In his latest video Jono shows us how an Edwardian Gentleman’s Launch – one of those fine wooden boats, varnished to glass, and built to show off the fashion-and-style of the 1930’s super-rich – is being restored to its original beauty. But the Penelope II conceals a modern secret – Blue Power.
The work on Penelope II is taking place on the shores of Windermere Lake, in the UK’s famous Lake District, under the watchful eye of Windermere Jetty Museum’s Stephen Beresford. The electrical installation is being carried out by Chris Dobson of UK Marine Electrics Ltd.
With safety on the water in mind, the installation includes a Smart Battery Protect which automatically switches off the power supply to services if the house battery becomes too depleted. It also includes an Argo Diode Battery Combiner which allows either the House or the Starter battery to provide electricity to two essential services: the bilge pump; and the VHF radio – which is used for ship to shore communication. If the voltage falls too low in the house battery for either of these essential services to work when required, current will be drawn from the starter battery instead.
One other ‘worry free’ feature of the installation is a Cyrix Battery Combiner. When the vessel’s diesel engine is running the house battery is recharged from an alternator. The Cyrix is a heavy duty relay which detects when a charge current is available and automatically combines the Starter battery and the House battery on the same circuit – ensuring that they both get charged. When the engine is stopped and no charge current is available the Cyrix drops the Starter battery from the ‘House’ circuit – ensuring that it doesn’t become depleted, and will therefore always be available for engine starting.
Here is a list of the Victron equipment installed on the Penelope II:
2x AGM 12-110 Batteries
1x BMV 712 Battery Monitor and shunt
Master Switch & Fuse
Services Master Switch
1x Cyrix-ct Intelligent Battery Combiner Relay
1x 80A Diode Battery Combiner
1x Battery Protect 65A1x 192341 12v Relay for Navigation and Anchor lights
1x 192341 12v Relay for Interior Lights
1x Bilge Pump, switch and alarm panel
1x Raymarine VHF Radio
Various DIN Rail terminals
And here is the video:
Jono and Molly filmed at Windermere Jetty before the UK went into Covid-19 lockdown. Unfortunately we will all have to wait a little longer before Penelope II is out on the lake taking passengers.
The image used at the head of this blog was taken by Gary Campbell-Hall, and has not been altered.
