The Big Power Update!

Genset - right under stairs

The small opening which was the
only access for the IT's and the charger!

Isolation Transformers &
Battery Charger behind port settee

Now that water, heat and refrigeration were taken care of, it was time to focus on power.  If you’ve ever owned a boat or spent any time on one, you know that power is a BIG DEAL!  What we had was a hodgepodge of brands and installs over the life of the boat.  Most were in fair shape, but getting to the end of their useful life if we wanted them to play nice with some other systems we wanted to install.  After many hours of research and several boat shows (asking LOTS of questions) we decided that Mastervolt was the brand we would install on our boat.  They offered the complete package and had a vast dealer network around the globe – so when problems occurred (and you know they will), help will hopefully not be too far away. 

Brains in TIGHT spaces!

Those brains reside
behind these drawers!!!

With that in mind, we pulled out the current inverter/charger and installed a completely new Mastervolt system – including Genset, Mass Combi (inverter/charger), isolation transformer, 2^nd charger for 220 volt battery charging in the EU, 2 Masterview Easy’s (so that we could easily assess the power loads from the main cabin or the aft cabin) and the brains to make it all talk to each other.  HUGE undertaking!  Where to install all of this?  First we had to move the hot water heater to make room for the Genset, then move the old charger to make room for the new (smaller) hot water heater.  You know how it goes – Brett became a master contortionist!  Who needs yoga – just work on a boat! 

Battery & Genset Panels

Masterview Easy panel

This entire project took many, many hours with both of us working on it, running what felt like miles of wire, drilling holes, fitting things in tight spaces.  Brett did the majority of the heavy lifting.  But the biggest challenge?  Reading the 15 different manuals and making sure it was all hooked up correctly before tuning it on.  That first time we starting everything, you’ve never seen a man sweat like Brett did!  But I’m happy to report a job well done – no major fires thank god!