“One Giant Leap” Fountaine Pajot 47′ Catamaran

About This Project

The owner of this vessel came to us fed up with constant draining batteries and badly needed a full power upgrade as he was planning to do some long extended coastal cruising with his family.

Originally, the catamaran had a factory fitted AGM battery bank with solar panels that were undersized for the system.

The boat owner wanted to install lithium ion batteries so he could recharge at a much quicker rate than the original AGM batteries. The Lithium batteries would allow him to discharge much lower than 50% if needed without worrying about damaging the battery life.
The boat was already fitted with a generator that was powering the washing machine, dive compressor and other A/C items.

The first step was to install a Victron Quattro 5000W/220A inverter charger to run the vessel’s AC so that the generator didn’t need to be started and disturb the peaceful quiet on the boat.

We sat down with our engineers and put together a targa design to accommodate all items required by the owner for the system to work.

Now the vessel’s panels sit on top of a large stainless steel targa which is beautifully covered in canvas. The targa also accommodates for the wifi antenna, satellite phone antenna, BBQ lights and the rear tender flood light. The solar is an exact copy system from our last Fountaine Pajot install which includes 1440W of solar delivering 100A on a good day.

As an additional feature to produce instant lighting, we added a wireless remote key fob with (4) buttons which activate the flood light, BBQ lights and courtesy light from 50m away. This is convenient when coming onto the vessel in the dark.

The complete Victron system is powered by (2) 300AH lithium smart batteries, installed in parallel and are designed to power the whole boat including winches, starting of both motors and powering the inverter/charger.
The vessel now includes a reserve AGM battery 170AH that is used for emergency backup in case the lithium batteries ever fail, providing power to the essential circuits to safely get to the closest port for repairs.
The system is monitored by a BVM712 which is linked to a GX colour display to give the owner a very clear display of how the power is managed throughout the vessel. The GX display is connected directly to the vessel’s wifi system which enables it to be monitored remotely.

Both engines now include Balmar external regulators to give a three stage charge curve which increases the power provided by the alternators. Each charging unit is controlled by the Victron Battery Management System (BMS) which shuts off charging if the temperatures or voltage exceeds the set limits. The installation is protected by a Victron battery protect which safely manages the operation of the lithium battery system.

If you are looking to switch to lithium power and supercharge your vessel please feel free to contact us for a free consultation at info@oceanphasemarine.com

Additional items installed:

• Raymarine wireless handheld VHF for cockpit helm
• Sirroco silent fans through the vessel
• 240V dishwashing machine powered by an inverter
• Iridium go satellite phone system
• Warm white strip lighting for bathroom mirror
• Fusion stereo with wireless remote
• All GPOs swapped out for units with dual USB outlets