She's a winner!

Seawind boats have a long-standing reputation for their build quality, sailing performance, and well thought out livable design.

Makai was featured in Cruising World as Catamaran of the Year in 2019. She was originally owned by Tommy and Amy Smith, founders of Sail Away Catamarans, and has been 'in the family' ever since - spending time in the charter fleet from the Chesapeake to Key West and the Bahamas.

Currently owned by the Hauck Family, we are very grateful to all that have had a hand in her journey. She is well loved by many Captains who say there is something special about Makai...

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Features

01.

Walk through

02.

Power

03.

Water

04.

Sailing

05.

Dinghy

01. Walk Through

Take a tour of Makai

Thinking about chartering or want to orient yourself?
Check out these clips.

02. Power

The most powerful Seawind 1260 in the world?

Power Panel Overview

Victron MPPT REC Alpha Pure

Makai's configuration of Victron Solar

Screenshot 2023-12-16 at 18.07.45

BAT512132410-LiFePO4-Battery-128V-330Ah-Smart-Front-Cropped

Victron MPPT REC Alpha Pure

Makai's configuration of Victron Solar

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GENERATOR STARTUP INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the glow plugs for 10-15 seconds at the remote panel and then crank the unit over. Generator should start up within 5-10 seconds. If not, stop for a minute and try again. Often on initial cold starts the set will run for a few seconds and then stop. This is normal as the oil pressure has not yet built up to override the oil pressure shutdown switch. Unit should remain running on second or third attempt. If the set starts and runs for a bit or stumbles and runs slowly, you will have to reprime the system, as air in the fuel lines is likely to be the problem

CAUTION
If the unit does not start after several cranking attempts or one to two total minutes of cranking, there is a danger of filling the exhaust system with seawater. (This may lead to serious engine damage). Close seacock to prevent further water from being pumped into exhaust and proceed to trouble shooting section.

Manual Link

ALTERNATOR NOTES

The high output alternators are programmed on a curve to produce the power just above idle to about 2200 rpms. Above 2200 rpms, we are typically trying to apply the majority of power to the props, there is 'none to spare' so we reduce demand by the alternator.

No RPM showing on the tach?
When the battery reaches 100% state of charge (SOC), the alternators will stop charging. The engines are Yanmar 3YM30s and these engines can only report rpm via the alternator, so if the alternator turns off due to full batteries, you will no longer have an rpm reading.

This is not really an issue as you can hear the engines and determine your speed in other ways (typically go 6-6.5 knots on one engine and 7-7.5 knots on two). If you really want to see what the speed is, you can consult the menu screen on the victron gx display and look for "Alternator" and click on it. Scroll down and you will see RPMs. We are working on a solution to display rpm on the Garmin MFDs for this situation.

Some boats are configured to have a small alternator and larger alternator (dual) to keep charging for the start and house separate. There are pro's and con's to this approach, but alas, we have a single smart alternator setup going to the house on both engines.

Power management is the key to happiness for a cruiser, especially one with a family that likes to stay cool and comfortable in the steamy summers.

We have opted to outfit our boat with redundant methods of power generation to meet our needs for 3-5 kW per day minimum when not using air conditioning, and capability to use air conditioning and making water when staying away from civilization for weeks at a time.

SPECS

4x 330Ah VictronSmart Lithium Batteries, 15,000W+

1x Victron Quattro Charger (220A) Inverter (5kW)

2x Victron SmartSolar 150V/60A MPPT Chargers

2x American Power Systems HT255 Alternators at 70% Max Field

2x Wakespeed Alternator Charge Controllers

1x NextGen Ultra Compact Marine 5.5kW

Victron is a great brand. Their devices are built to talk to eachother and be configured with bluetooth and simple interfaces. They are well known in the marine world and most technicians are familiar with them.

BATTERIES

The heart of the system are a bank of 12v 330ah VictronSmart batteries. These four batteries are in parallel and provide 15kW of power potential, although we follow best practice, keeping them between 50-80% at most times. This gives us about 7kW of power to use as the solar and demands change.

12V BOAT

If the boat was built new today, I would opt for a 24v system. This would decrease the gauge of wiring and has advantages - but would have required replacing many items.

INVERTER CHARGER

The Inverter/Charger combo is a 5kW Victron Quattro. It can handle all of the demands of the boat and can charges at about 160-200A (about 2kW). It switches from battery to generator or shorepower automatically, and is networked via the GX device (5" Touchpanel) to the other systems.

