3677]

Great episode Madi, exciting to see some real progress happening with your electric conversion 😃👍

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks, Shane! Still sooooo much to do :)

[@MrRicciwalker]

hi, I undertake this type of thing most days when fixing and designing boat systems and I too share the "will it work", "is everything connected", "will it go bang"…well done you. I would recommend a non contact nvc probe tool instead of multi meter for proof of ac voltage in the wire.. uni-t and pico tech make a good cheap one and some clamp meters have them on the end of the clamps.. I do enjoy stripping out the old wires and gear ready for the new kit. nice planning and execution. One other thing, if your worried about the engine exhaust elbow getting hot, you can go to a car shop and get some exhaust wrap or use a section of the fire blanket and stainless wire or pipe clips to hold it in place.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I've got a Klein inductive tester for checking for AC, actually. works a treat. In most cases though, the multimeter is already at hand, so I usually grab it instead of going and finding the inductive tester. The Exhaust was indeed wrapped in thermal wrap before the trip home, made a big difference.

[@mikeunum]

You can no straight the line or better the egde of every plate and repaint it all. @The Digital Mermaid - Combiner...look up the Citrix relais/combiner from Victron. You will find some drawings and some information forit how it works.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

If I ever need to use a combiner, I'll dig into it more. I don't suspect I will though, so for now, on to other tasks. So much to learn still. :)

[@billlindner]

Congratulations on getting your batteries up. I'm running 1120 aH (16 cells) LifePO4 batteries, on my Morgan 38 sailboat, in a 12v 4S (JKBMS) configuration. Working well. My setup is very condensed, with all Victron equipment. On your Multiplus, make sure you turn Storage Mode to off. It is for lead acid or AGM batteries. It is found under the Charger section on the multiplus using the MK3 usb adapter. I also have found a good sequence for activating all components. Start MPPT controller to fill Multiplus capacitors, then activate battery connection to bus, then Multiplus. Also, never enter a lazerette without disabling the lock or having someone with you.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Starting the MPPT to precharge the resistors is brilliant, thanks! And isn't 1120Ah flipping amazing on a boat! I couldn't believe how long it lasted in normal use...

[@billlindner]

Yes, all that capacity is amazing. One other thing I did was install a PWM controller to keep the starter lead acid batteries charged. It has four stage charging, was $20, and is powered by the lithium buses 24/7, instead of solar panels. Works well. I'll be doing the same thing to keep my windlass batteries charged. When running your solar panels consider a fused combiner box. The fuse sizing can be changed, if needed, for each of six legs to optimally maximize MPPT voltage and amperage. The combiner box can be placed in a convenient location for interfacing solar panel cables. Then just run a 6 awg wire from the box to your positive/negative lithium busses.

[@billtackett7512]

I feel your excitement. My project is nearing initial functionality too. It's a Thunderstruck 10KW in a Catalina 30. I've been working on her over a year now. The actual motor, controller, and throttle are due any day now and the 48V Lifepo pac is installed. Motor mounts and shaft coupling are installed.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

That's flipping awesome, Bill! 10kw is huge for a 30'er. I'll be very curious to hear what power levels get you to what output speeds when you're in the water! As I reply, the second most recent video I did was on why I chose the 10kw, but in it I talk about adding a 5kw secondary motor for low-speed efficiency reasons. I wonder if that might be of interest to you in your conversion. May I ask what you had in the boat before the conversion?

[@billtackett7512]

@@TheDigitalMermaid Calypso poet had an Atomic 4, rusted and seized when I bought her. Beyond repair. I found a small diesel engine for sale that was being pulled out of another Catalina 30. At first I thought that might be perfect, but when I found out he was pulling it to go electric it started me thinking. Maybe I should do that too. One year later and it's becoming reality. Happy New Year! Indeed.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

@@billtackett7512 Petrol/gasoline engines have no business in a boat... Good riddance to it. Go electric! It's not at all perfect, but the hassles that come with electric are, in my entirely biased opinion, but less annoying. :)

[@evelina3954]

Yay, well done! It's so much fun to follow along on your momentous occasion! You’re so inspirational 🥳♥

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks, Evelina. ^_^

[@georgef7754]

Excellent work. Well done.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks George!

[@Electronzap]

Nice job.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks! ^_^

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Have you started on your own boat stuff yet?

[@Electronzap]

@@TheDigitalMermaid It'd be cool to do boat stuff, but I've spent all the money that I can for a long time and I live in a Twin Cities suburb of Minnesota, so boat owning isn't cheap. My battery based videos don't do as well as my small circuit videos which simply reuse components that I already have. Maybe I'll add batteries and solar to small scale model boats set in a kid's pool at some point or something, and if that does well, expand on it.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Oh, I didn't see your boat videos! I'll have to take a look

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Err, battery videos. :)

[@dobrzpe]

lovin' your content, build, and enthusiasm! keep it up!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks! It honestly helps knowing folks are cheering me on. :D

[@Sjetonneke14]

You are much braver than I tearing out so many wires. You are certainly ‘electrifying’ So far you still burn diesel (gasoil) in my Yanmar 2GM20F. I don’t have such a spacious sailingboat 33.5 ft) to store such large batteries … I think.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Brave or stupid-but-lucky can sometimes look pretty similar. Haha. ^_^

