I started cruising in 1993 with my first trip from Los Angeles to
Florida. Before that there were only short trips that lasted no more
then a week or two. In that time I have used almost every type of power
maker that there is so I thought I might cough up a little knowledge
for those that are still in the wondering possess.

The easiest and quickest form of electricity aboard a boat is going to
be a big, loud nasty generator, run from good old petrel. The second
bet is a big old alternator run off of an engine. If you are like me
though, I despise the running of engines while I am at anchor and I
hate changing oil so I look for other ways to may my needs.

When I left Marina Del Rey in 1993, I headed out with all the toys that
the sails guys could sell me. I had a wind generator that you suspend
from your rigging that while sailing could be used as a water
generator. I bought 4 expensive props for the water end of the deal.
While sailing near hull speed, the water generator made near 3 amps
steady for up to an hour or so before something huge would come along
and eat it. We lost 3 props to our water generator within the first 2
days of sailing, probably to sharks. We also bent our stern railing one
of the times we lost our prop because a line tangled when the prop was
struck. We don't like water generators at all -and we sold the last
prop.

The wind generator that we had worked great until we encountered 40
knots of wind off of a little island called Isla Bonita. There, we
discovered that 40 knots of wind turns your wiring into an arc welder.
We also discovered that trying to take your generator down in 40 knots
is a fantastic way to get a lifetime supply of toothpicks. Instead of
buying a new blade for the wind generator, we sold it.

Our little Arco solar panel was awesome from the get go. It never made
tons of juice but it never got in the way, made noise or was eaten.

We have replaced our wind generator with a Four Winds. Though the
generator works great when balanced, the man that runs the company that
makes them is the worst person to do business with that you could ever
want to meet. He smiles and helps you spend your money but he is a
dishonest man to extreme when it comes to getting service. I would
highly recommend a mounted wind generator but never a four winds.

There are problems with wind generators, even when mounted. They get in
the way at launching, they grab fishing lines and anything else that
gets close and they make noise and vibrate. In a big blow, you need to
secure them but a line to the back of the generator will turn it out of
the wind and stop the spin. The good thing is that they tend to work
great on stormy days that have no sun for your solar panels. Most wind
generators make 1/3 to 1/2 of what people tend to use in power.

I bought 2 new panels this last winter from Sun Electronics, in Miami
(nest to the Herald building) Phone Number is (305)-381-6166. The two
panels cost me just about $600 and make about 9 - 10 amps an hour
while the sun is strong and 3-5 amps while the sky is partly cloudy and
1-2 amps during overcast. They are set up to be an extension of our
bimini and help with blocking sun to the cockpit. In a strong blow, (75
knots) they hung in like chaps since they are on the back of the boat
and the boat was turned into the wind at anchor. I do not have a
regulator on the panels. I do have diodes to keep back flow but they
came with the panels (that also came with a 25 year guarantee). In the
state of Florida, there is no sales tax anything solar witch is a big
bonus too - (I think most states have that law so if you buy from
West Marine be sure to stick the point!) Everyone I know that has
bought from west marine has paid sales tax because the experts there
don't know anything about the law.

I don't have anything to do with the Sun Electronics buy the way. I
Was just very impressed with them, their supply of toys and level of
service that I wanted to share the good news. They have been there a
long time too.

This has become a bit long winded but I hope it helps the undecided in
their think through process. Comfort on a boat for long term sailing
requires cold drinks and lots of power.

Nice post, Thanks!

BTW, have you considered setting up your boat to have the
propellor shaft turn an alternator while you are sailing?

I realize that there are issues with this approach, but it
seems like they can be solved by the addition of an electric
clutch to decouple the transmission when the engine is not
running. You might also need to add another prop shaft bearing
to handle the side load from the alternator.

What do you think is the maximum practical amperage that a person
could get out of solar on a 50 ft boat? It seems that you could build
a hard bimini with the entire top covered with solar panels, and that
you could probably squeeze a few more onto the front deck if you
were careful where you put them. I'm guessing that this would still
not come to more than 30A on a sunny day.

palmtreedreamer wrote:
snip I have used almost every type of power
maker that there is so I thought I might cough up a little knowledge
for those that are still in the wondering possess.

