Randy,
Short answer is that I don't know if your current layout has a separate starting battery and how it's wired into the system. I don't know what Catalina is delivering on the new boats today. Somehow, your alternator needs to charge all batteries. "Standard" systems usually don't include an isolated start battery and if your starter loads come from the house bank, leaving the selector in "all" will, one day, leave you without enough power to start the engine.
The reason I prefer the BSS switch over the perko is that it is hands off. When the switch is on, the start battery is connected to the starter and the house bank is connected to house loads. The alternator charges both through a high efficiency combiner that serves as a "one way valve" to allow charging in parallel but inhibits discharging in parallel. When the switch is off, all power is off. Once I turn it on at the beginning of the season, the only switch I touch is the starter isolate switch for safety when I'm conducting engine maintenance.
Short answer is that I don't know if your current layout has a separate starting battery and how it's wired into the system. I don't know what Catalina is delivering on the new boats today. Somehow, your alternator needs to charge all batteries. "Standard" systems usually don't include an isolated start battery and if your starter loads come from the house bank, leaving the selector in "all" will, one day, leave you without enough power to start the engine.
The reason I prefer the BSS switch over the perko is that it is hands off. When the switch is on, the start battery is connected to the starter and the house bank is connected to house loads. The alternator charges both through a high efficiency combiner that serves as a "one way valve" to allow charging in parallel but inhibits discharging in parallel. When the switch is off, all power is off. Once I turn it on at the beginning of the season, the only switch I touch is the starter isolate switch for safety when I'm conducting engine maintenance.
