Bruce in Bangkok wrote:

You can. But remember, there ain't no free lunch. I saw a mini-gen set
when I was in Vietnam. You could hold it in one hand, probably a 1
cu.in. engine driving a tiny alternator. It would just about power one
100 watt light bulb.But a 2.5 - 3.0 HP engine will drive about a 2 KW
alternator/Generator which would be over one hundred amps at 13.5
volts DC..

Google on Home Built Generator for a lot of ideas and examples. BUT
you have an air cooled, gasoline engine and they are a pain in the
butt. They are noisy, they take exotic fuel (at least exotic to 'in
board motor" people:-) and they get damned hot; the exhaust is hot
enough to ruin your gelcoat. But certainly you can build one with
minimum investment.

In fact that is exactly what I used for two years on anchor in
Singapore. I used to fill the tank; pull the rope; check the volt
meter and ignore it the rest of the day. Eventually it would run out
of gas and by that time I had enough battery charge to last another
day.

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

Yea, Bruce!
That's the idea!

The little Honda gen-sets are really nice, fairly quiet, and refined and all
(and knock a boat unit right out of your wallet).

But for Galveston Bay, maybe that's the smart way to go.
It means the boat can be air conditioned - which makes the girls happy.
Me too, for that matter!


--

Richard Lamb