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== Alternator ==
Each engine (if there is more than one) will have a high-capacity dual-output alternator and multistage regulator, with separate charging circuits for the starter and house batteries. A backup manual switch and regulator are provided. The regulator must be suited to the type of battery: Flooded cells require an equalization charge after the main charge; whereas gel and AGM cells usually do not. Typical vendors are: [http://www.amplepower.com/ Ample Power], [http://www.balmar.net/ Balmar], [http://www.hehrpowersystems.com/ Hehr Power Systems], [http://www.jackrabbitmarine.com/ JackRabbit Marine] and [http://www.salt-systems.com/ Sea Air Land Technologies, Inc.]
If the boat will be unattended for periods at least one engine must autostart on a schedule to keep the batteries charged.
=== Trickle Charge System ===
In case the main charging system fails while the boat is unattended, a DC trickle-charge system can be provided. Trickle charging is also a good idea because there are usually parasitic loads on a battery system that will slowly discharge it. Deep discharge batteries do not want to be trickle charged at a high rate: 3% is recommended. Thus a boat with a house bank of 1000 AH requires a trickle charge of 30 AH.
Wind turbines and solar panels are ideal for a trickle-charge system; although they are not suited as a main power source. Unfortunately, as a main power source, each of them has a significant performance drawback in the context of a small- to medium-size boat. They simply need too much real estate.
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The boat's secondary electrical system is AC. In Europe it will be designed for 230-VAC single phase. In North America it will be either 120-VAC single phase or 240-VAC double phase. A manual switch in the Pilothouse selects "boat power" (inverter) or "shore power" as the power source, with automatic detection of the voltage and frequency of the shore power. In the boat, the green AC ground wire is connected to the Common Grounding Point – the white ground wire is left floating. AC wiring should be stranded copper, not solid or tinned, to better resist breaking from vibration. All AC light bulbs adjacent to metal, especially in the engine room, are protected as shock hazards. All AC outlets are equipped with ground-fault-circuit-interruption (GFCI) circuit breakers.
== Inverter/Charger ==