Sailboats because of all their rigging present a big problem with solar panels, but in some cases they can be made to work if the power requirements aren't too high. Especially with a wood boat I'd FIND a place to install a small panel or two, just to keep the bilge pumps operational. Some years ago I saw a beautiful wood boat that sank at the dock because the marina's power got knocked out by a hurricane, and the batteries went dead.
For me, it's a matter of convenience. I can park my trailerable boat anywhere there's sun and I don't have to worry about a power cord, OR the batteries being overcharged. For my (diesel propelled) houseboat solar means I don't need an expensive diesel generator, or listen to a gas genset. "Silence is Golden" when it comes to power.
For a boat that lives at a dock where shore power is available and free, solar would be hard to justify, except as a backup.
Willie
--- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "Eric" <ewdysar@...> wrote:
>
> Yep, for house banks, I think that solar is reasonable. As you describe I'm guessing that your panels generate about 300Wh per day, on a good day. Of course for minimal house loads that's not bad.
>
> Unfortunately, on my ketch, I've got no good place to mount PV panels. My sails reach from the stem of my bow to 3 feet aft of the transom, so every spot on the boat is shaded 50% of the time while the boat is under way. Because of all the wood, the boat lives under a canvas cover which would shade the panels 100% of the time while the boat is not in use. So at best, PV output would be twice expensive for me as for most of you, and only when I was on board. With a day job, that's not as often as I would like....
>
> Fair winds,
> Eric
> Marina del Rey, CA
>
> PS. my electricity comes with my dock fees, but even if I paid grid-based fees, I think that I use less than $15 of electricity a year
>
> --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "cire" <cirejay@> wrote:
> >
> > Although I'm still using an ICE aux. on my sailboat, I got rid of my shorepower charger a few years ago. I too rarely tie up to land except for my homeport.
> >
> > I have a high output alternator but last year I installed 2 50 watt panels in case I lost everything offshore and have been pleasantly surprised at how well they keep my bank topped up.
> >
> > My next boat, ICE or electric will have them anywhere I can put them.
> >
> > eric SV Meander
> >
> >
> > --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, "Capt. Mike" <biankablog@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I don't tie up to a dock often. But, sometimes when I'm on a cruise one needs to for provisions. water etc... Some marinas are charging crazy prices for dockside electricity. Twenty dollars per day! Nice to be able to say "No Thanks" I'll use my solar panels instead.
> > >
> > >
> > > Sent from on board BIANKA
> > > http://biankablog.blogspot.com
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: "cire" <cirejay@>
> > > Sender: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> > > Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 12:05:58
> > > To: <electricboats@yahoogroups.com>
> > > Reply-to: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
> > > Subject: [Electric Boats] Re: Costs of running a small electric boat
> > >
> > > I suspect that we do it for many different reason, both collectively and individually.
> > >
> > > eric SV Meander
> > >
> > > --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com, oak <oak_box@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > I'll bite...
> > > > Â
> > > > In my case, electricity is covered in the dock fee. So far, I only have 2 x 12V batteries (that will become 4 as quickly as I can get there!). I could easily add enough solar panels to charge the 4 batteries during the majority of the week that I'm away from the boat.
> > > > Â
> > > > But I would ONLY be doing it because of the "cool" factor, and because "it felt good".  I could spend several hundred on small panels and regulators that otherwise wouldn't be required at all. It would just give me bragging rights that (after the initial investment, and neglecting batteries), I was "sailing for free".   :)
>
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