Are solar and wind enough for cruising?

[john61ct]

Yes most of our acculturation becomes subconscious, easily fixed as "truth, the way things are, the only way they should be"

The earlier it starts in childhood and consistency through life from trusted social contacts the more firmly, fish doesn't know about water syndrome.

Antidote is a wide exposure to and ideally deep experience of very different cultures.

For example, toilet paper is a very primitive and disgusting practice, and sitting on a toilet very unhealthy.

Very easy to discover that truth, unless you've allowed yourself to get stuck in a one-dimensional bubble, in which case it may be hard to accept.

No need to get extra fiber in your diet, if you're eating healthy in the first place.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Yes most of our acculturation becomes subconscious, easily fixed as "truth, the way things are, the only way they should be"

The earlier it starts in childhood and consistency through life from trusted social contacts the more firmly, fish doesn't know about water syndrome.

Antidote is a wide exposure to and ideally deep experience of very different cultures.

For example, toilet paper is a very primitive and disgusting practice, and sitting on a toilet very unhealthy.

Very easy to discover that truth, unless you've allowed yourself to get stuck in a one-dimensional bubble, in which case it may be hard to accept.

No need to get extra fiber in your diet, if you're eating healthy in the first place.

I agree with your assessment, which is why I travel extensively and read eight newspapers daily presenting all viewpoints. I prefer to decide things for myself.

But watch out.... I've also been known to throw poo.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

But watch out.... I've also been known to throw poo.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by ;2486436

But watch out.... I've also been known to throw poo.

https://memegenerator.net/img/instan...-fling-poo.jpg

[john61ct]

Sorry, forgot, above is a meme, very silly but also small filesize.

Same with one above that

[Typhoon]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Fuel cost for a generator is not substantial.
What may be is the cost per hour once you amortize the cost of the generator. If one is $10,000 and will last for 5000 hours, then it costs $2 an hour to run it, then add fuel and maintenance costs.
Run one 2000 hours a year and you will need a new one every two and a half years.

If we ran our generator an hour a day , we would have 40 gallons of water and 200ah added to the batteries . We never use that much , but at this rate our generator will last a lifetime .

Regards John.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine

If we ran our generator an hour a day , we would have 40 gallons of water and 200ah added to the batteries . We never use that much , but at this rate our generator will last a lifetime .

Regards John.

Now add ~8 hours/day for air conditioning, as required by many posters here on CF. Adds up pretty quickly!

Jim

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Now add ~8 hours/day for air conditioning, as required by many posters here on CF. Adds up pretty quickly!

Jim

Jim, it is just another one of those things. One answer does not fit all.
The variables are endless.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

Originally Posted by john61ct

There are many wonderful things I have greatly enjoyed in my time here so far, many of which are not available at any price in some places and very freely available in others.

Some I have enjoyed to excess, even "wasted" big chunks of my life pursuing.

No regrets, but when possible, I find I have a lot more freedom in life treating these comforts, pleasures, desires as **preferences** rather than being hypnotised into believing they are essential to my happiness or peace of mind.

Yes I like and enjoy them. No, I don't need them, won't let a lack of them keep me from embarking on a new adventure.

Well said - better than I did.

So all I'm saying is, that for me, I'm happier with fewer systems so I can do more sailing, and less maintenance.

[leftbrainstuff]

Heating and AC loads will require big battery banks and lots of solar. Perhaps feasible on a cat but not a monohull.

Why donyou need AC if you're sailing. Diesel forced air heaters work well.

[john61ct]

Again, electric heating and many A/C hours guarantee **extensive genny** use.

The solar and bank size required will be in fact much lower!

Trying to get by with an undersized genny, trying to cover say 90% of AH input from solar, maybe only a "few hours" of A/C per day from battery, **that's** when there just isn't enough space for the panels you want.

Really, make sure to get a big robust genny that runs everything fine, then buy just enough panels to get the bank to 100% for longevity.

Any additional panels will reduce genny runtime by an insignificant amount if you're running A/C, waste of money.

[mike388]

Hi
Solar . Is the way to go . Wind generator may just about cover the fridge unless you have consistent wind.. If you have money to spend the next thing that you will need to avoid having to go into marinas is some way of getting water .water collection or big money a water maker.
I am jealous of the guys with water makers but a word of caution . Nearly all the people I ask about how good there particular brand of water maker is say it is great but needs new filters membrane or what ever it seams that they require spares and maintenance and running on a regular basis.
Water collection with a big area of roof is adequate . But I am still jealous of the guys with high volume water makers running off the engine .
Have just managed to get my prop shaft alternator set up to deliver 10 amps at 5 knots for sailing at night .to cover house electrics . Navigation and auto pilot obviously only works with fixed prop and gear box in neutral . Will see how it pans out on a long trip.
I am a live aboard sailing in SE Asia

[raybobsky]

Piratesofthesun.com and also on Facebook

[zboss]

If I were starting from scratch I would still wait as I previously posted but if you insist on buying you might want to consider just going with a large Lithium bank right off the bat and a large case alternator (and maybe two!) and forget about solar and wind for the time being. You can go for days without needing to charge and when you do you can fire up your engine for an hour and inject hundreds of Ah in a very short period of time.

If you have a generator you can even get it to come on automatically.

Even with fuel and expendables taken into account you would still end up with good bones upon which to add alternative power later and which is going to last a real long time, giving you great ROI.

[john61ct]

Yes, the generator is a must-have.

A very large bank is required to run A/C off the batteries for any length of time.

If you are willing to run the gennie whenever A/C is required, then you can get away with a much smaller bank.

Going to a proper LFP bank costs around 7x a lead one. Yes there is a weight advantage, and maybe longevity if all goes well, but it's a big up front risk.

A small amount of solar supplementing the gennie for the long tail lets you get a much more familiar, robust and inexpensive lead bank, of whatever size.

Make sure all the charge sources have user custom adjustable setpoints, and maybe get LFP later on, once you're used to properly managing a lead bank.