Troubleshooting Charging

[davidpm]

Last Sunday I was crew on a '88 Nonsuch 33.
The captain noticed that the cockpit ammeter didn't show any charging.
Also the supposedly newer batteries were almost out of water.

I plan on being on the boat this Sun.
I know about putting the multimeter leads on the battery terminals and expecting to get 12.6 volts for a fully charged battery.
Starting the engine and expecting to get about 14 volts.

I'm not expected to be the mechanic but what other simple tests can I do to supply some good intel to the owner and mechanic.
I'm thinking maybe the regulator is set high and the engine was run a long time and the batteries cooked.
Batteries don't loose a lot of water under normal use do they?

[donradclife]

you are about right on the voltages to look for.

Look for the obvious stuff like a missing or slipping belt.

The next steps depend on whether the alternator is internally or externally regulated.