Greetings all,
Because of the unseasonably warm November this year in Minnesota, I've gotten a good head start on my winter projects already.
I think there was a recent re-discussion about batteries, cables and volt/current meters (maybe that was last year), but I found a really great deal on e-bay for a dual display Voltage/Current/Power digital meter. $25.00 shipping included. (8-40vdc - 50A). The advertisement claims it can also display power, capacity and time but I've not figured out how to read/interpret those displays yet.
Each display is completely switchable and could be configured to measure voltage on two batteries if you're setup for that rather than voltage and current on one. I will use it next summer for both monitoring voltage/current consumption and also Volts/Amps during charging.
I mounted it in a small cabinet I built just inside the cuddy along with a fused switching panel for bilge pump, AC inverter (therefore the outlet) and lighing. (I need to re-label the switches when it gets warm again).
To the left of the panel is a space for my dock bumpers and to the right, you can just see the back of a pass-through for 15 ft. of cable to plug into my 12volt dock charging system.
Forward of the cabinet on the port side, you can see a storage area I built in for my rudder when docked, and my boom/mast crutch while sailing. There is a netting cover to keep things from bouncing out under rough conditions. The cuddy sole is covered with a 3/4" thick plastic tile with drains. Very comfortable to kneel or sit on, lightweight and with anything short of a capsize, will keep all my storage away from any water that intrudes into the cuddy.
In the lower front center you can see the step/seat that covers the two battery boxes, battery switch and my converted centerboard uphaul mechanism. As mentioned, I have the bilge pump switch on the power panel for manual pumping and a high mounted float switch under the sole that kicks in if the water gets too deep in the bilge when the boat is unattended.
I'll have to disassemble everything this spring to finish & waterproof the wood pieces, but it's moving along nicely so far.
Thanks - Scott