That would be me--wondering that is.

Other good stuff snipped

Don W.

I have several friends that have hard biminis that are mostly solar
panels. You have to be sure that you get the good panels that shadows
can be cast on. Some of them stop working with a bit of a shadow and
others are made so that half the panel can be in dark and it will still
work. Those folks with the solar covered biminis are loving life. Some
boats can fit them and some can't. If yours can, do it. You really
don't need more then 20 amps, I don't think. If you think about
your usage, and buy a big enough battery bank to cover it, you will do
fine with that.

I have a Cal 3-30. I keep 6 group 27's for my house bank. I have a
wind generator and two, 6-ish amp panels. I run a stereo, freezer, a
little TV or video, lights, fans, battery chargers for various toys,
and anything else you can think of except I don't have a microwave.
If I anchor for a weak and I start with topped batteries, I never start
the hideous. If I motor off anchor and out, sail to my where ever, and
then motor back through the reef, I find myself topped again for
another week of silence. A 50-foot boat doesn't really take more
power to run but it does have a bigger engine and probably alternator
too. I think you will have an easy time of it with less then 30 amps
worth of solar.

As for the alternator on the prop shaft thing, well, I have thought of
it many times but for me it just doesn't preach. I don't think I
could fit it and I don't see the reason. The last thing I want to do
is put my shaft at danger of another way to make it get screwed up.

The place I mentioned before, sun electronics has wind generators for
about $500 or so. Four panels and one of those with a good battery bank
and you'll have more power then you need (once again, in the tropics
- if that is where you are headed).

I was at Catalina Island on my way to Mexico and met a guy with about
the same set up as I have now. He said the wind generator didn't do
squat in California because there is never wind but the solar panels
were great because it never rained. I'm pretty well set on the
combination package since one takes over when the other is on vacation.

All true. Solar panels are less obstrussive. My suggestion is that you stick
to it, its a nice charge on the side. Just turn on your engine every few
days and top them off, its even good practice to do this since you never
want to get caught in a situation where your engine doesnt turn on when
youre really in a jam(we all know murphys law dont we...). Mostly my
experience with solar panels has been to make sure that in any eventuallity
there is a way to charge the batteries if they go dead for one reason or
another, but hey if it charges them and makes it so I only have to charge
every few weeks...even better.

"palmtreedreamer" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have several friends that have hard biminis that are mostly solar
panels. You have to be sure that you get the good panels that shadows
can be cast on. Some of them stop working with a bit of a shadow and
others are made so that half the panel can be in dark and it will still
work. Those folks with the solar covered biminis are loving life. Some
boats can fit them and some can't. If yours can, do it. You really
don't need more then 20 amps, I don't think. If you think about
your usage, and buy a big enough battery bank to cover it, you will do
fine with that.

I have a Cal 3-30. I keep 6 group 27's for my house bank. I have a
wind generator and two, 6-ish amp panels. I run a stereo, freezer, a
little TV or video, lights, fans, battery chargers for various toys,
and anything else you can think of except I don't have a microwave.
If I anchor for a weak and I start with topped batteries, I never start
the hideous. If I motor off anchor and out, sail to my where ever, and
then motor back through the reef, I find myself topped again for
another week of silence. A 50-foot boat doesn't really take more
power to run but it does have a bigger engine and probably alternator
too. I think you will have an easy time of it with less then 30 amps
worth of solar.

As for the alternator on the prop shaft thing, well, I have thought of
it many times but for me it just doesn't preach. I don't think I
could fit it and I don't see the reason. The last thing I want to do
is put my shaft at danger of another way to make it get screwed up.

The place I mentioned before, sun electronics has wind generators for
about $500 or so. Four panels and one of those with a good battery bank
and you'll have more power then you need (once again, in the tropics
- if that is where you are headed).

I was at Catalina Island on my way to Mexico and met a guy with about
the same set up as I have now. He said the wind generator didn't do
squat in California because there is never wind but the solar panels
were great because it never rained. I'm pretty well set on the
combination package since one takes over when the other is on vacation.