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HELE MAI OPERATING MANUAL
NW Explorations
Another 12-volt battery located in the bow of the boat
powers the bow thruster, as noted in the “Thruster” section
on page 56. This is charged by the vessel’s battery charger.
What redundancy!
In the event of an electrical fire, there must be a way to
disconnect the batteries. This is done with:
1. The emergency House battery switch located on the main
power panel (normally left on “Both”);
2. The starting battery switches on the sides of the engine room just forward of each
engine (also normally “On”); and,
3. In the cable from the generator battery to the generator, the generator battery switch (also normally “On”.;
4G4: DC Breaker Panel
The right side of the power panel controls the DC power distribution to
the boat’s various DC equipment.
Author’s note: The electrical sw itch panel is photographed at an angle to
avoid glare.
The nerve center of the DC electrical system is the DC circuit breaker
panel by the helm. On this panel are the switches that control power to
the boat’s various systems.
As for the breaker panel itself, just as in your home, most of these
switches are true “circuit breakers”: they feed power to somewhere in
the boat where there is another switch which, in turn, turns the item on
and off. An example of this would be the circuit breakers for the cabin
lights: If the breaker is turned on, the light won’t work unless you turn it
on!
But some of the other breakers also serve as the switch for the item. An
example of this would be the underwater lights breaker or the macerator
pump breaker. So here is the list of switches and how they’re used: (“B”
means used as breaker, “S” means used as switch AND breaker). The colors in the descriptions below mean:
The house battery switch.
Leave on “Both”.
One of the start battery
main switches.