We like having redundancy and spares on board Mariadz. One of our fallback navigation and anchor watch options is the iPad but these are power hungry apps which will run down the batteries quite fast. So, in true Mariadz style, this has led us to get a charge capability in the cockpit which will work for phones and tablets.

After some investigation I was able to find a water proof charger that ran off 12v or 24v.  This fitted in perfectly with the 24v power supply we had available in our steering console.

Fitting was really easy, especially when your next door neighbour has a selection of fifteen hole cutters – you know you will find the right size! The charger is fitted next to the 24v socket and is paralleled off the power supply.

I have to be honest here. I didn’t check the back of the unit properly and made an assumption on which was positive and which was negative. As always that assumption was wrong and the device didn’t work. On checking with my multimeter we definitely had power at the socket and at the base of the unit. Therefore the new part must be faulty, I start looking for a number for the supplier to make a complaint. That is until Maria pipes up to check whether I have the positive and negative the right way round. Just check it….. Oh really, Maria, don’t be ridiculous, of course I have checked… oops. Swapped over and it charges fine, who would have guessed? 🙂

So, hole cut, I have to unscrew the top of the steering column so that the locking nut can be fitted.  One last test and we now have a Twin USB Charger and with two three metre cables we are able to charge our devices even with the cover on. I rechecked the anchor, swim platform and ignition! I never trust anything to stay working when I “haven’t done anything that should affect that”. I’m pleased that everything is still working.