"No, he's probably the guy yelling at you from across the mooring field asking you to stop running your generator endlessly to recharge your batteries."
If he is than he has me confused with another nearby
boat that's running their
generator "endlessly" to run their
air conditioning and
power the big
screen TV down below. In which case yelling is futile. Believe me I don't run my generator any more than I have to. That would be fuelish!
"While you silently motor past the fuel dock, does that mean you sneak the GAS for your generator on board under cover of darkness? "
Why that would stealing! The
marinas would not take to kindly to that kind competition.
No, what I meant was you won't see me waiting around burning
fuel while some 65 foot
motor yacht is tied up to the fuel
dock loading up with hundreds of gallons of fuel. Why? Because I already dingied over with a few 2 1/2 gallon jerry jugs and have no need to tie up for fuel. BTW I used seven gallons last season including some for the
outboard. Any left over was put into the car.
"I'm glad the experiment is working out for you, but you haven't found a free lunch. all you have done is changed how you consume your fossil fuels."
I agree no such thing as a free lunch when one owns a
boat. But, what I have found is I no longer have to squeeze my 6' 2" frame down below as often as I did when I had a
diesel. In fact I can access most of what I need to check from inside the
cabin. As I mentioned maintanence costs have also dramatically dropped,
reliability is up and the system is clean and quiet. As they say "silence is golden".
"Now when your system is self-sustaining, needing no fossil-fueled generator to keep the batteries charged, THEN you can be smug."
No smugness here. Just a happy sailor who would recommend others take a look at an
electric propulsion system WHEN it comes time to
repower. I'm glad I did. It might not
work for everybody but, it has made my cruises much better. As far as fossil fuel
consumption goes that's always a goal of mine to reduce or eliminate it as much as possible. Not because I am a "deranged eco freak" though I do care about the enviornment. I make that a goal because it also means less
money flowing out of my pocket. That's why I also have a 48 volt
solar panel
dodger and a
wind turbine too! Plus I get a kick at watching the boat make fuel while under sail too.
"BTW, I am not an anti-electric bigot. My dinghy is electrically powered, AND sustainably solar- charged. No fossil fuel input, no noise."
A
route I will probably go once my
Honda 2Hp four stroke gives up the ghost. Now how about some info on that
outboard you are using? What make and model, and voltage? What size
solar panel are you using and what type of dingy are using it on (inflatable, hard)? I am seriously curious for future reference.