Buying Kit

Overboard, a leading designer and manufacturer of waterproof travel and sports gear (and an official kit supplier to the RNLI), has launched the Pro-Sports Waterproof Backpack.

This fully submersible 20 or 30-litre roll-top bag not only protects the user’s contents from water, sand, dirt and dust but also floats when dropped in water. It has high-frequency electronically welded construction, plus a large internal zip pocket for your mobile phone and a handy, external pocket for drinks. The frontal mesh area is a great place for any wet gear, and the elasticated ties mean you can radically expand the bags carrying capacity for items that don’t require the waterproof storage of the main internal compartment.

We have used Overboard bags on plenty of jaunts before now and can affirm that they are extremely comfortable to wear and beautifully built. With padded shoulder straps, lumbar support, an optional waist strap and roll-top fastening, it really is excellent kit at a sensible price.

Price: £46 (20-litre); £56.50 (30-litre)

www.overboard.com

Ensuring you have enough power left in your battery bank to start the engine is essential. There are various voltage and amp measurement devices available, such as the NASA BM1 battery monitor. This device is permanently connected to the battery, using a shunt that comes with the kit, and is priced at around £99. Among the useful information monitored is voltage, current charge and discharge, state of charge, number of hours remaining and battery state. It can be adjusted to suit the size of your individual battery bank and can even handle a bank of up to 650 amp hours. Many other instruments provide just voltage or Amperage but be aware that when checking battery condition, it is essential to leave the battery to rest, neither draining nor charging for at least two hours. When looking for a device, keep the following pointers in mind . . .

• Choose a measuring unit that provides data on amps as well as volts.
• An instrument that provides discharge rate is useful. With this information, you can decide approximate battery charge remaining and how much individual applications consume.
• Consider the size and style of instrument to compliment your dash display.
• Instruments such as the BM1 can only monitor a single battery bank (usually the domestic bank). You will need a separate instrument for the engine starting battery.

NASA Instruments
www.nasamarine.com

For more kit news and advice pick up a copy of the November issue of Boat Mart or subscribe today

In a world of radically changing power generation, storage and use, it makes sense to brush up on batteries. David Greenwood reports.

Time was when a simple old car battery was all that was needed - just enough power to start the engine and maybe feed your navigation lights, depth sounder and VHF. If you were lucky, you might also have a couple of cabin lamps but if you fell asleep with the cabin lights on, you wouldn’t be able to start the engine the next morning. Today, however, we want warm, dry, floating second homes, with all our luxuries intact. Consequently, the demand on boat batteries has increased and changed. There are now plenty of different batteries, each for different functions. The range can be confusing so here is a quick guide to what’s on offer . . .

Lead acid
This is the most common type of battery. It tolerates a good deal of misuse but it doesn’t like being discharged for long and when not in use, it can lose its power by about one per cent per day. It comes in several forms.

For the full story pick up a copy of the November issue of Boat Mart or subscribe today

Finding the right prop is a very dark art, particularly for planing boats. But if you can get to grips with the basics, some light should begin to shine. John Cooke explains . . .

Nothing in the world attracts so many myths and old wives’ tales as the propeller. And yet it deserves so much better because this humble chunk of metal is the very thing that enables us to do what we love. Without it, an engine is nothing but an inanimate chunk of combustion - and that makes your boat no more than a floating lounge. But get yourself the perfect set-up and the first time you drive it, your boat will feel brand new. Everything will snap into focus and finally, you will realise what you have been missing . . .

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