sailorcrat,
I'm going to take a chance here, that you're serious about this and not just pulling our legs.....
1) Although, I do NOT use
shore power much (since I'm not in
marinas much), I probably have a different (somewhat simpler???) on-board,
cruising/voyaging, lifestyle than you are considering.....
I'd be remiss if I didn't make clear, first off, that you can make substantial reductions in your electrical power requirements
, without affecting your planned lifestyle.....
Not knowing what your specific plans are, nor where you're planning on sailing/cruising, it is difficult to be precise, but here are some simple things come to mind right away....
a) Use
solar energy to directly heat your water, for your hot showers...or
cruise areas where the ambient temps are warm enough that you will not want hot showers....
b) Use low-power
consumption computers (netbooks, solid-state drives, mini-tower systems, etc...) rather than high-power
consumption "dual-core Duo" processor conventional laptops....
c) Spend less than $100 (and a few days of your own labor) and increase the
insulation of your frig/freezer boxes.....No matter what boat you buy, there's a 99.999% chance that you'll find a considerable savings in power consumption (perhaps as much as cutting your frig/freezer consumption in HALF...)
2) Remember that having a large solar array that is partially shaded will not be too effective.....
Keeping the panels in the clear is what you should be looking at.....
The actual size of your array may be in fact end up being smaller than you expect, if you can keep the array in the clear....
3) Use of
MPPT charge controllers
will give you a significant boost, compared to standard controllers.....
And, in low to mid latitudes (20 - 35 degrees), where I have good sun angles...and in areas with lots of sun (not too many clouds)....I typically get 220 to 260 A/H's per day from my 520 watts of panels, driving Blue Sky
MPPT controllers, depending on time of year......
However, I do NOT typically need/use that much power on a daily basis, unless I'm on a long voyage with 24/7 use of
autopilot,
VHF radios,
GPS, instruments, frig,
freezer,
AIS, etc. 12 hr/day Nav Lights... as well as a few hours daily of stereo,
SSB, We Fax, lights,
watermaker, etc. etc....
When at
anchor, I need/use much less power.....and that includes keeping ice cream frozen for weeks in the summertime!!!
Please see my detailed photos and article, of my own
installation on my 47'
sloop here:
Solar Panels
4) Make some specific calculations on your expected electrical needs....
In Amp / Hours per Day (A/H's per Day).......
And, then double that number.....or multiply it by 2.5......
And, that would be my recommendation for the largest array you'll need.....assumming that you'll be in low-mid latitudes, without too many cloudy days.....
If you're going to be in high-latitudes and/or many cloudy days are expected....multiply that A/H per day number by 3 to 3.5, and use that as the largest array you'd need....
5) As for deciding on what boat to buy based on how much solar you can mount......that's certainly not what I'd do.....and I personally think it's a bit silly......
But, you asked a legit question, so here's a staight answer:
Look at boats that have areas that will NOT be shaded....keeping the panels in the clear....
This is going to be tough on a "smaller" boats.....
But, if you look at more modern designs, they'll have wider stern sections and may allow you to mount a significant array aft of the boom and in the clear.....
This is why center-cockpit boats are not a good choice....although it would seem to be, the bimini's aren't typically as large as those on aft
cockpit boats....plus, you have lots of shading from the
mainsail (and the boom as well!!!)....
Again, have a look at my set-up, and you may get some ideas....
As for spocific boats.......haven't got a clue....however, I hope my thoughts/advice will be helpful....
6) Perhaps Nick, on s/v Jedi, will post his thoughts....since I believe he's got almost 700 watts of solar on board his 64' Sundeer....
Sunny Skies!
John