ow working on the electrical parts of the project. From other renowned sea kayakers, I’ve long learnt about their electrical and electronic system. And my own experiences pointed out that, the need for a battery system to run a bilge pump (and to power various other devices) is very urgent and obvious. From the very early phases of this project, I’ve been thinking over and over again about it.
The system would have a solar panel, to charge into a SLD (sealed lead acid) battery. The battery is used to power the bilge pump, its primary purpose. But since now I have a 12V DC electric system onboard, I could use it to: illuminate the boat’s compass, power the signal light, and to charge various electronic devices: the iPhone, the VHF radio, the Garmin, cameras, etc… Basically, I want an independent system that power all.
First is the compass light, some white LED sources to illuminate the compass in case of paddling at night. I could just buy a compass with built – in lighting, but those such compasses are not readily available in the local market, and usually they’re a bit oversized for a tiny boat like Serene – 2. So I decided to modify my current compass to accommodate 4 white LED bulbs, the result is beautiful (1st & 2nd image)! 😀
The most special thing in my electrical system is… the reed switch, a sealed electric switch which could be activated by a small piece of magnet (3rd image). That way, the switches could be hide and sealed inside the hull, completely covered in epoxy to protect them from water, and they could be turned on / off by the presence of some small pieces of magnet outside of the hull. I’ve found the idea… simply brilliant! 😀
