Wind, Solar, Water, Diesel: what 's the best mix?


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Dick
Dick
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Hi John,
I agree with your comments about solar and wind for generating power.
Finding real estate for solar on a monohull is particularly hard if you rule out lifelines as I do (for offshore boats I believe nothing should be attached to something as important and vulnerable as lifelines including jerry cans but especially kayaks etc.). A well done arch can work, but is pretty pricey and often leaves one tempted to then have (and use underway) davits with a dinghy hanging there, often with a motor attached. A wind generator can be loud, especially if it is doing its job, but then, many think a genset makes for a pretty poor neighbour. At least one chooses when to run the GS.
Which returns me to: if you feel the need for a genset (big freezer or aircon at anchor), then forgo the passive power generation and its complications, put the weight in extra batteries and run the GS regularly and hard.
Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
Dick
Dick
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Hi Alex,
With respect to your wish to be greener, I fully support that inclination as long as we are agreed that there are few people greener in the western world than those who live aboard modest sized sailboats. Yes, solar has gotten much better as have the black boxes that control them. Rather than solar on your wish list and since you have a genset already, I would put your efforts into impeccable care and feeding of the beast, good spare parts inventory even if expensive and a larger battery bank (which can always be charged by the propulsion engine in a complete GS breakdown. If you wish to be further adventurous, I believe the new generation of lithium batteries will provide some impressive benefits to onboard off grid life (may be there already).
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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