BMS

The batteries are protected by the Victron BMS v2. This BMS will tell the system if it is allowed to charge, and provides alerts to the network. Victron now makes a 1000A version of their Lynx system, which is superior but was not available at the time of the refit.

SOLAR

Makai was outfitted in 2023 with four 405W REC Alpha Pure solar panels. These panels were rated the best in the world in 2022 due to their efficiency and shade tolerance - which is key on a sailboat with lots of lines and rigging that shade the panels all the time! We opted not to use flexible panels for a number of reasons, including decreased efficiency, lifespan, and installation complication.

The solar charge controllers are Victron Smart 150/60 MPPT devices that can accept all of the potential power of the panels and turn it into up to 1600W+ of power (rated to 60A each). To date, we have seen about 1200W on a good day, which we are very pleased with. The panels are in series and then led to a device for port and another for starboard. This enables the system to be far more efficient than leading to only one controller.

ALTERNATORS

After using Balmar 170A alternators and the centerfielder/charge controller combos, we wanted to decrease the power demand when cruising on engines - for instance when fighting the gulfstream or against the wind. I was delighted to learn about current options with Wakespeed and Integrel, which have similar capabilities. Wakespeed has options for smaller applications, and are now installed on Makai. These controllers are networked with the Victron system and with eachother to act in concert. They regulate themselves based on current, rpm, and take instructions to stop charging when the BMS tells them to stop.

GENERATOR

When choosing a new generator, we opted for the keep-it-simple approach and to ensure the generator was compact to save space. Proprietary parts can be very difficult to get, as well as technicians to work on european or other name brand generators you see in the marine space. Generators are also in high demand and have backorder issues. We opted for a NextGen compact generator that can provide 50A at 120V very efficiently. I will reserve my final opinion on this change until after the season of 2023, but obtaining parts has been far more simple as it runs on a very common Kabota diesel and is very compact.

START BATTERY

We only run one alternator on each engine, and that alternator goes straight to the house bank. We do not have smaller alternators to just go to the very small start battery. To charge the start battery, we have a DC to DC Victron 30A charger that does the job. It is on relay 2 on the GX device and set to charge only when the house is in good condition. It is vital that the parallel switch is not turned on without disconnecting the start battery first as a Lead Acid AGM batttery cannot handle the power of the house bank! The only situation I have been in where I needed to do this is when the start battery went bad. It is very possible to start the batteries with the lithium house. Once again, it is important to make sure the start battery is not in connection with the house.

03. Watermaker

How to generate water on Makai using the CruiseRO Watermaker system

Making water is something we do while living aboard every few days. It can be intimidating at first, but once you master the process you get to enjoy having longer showers :)

Tip #1 - Manage your power

The watermaker requires about 1200W to operate, which will deplete the batteries very quickly. The watermaker makes 0.5 Gallons per minute - or 30 gallons per hour. If you make 60 gallons - or 2 hours of running time, you have used 2400W.

We have 4 330 amp hour 12 volt batteries on board:

4 x 330 amp x 12 volt = 15,840 Watts

2400W (2 hours) / 15,840 = 15% of the battery - so if you start at 100, you would be at 85%

The battery bank is most healthy between 60 and 80% and dropping below 60% not only limits battery longevity, but takes a long time to charge back up!

Not using batteries - using Generator or Shorepower? Well, thats another story! Use 3000W total and run the hot water at the same time, or let the battery charger catch up on charging!

Tip #2 - Plan on 2 hours+ and stay onboard

It is very important to ensure the power remains steady and nothing shuts off the watermaker while in progress - and you are monitoring the batteries. Always stay onboard while making water. It is a good time to run the engines or generator to make power and catch up while everything is noisy anyway.

"Every 3-4 days, make 2 hours of water - that keeps the watermaker and family happy!"

Tip #3 - Follow the instructions!

Carefully follow instructions. Concequences for causing problems to the membranes are high as they have to be special ordered and the install process takes a full day. It is a giant pain in the ass and costly to hire someone to do it - if you can find anyone - many technicians will refuse to work on watermakers.

Tip #4 - Don't make water if the harbour is oily or gross

If you are in a marina where there is oil or fuel in the water, do not run the watermaker. It can damage the system!

Enjoy making really awesome water from the sea!

Making high quality water from the ocean feels rather special. It may not have as many minerals so add some of your favorite electrolytes etc.