New batteries! -- Exciting things to a boater :)

Wednesday, August 28 2019
Day 19 on the Loop – Alton, IL (0 miles)

 This morning I received a call from Jim at Bloch Marine that the six batteries I had ordered had arrived and that he and his assistant John could come over and install them.   The timing was good and they arrived at 9:15 and set right to work.

When I had the boat surveyed I should have noted the year the batteries were installed (2011 as I later learned) and might have been able to negotiate a decrease in price since batteries in the marine environment typically only have a life of five years, or less.

By boat standards the batteries, are relatively accessible, but there is a spaghetti of wires coming off them, and two are tucked away under the deck. Each battery weighs 67.5 lbs; definitely a task for a younger back! They did a a nice job cleaning up the contacts and installing the batteries, which was not an easy job. 


Batteries before the new install - quite a bit of corrosion in the back


Jim installing batteries - tight space to work in
While Jim was here he also looked at the forward air conditioning, which was rattling.  A separation of the pipes in the system eased the problem.  Like so many things on a boat, it is not easy to get to.

He also looked at the troublesome Webasto heater, but there is nothing that appears to be accessible for service.  Thankfully, I have the back up of the electrically powered heat, though that requires shore power or the generator to be going.

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