Solar Power, Panels, Charging, Etc.`

[CapnK]

Tony G -

I've been looking at solar stuff too, being in a similar situation with an outboard that has no charging ability. I think that solar will be the main source of juice on #370 when she gets to that point. It will be nice to see what Kent has to say.

You might want to take 6 or 7 of your $100 bills and look at these 2 little 1kW generators - both 4-stroke, under 60dB sound, under 30# weight, load-sensing throttle (saves gas, lengthens run time), have AC and DC output, yadda yadda yadda. I'm thinking that they would make a good backup source for charging, as well as perhaps being able to run a small power tool (jigsaw, palm sander, drill, icemaker, blender). Well, OK, maybe the last two "tools" aren't, really, but one could dream... The Yamaha seems to always be a little cheaper at the sites I've seen.

Honda



Yamaha



Also, one last thing - I stole your boat. Well, a picture of your boats interior, after you'd ripped almost all of it out. I'm using it to "draw" mockups of the interior layout for #370, sometime in the distant foggy future. Hope you don't mind.

[Hull376]

Frank, you are oh so right about what it's like to peel away the last shreds of blue tape, stand back, and admire what one of these pieces of art looks like all shined up, looking brand new.

I'll post a new solar thread in the technical forum-- or maybe at the end of an old thread. I'll tell you how I figured out what to do with Charisma. I've got an excel spread sheet that helps figure out the right sizing of battery bank and solar panel based on where you live and what your loads are on the boat.

[Bill]

Steve Airing's post #5 at

http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussi...read.php?t=630

describes his solar panels . . .

[Tony G]

E, I like the generators. I once joked with Ebb about leaving the foredeck clean of LP bottles to make room for the genset.

Bill, I did the search for solar and panel. got some enjoyable, light reading.

Kent, That'd be great. Sounds like the kinda stuff I'm lloking for these days.