jonathanA

Well as the op is not connecting his earthed generator to the hull its not a problem for him. I'd not seen that in the Victron guide. Every other article I've read shows multiple boats need to be connected to the common mains earth for corrosion to occur. I'm not convinced a single boat on its own generator is at risk as the anodes would protect the hull on the boat on its own.

Suggest you get a new book. Big difference is all those boats with ITs and GIs are connected to the national grid, or more specifically they are all connected to the same earth bonding point in the local substation hence need the IT/GI. If you look up some of the GI/IT threads there are some good explanations of how it works ...

Nope not unless the generator is being shared with another boat, I don't see how any galvanic action can happen, unless the boat is rubbing against some metal pilings or a jetty support...

Given the ops temporary wiring to use power tools, I'm not sure what an earth spike will do. Given its an inverter genny it MIGHT be centre tapped to earth so 110v between L and earth and neutral to earth. Most generators are 'floating' so there is no earth connection and you can only get a shock if you get across the L&N. If I was feeding into the shoreline plug on a boat on a semi permanent basis e.g at a mooring I would bond the N & E and use a spike, fitting an RCD in line. As far as I can tell this is the recommended way by the IET for on site generator use, but I have not seen anything definitive (doesn't mean there isn't just I've not seen it) So ... if the OPs generator is centre tapped to earth* I would put a spike in, but the OP will need to check the manual or ask the supplier if its center tapped, if not might as well leave alone. * just for clarity if it's centre tapped don't try to bond earth and neutral, no need and will probably fubar the genny

not on the PV side, which is what we are talking about. Most likely 3 or 4 panels in series so 90-120 V /10-15A. I would suggest as soon as you start connecting panels in series and the system voltage exceeds 50 or 60V you should consider fitting an Isolator. 100V DC up your arm is not going to be nice.... (DC burns). I don't get all this 'wait till dark/cover the panels' palaver. if you have Victron smart solar, and frankly why would you fit anything else* ? then you can simply switch it off in the app for maintenance purposes simples... (charger enable setting under Battery IIRC) and/or use your PV isolator. * ok you may have an existing other make and of course there are other MPPT controllers

it isn't. BSS only requires a fuse in any charge source (e.g solar) and then only if they are connected to the battery side of the battery isolator, they recommend one for these circuits if connected via the battery isolator (3.5.3) Identify whether DC charge circuits from any of the following sources are connected directly to the battery(s), including the unswitched (battery) side of the battery isolator(s) where they can be seen: • battery charger outputs (including combination inverter/ chargers); or, • solar panels; or, • wind turbines. If such circuits are identified check the charging equipment, and the charge circuits where they can be seen, for the presence of a fuse or circuit breaker. so to answer @blackrose OP - its not a BSS fail. It would be (IMO) if the PV isolator was in a metal case (risk of chafing). I concur with @Tony Brooks All Blackrose needs to do to is get some 20 or 25 mm grommets from any electrician/electrical supplier/B&Q/Screwfix and fit those in the standard 20 or 25mm knockouts his PV isolator has. I wouldn't bother with glands at all, even grommets, i would say are a 'nice to have' rather than needed and blind ones would keep any dust/crap out of the PV switch enclosure.

I haven't looked at the manual Tony posted so I could be talking rubbish. But on my little yamaha the man overboard thing (lanyard) plugs into a hole just below the key switch which is away from the engine itself. Is that the remote control thing mentioned in the OP ? Also look for any inline fuses in the engine as the fuseholders can corrode or break due to vibration and give intermittent issues. In terms of a spark plug spanner, sometimes a deep socket or box spanner will do it you don't have a proper spark plug tool.

I just bought a couple of cheap mag mount 1/4 wave antennae. Think they were about a tenner each. They were good enough to just improve the signal in an area were my phone would act as a hotspot if in the window but not if inside the boat away from the window. If your in a weak signal area then you might need to invest in the fancy and more expensive ones...

Oops ill put myself on the naughty step for not reading the post properly (sorry ) one glass too many is my excuse...

What make/model of outboard is it ? Someone may have specific knowledge. The neutral switch maybe stopping the engine starting. I had something similisr with a yamaha 10Hp. Needed the gear linkage and switch adjusting plus a bit of grease. Bypass it (join the wires together) to eliminate that switch if you not sure its right. Would help if you gave an idea of location l, little point me suggesting a Liverpool based firm if your in Norfolk.

Great so as I said you deem charging from the engine unnecessary because you will rely on solar. A perfectly reasonable decision for you but with the clear disadvantage of no backup should the sun not shine enough or you run your battery down for some reason. I thought you were a big advocate of redundant systems. Seems to me you have a reasonable set up even if you don't understand what you've done or why 🤣

I think you need to revisit why you have rhe B2B and buffer battery. If you do away with those and take the fan belt off your domestic alternator how do you propose to charge your Li battery? I would suggest you would still need a b2b from the start battery to the lithium. UNLESS you deem charging the lithium from the engine is not something you ever want to do. Doubtless you will do want you want I'm only posting this for the benefit of others

i've no direct knowledge of how MMBC work, the moorings are all linear online and i can't see that a lot of 'club' space that needs maintaining, so i would guess (only a guess) that wouldn't be too onerous, generally looks like a lot of boats are long term, rather than lots of change so that would suggest its all fairly relaxed and stable.

you could try Scarisbrick marina - although they were previously less keen on cruisers than steel boats. (not sure which yours is ) and reputedly the new owners have increased charges. Merseyside Motorboat Club were advertising availability at scarisbrick when i went past last Saturday at £24/foot/yr

Your not setting a "fixed" current but a current limit. So a maximum input of 35A means the output will be either the max current set (50A) OR the maximum the input current will allow the B2B to 'create' to match the OP voltage less any used up by the b2b itself. So your unlikely to get anything like 50A out. The b2b can't create energy the alternator does that ( ok it converts rotational energy from the engine into electricity for the pedants) Remember the alternator doesn't care about rhe b2b it's just looking to keep the buffer battery charged. Also worth remembering that units like the victron orion often step up or step down the voltage e.g 24v to 12v either to charge a different voltage battery or to provide a different voltage supply. X posted with TB