On Tue, 02 Oct 2007 12:54:33 +0000, Larry wrote:

"Nothing is funnier than a yachtie with a new 4000 watt inverter carrying
his electric heater down the dock with a big grin on his face."

4,000 watts is certainly overkill for a sailboat but we get a lot of
mileage out of the 2,000 watt inverter on our trawler. Both engines
have 120 amp alternators which are bridged into the house bank through
automatic battery combiners. When underway we have almost totally
eliminated the need for using the generator unless we need multiple
zones of air conditioning. Normally we alternate between the freezer
and the refrigeration system, both of which have holding plates.

As an additional plus, the inverter doubles as a 150 amp 3 stage
charger.

I'll probably never do this but it would certainly be possible to put
a 200 amp alternator on each engine and get a 5,000 watt inverter.
That would allow the freezer and fridges to run at the same time plus
a zone or two of air conditioning.

We have reduced generator run time by at least 50% using the
inverter, and that is worth quite a lot in reduced fuel, maintenance,
and increased quietitude.