www.iFourWinns.com

I scheduled a VSC (vessel safety check) with a local USCG auxiliary neighbor this weekend and we passed all requirements except one. Boat didn't pass on electrical. Inspector said our battery terminals weren't covered/protected to lessen likelyhood of short circuit if the top of the battery gets wet. Hmm... sounds reasonable.



Anyone run into this as an issue? I'm going to run over to West Marine in town and see if they have something. I see that the dealer at least didn't give us wingnuts. That's good.

Thanks!
Brian

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Brian
2007 Four Winns H200 - VP 5.0L GL/SX
2003 Chevy Avalanche Z66
Canyon Lake, TX

Haven't heard that one before. To my knowledge, that is not a Coast Guard or ABYC requirement, like covering the positive terminals. I'd think if the batteries are in a compartment, they are in fact covered. Essentially, any battery mounted in a tray would not meet his requirements.

The alternator and starter also only have positive terminal boots. Sounds to me like a safety inspector that had to find something as a matter of pride.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

I didn't find anything at WestMarine to cover the terminals. They're "L" shaped when viewed from above. I would agree that it sounds like an inspector trying to find something. But the inspector was a nice older lady, very friendly talking to me and my wife about the lake, our boat, etc. She even said to give her a call when we get the terminals covered and she'd issue the sticker and no need to go through the whole inspection again. Was a good experience anyway, and my motive was to get things checked. I think we're good to my satisfaction.

Still, I'd like that inspection sticker.

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Brian
2007 Four Winns H200 - VP 5.0L GL/SX
2003 Chevy Avalanche Z66
Canyon Lake, TX

To receive the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Vessel Safety Check Decal you must pass requirements that go beyond both federal and state minimum requirements. The requirement to cover the battery posts is to prevent accidental arching between the terminals that would result in a spark and possible explosion/fire if subject to gaseous conditions.

The battery shown in the photo is typical of a automotive battery "L" shaped terminal which the covers at the boating supply stores will not cover. I would recommend that you purchase one of the black plastic boxes if space allows to cover the entire battery. The battery must also be secured to the boat.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions - I am also a Vessel Examiner for the USCG Auxiliary.

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2002 Vista 298 VP 5.0Gxi

Thanks, I do appreciate your help! Our inspector was great and although we didn't pass the entire inspection, it was a good experience and my wife and I were able to ask a bunch of questions regarding safety/regulations, etc. It was nice to get some validation for buying the VHF/weather radio. Everybody I ask (apart from the forum) looks at me funny about carrying a VHF radio on a <20' boat on a small lake like Canyon.

The battery is strapped down securely and there should be plenty of room to install a plastic battery box, but I've not seen terminals like it has elsewhere on an automobile. It's an Exide Nautilus deep cycle marine starter battery and is described as having "Marine terminals". Thanks again.

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Brian
2007 Four Winns H200 - VP 5.0L GL/SX
2003 Chevy Avalanche Z66
Canyon Lake, TX

Although that might seem excessive, anyone who has seen the damage that a short circuit across the battery terminals can cause ( I have, saw someone who hooked up the batt jumper cables wrong) can tell you there is a lot of potential energy in a battery (between 650 and 800 amps) and it's a good idea for at least the pos post to be completely covered. If you were working in the bilge and there were by chance some fuel vapors there and you dropped a wrench or screwdriver across the batt, the sparks could ignite the fumes. I know it's remote, esp with many modern boats having fuel injection. But the danger from the possibility of a dead short high amperage current (risk of burns) is there. Always remove watches and rings when working around a battery.
I have mine in battery boxes and I do have the covers on the pos and neg main terminals but not the smaller ones with wingnuts, couldn't find covers for those.

It is definitely a good idea to have a rubber cover on the pos stud from the batt to the starter. Let's say you're working on the engine changing spark plugs (grounded!) the ratchet handle drops down (pos stud, direct short to ground!) and yes on my 4.3 it could touch that stud, that's why mine has a rubber cover on it. Of course when you have a batt switch you can just turn it off anytime you do electrical work. The OE Four Winns cables from 20 years ago had a rubber cover. Blue Seas systems makes many kinds of covers for these applications. I am so convinced by things I have seen in 36 years of working on my own vehicles that I have put a cover on the pos batt clamp on my Jeep even tho ChryCo didn't. A grounded battery tray and an uninsulated high amp current terminal right next to it is a dangerous combination!

