The journey toward yacht ownership doesn’t end when your yacht is delivered. Once you have achieved that dream, one of the most important aspects to consider is proper maintenance and care. While traditionally the focus isn’t on extended battery life, the experts at Atlantic Cruising Yachts recommend including certain routine maintenance to extend the life of your batteries.

The average battery life on the majority of Fountaine Pajot and Dufour yachts is about 5 years with personal owner use. When used as a charter boat, the standard battery life decreases to about 3 years. During the commissioning process, our experts may recommend adding additional batteries throughout to add more capacity to the vessel. Based on the needs of your personal yacht or your charter, the number of batteries, and how long they should last can vary. The bottom line is replacing a battery (or several) is not always the best option when it comes to maintaining your investment and continuing your yachting lifestyle.

Why You Should Consider Extending Your Battery Life

When you are using your lights, electronics, navigation instruments, water pump, toilet, anchor windlass, electric winches, starting for engines and in many more capacities, the battery system is the main system. When the batteries begin to wear out, the functionality of the boat is in jeopardy.

While other companies may overlook this facet of ownership or choose not to invest in battery life, Atlantic Cruising Yachts believes that it is extremely important for owners in both personal and business to be cognizant of the best practices for battery maintenance in order to extend the service life of batteries.

Yearly Yacht Battery Maintenance

Load test each battery to determine if one battery is weaker than the other in the house set. This will allow removal of the weak battery which will eventually degrade all the batteries connected.
Check all battery connections for corrosion and tightness.
Make sure batteries are charged regularly if stored, or when the boat is not in use.
Remove parallel cabling from the house battery bank when stored.
Equalize batteries as per manufacturer’s suggested times and voltages. Usually twice a year. This will help remove the lead sulfite and make the batteries more efficient.
Check the setting on your battery charger or inverter charger, and make sure that the settings are correct for your type of battery.

Regular Maintenance Tips

It is important not to overcharge or undercharge your batteries. This can shorten overall battery life. Charge the battery to a minimum of 80% with a maximum of 100%. Try not to discharge the battery to less than 50% when in use.
Keep batteries fully charged using a 3 Stage Battery charger with proper settings. ACY recommends Victron for top-quality solar controllers. Charge after every use if possible.
Keep batteries clean and terminal covers on connections.
Spray battery terminal posts, terminals, hold-downs, and casings with spray-on battery protector – we recommend CRC’s Battery Terminal Protector.

The Power of Solar

Solar power is extremely popular in the housing market, but did you know you can add solar to your yacht for excellent results? Our experienced team has guided hundreds of owners to getting solar added to their boats efficiently. The addition of solar panels can extend battery life for a charter from 3 years to around 5 years. Whether you are upgrading to a solar-powered system or adding solar banks, ACY has the resources to get the right solar panels for your needs.

During a series of build meetings for your yacht, our team can explain what options are available, what the wattage is, where the batteries are placed, and help with decisions to best suit your needs. When it comes to your journey towards yacht ownership, ACY is here from commissioning to delivery, and beyond.