[@alan-sk7ky]

Maddy you can cut straighter with one of the half round saws, assuming you have one ofc.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I did have one, and ya that would have been better. Next time! :)

[@johno186]

Something I'm bad at is liking videos. So I will go back and like a bunch in a batch. Having basically just reviewed your videos from the very beginning.... Madi you have made amazing progress as a presenter. From the early days of bad video and audio, and slightly stilted talking points, you have improved your tech and presentation skills by leaps and bounds. For your prepared sections, you are now smooth and polished, yet still have that every person vibe as you go to work. Swearing and all. {grin}

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I really appreciate that, John. KZbin's been weird lately and I've not gotten much traction with the last few videos. Things like this really do feed the algorithm and help, so than you. ^_^

[@alleycat5472]

Good vid. Thanks for sharing :)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks for commenting! I know it's a complete coincidence, but an old friend of mine who passed a long time ago used to use the nick 'alleycat'. Seeing your comment reminded me of him, a good memory. :)

[@alleycat5472]

@@TheDigitalMermaid Hi. Yes I got the nickname let me think, ah 61 years ago when I was 9. I use to walk the 7 foot fences. One day I jumped down and a set of twins, met me and called me Alleycat. So I have used it ever since, but most call me Alley. :)

[@patchmack4469]

that's funny what you said about taking toys apart and not putting back together, i'm a bit like that, i am currently scrapping a load of old new aircraft spares, precious metals etc, what's funny is its great taking it apart with zero intention to put back together, as it just gets separated and put into scrap bins, but you do learn about the workings and how things work, go together and so on, but i'm not very good at remembering, like some bits a take apart, i know i done it before, but how did i do it and with what tools - some bits just fail me, so i have to give some parts major abuse with the angle grinder, i win i love what your doing with the electrics, i do have a little OCD and seeing the 'rats nest' winds me up, using space more efficiently is another, like yourself, i am pretty sure at the end of the day you can make this work so much better, and save a lot of space too, that filter on the left side, looked a pig, i'd probably put it of the same white surface where the big clunky switch was, but you probably need that space, lets see, quite an education to see how boats were put together i been watching a young fella, channel 'in too deep' he bought a wrecked storm damaged boat, very nice, originally had nasty old gas gusher Detroit diesels and now has more efficient Cummings, but has also rewired the boat, ripped a lot out and replaced with LED, pretty cool what he does

[@davidstangeland4810]

I'm a former electronic tech and now rv repair. I'm sweating watching you remove all the wire so fast with limited labeling.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

When I rewire the boat, _everything_ will be labelled thoroughly. Not having any labels was a huge frustration. (and it'll be labelled properly, not with masking tape, lol)

[@davidkettell6236]

Ii is amazing to think that 90 percent of that wiring is just to keep lead acid batteries charged . Lithium is the only way to go on a modern sailboat.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Absolutely agree. That said, I suspect I'll have a lot of wire back in when done. haha.

[@davidkettell6236]

@@TheDigitalMermaid your huge grin and excitement is just delightful ,well done.

[@camielkotte]

Very exciting. Though, do you calculate the extra weight and sailing properties? To much weight in the back and you'll only sail decently downwind, upwind will be more difficult dependant on the ships balance. Too much weight in the front and sailing up wind might feel like a breeze but downwind sucks.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Considering weight has been a big topic, yup. I'm talking to a naval architect as well, and I'm just waiting of finally picking a motor (surprisingly hard...). Once I've settled on a motor, I can dive into the weight calcs. As it is, I'm likely going to shorten the two settee tanks so that I can move two batteries forward towards the mast step area. When the time comes, there will likely be a small video series on weight and windage concerns and mitigation.

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

You mentioned several times that there was SOLAR on the BOAT before you purchased it Am I confused ? I do not recall SEEING any solar panels or components ? COOP ...

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

The boat came with an old solar panel, which mounted on the davits. I had an accident where I crushed a davit, so I couldn't mount the panel anymore. The panel that came with the boat was really old and in poor shape, so I binned it. So yes, technically it had solar, but never usable since I bought her.

[@charles.neuman18]

Is there an ABYC standard to label wires? (I would certainly need that for myself, because I'd forget what everything was for.) The original mess of wires seems impossible. What if you had to fix a specific electrical problem? It seems like you're ripping out lots of it, but a lot is still there, like wiring for lights and other things.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I've not seen anything in the standards for labelling. If you look at my early videos though, I have on on flagging cables. That's how I plan to do it when I rewire properly.

[@jamesallen712]

Wiring. The one thing I was never taught to fix and I struggle with. There you go making battery banks, ripping wires out with not a care for what you are doing and I can't make a tacho and temp gauge work. Go you.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Awe, it's all practice. Keep at it and it'll get easy. :)

[@AmyMrsR]

YEAAAAAAAAAAAH! :)

[@OffGridAussiePrepper]

congrats but i wud be half naked in that heat....lol

[@effbee56]

Is that a Canuckian brew you were swilling?

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Nah, I try to find local ciders and whiskeys, but sometimes I don't find anything interesting and fall back to Angry Orchard cider.