If you can't find a cover for that I'd consider using a batt box. Does FW only strap down the batt with that strap, there must be a tray, right? The Coast Guard regs also have something in them about how much a batt is allowed to move around. So even with a box, if it moves more than a certain amount you are supposed to put in some shims (could use plywood or even styrofoam) to keep the batt from moving.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

I totally agree with the requirement to cover terminals to prevent "to prevent accidental arching between the terminals", it was the comment Houston related about being covered so 'water does not cause a short' that I took issue with. I agree that the post cover provided to Houston by FW may not provide enough coverage to prevent an accidental short.

I'd also add that with access to batteries like mine shown below, battery boxes may not be practical due to space restrictions.



Especially in my case where I have two batteries in there. Anyway, better (read larger) post covers are available. You can see one in the poor quality pic below where there is a FW installed battery to the left, and a battery I installed to the right. The positive terminal covering on the left battery does appear to provide more coverage than than Houston's, still I may change over to a terminal cover like that (partially) shown on the battery on the right. I got that cover from genuinedealz.com, they also have covers for wing nut style posts (and also a great source for great quality Marine Grade wiring cheap).



Ok, the pic doesn't show the cover very well, here's a pic of the cover itself.


It's big enough to cover both post and screw on terminals on batteries like Houston's.

Whoops! Forgot, I used one of these - I had bought both just in case.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

Great thread!

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

MCLKS, I do have one question - wing nuts. I know they are frowned upon, but will a boat not pass inspection if they are used to secure battery cables?

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

I agree that access will be tight. I had a couple of those plastic automotive-style terminal covers (boots) but they will still leave some of the terminal metal exposed. It's the "L" shape that's the issue, so that you have posts (like I'm familiar with) oriented up and then a dogleg out with screw down studs. Both pos and neg terminals the same. Boat power cables are hooked to the studs and the posts are free, I assume for dual-battery hookup or easy access for trickle charging or jump starting. Anyway, the original rubber boot on the positive terminal will not cover the whole post (see my pic above) and there is another lead off that post likely going to my bilge pump. I figure the box approach would work best despite the tight access on my H200. The cutout is small, but there's plenty of room inside.

I'm thrifty (cheap) and hoped I wouldn't have to buy something. Looks like boxes run $30-100. Maybe Wally-world has these? The inspection is free so I'm not complaining. And my engine is carbureted so I do want to play it safe with sparks/arcs/fumes, etc.

I love this forum. We even talked with the USCG inspector about how much info is out there on the internet for folks new to boating. She was so excited because we were the first request she got via the internet! She told us she had bragging rights because nobody else had an e-mail referral in the San Antonio area yet - she was the first!

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Brian
2007 Four Winns H200 - VP 5.0L GL/SX
2003 Chevy Avalanche Z66
Canyon Lake, TX

Narwhal,

Appreciate your comments. Man, that's a clean setup you have there. Looks like we have very similar boat (model/year). Love the yellow.

Battery terminals look different...

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Brian
2007 Four Winns H200 - VP 5.0L GL/SX
2003 Chevy Avalanche Z66
Canyon Lake, TX

Sure, no problem Clownfish!

BTW - like the battery trays, battery boxes are sized appropriate to the battery size or 'group'. I suggest that you identify what group your battery is (I'm guessing group 24 or 27) and then look around for a battery box. If you can wait for shipping, Defender sells them for around $10 - http://www.defender.com/category.jsp?path=-1|328|51495&id=921001

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

Sweet, I will check that out. BTW, what is a Narwhal?

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Brian
2007 Four Winns H200 - VP 5.0L GL/SX
2003 Chevy Avalanche Z66
Canyon Lake, TX

My daughter is really into Narwhals. They are small whales that have a unicorn like horn, but unlike unicorns, they are not mythical.



The way the post ranking works here, one rises from guppy on up through shark to 'email custom rank' and in keeping with the 'fish' theme, I chose Narwhal. Silly, really.

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2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

Very cool.

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Brian
2007 Four Winns H200 - VP 5.0L GL/SX
2003 Chevy Avalanche Z66
Canyon Lake, TX