Skip,
I am very much interested in how boaters manage their on board
electrical power grid and if you prefer to send information by email
please send it that way. I am attempting to build a large library of
onboard power grid management and boat refrigeration problems, so any
information you can provide on this subject would be helpful. I am
curious of how many hours per day your engine alternator or Honda
generator needs to be run. It is possible today for a few cruisers
under the right conditions to sustain basic electrical onboard power
including refrigeration without the need of an internal combustion
engine. I know of only a half dozen boats that get by without running
an engine at least two or three times a week. Typical non live aboard
boaters seem to have no problem running an engine an hour every day.

One of the best equipped boats was a 39 ft world cruiser with three
separate battery banks connected by voltage sensitive combiners, all
batteries are charged by alternative energy. Charging current on this
boat was available to all batteries from a wind generator, solar
panels and a pull behind the boat water generator. Electrical drawing
of this boat is in my 12/24 volt refrigeration book or it can be
viewed at the end of my web site slide show "What Works And What Does
Not".