A battery bank gives you a lot of flexibility. On a cat, you could mount an awful lot of solar panels, which would help a lot to decrease your fuel consumption. If your propulsion and house electrical needs are modest you could even find yourself not running the generators at all. Your freewheeling props can also contribute a little to charging the bank, and a big wind generator could help, especially at anchor. Your kwh from shore power is cheaper than diesel. The propulsion bank can carry house loads, too. Lots of good reasons to have batteries. You need to be storing cheap or free energy for later use. $900 for a 11kw diesel generator? Sounds way low, even for Chinese made. And be if you are buying the cheap Chinese diesel generators, be advised that they have a reputation for, short lifespans and difficult repair. Maybe a good backup, or for occasional use, but not a daily driver, imho. One type of system you might want to look at, is a diesel electric hybrid. The diesel, when running, turns the reduction gear and shaft, and also the electric motor which of course charges the batteries. When the electric motor is in use, the diesel is disengaged and only the electric motor is turning the shaft. When under sail, the prop can turn the electric motor and at high enough speed, provide a small regeneration current to the batteries, and of course you still have solar and wind power to charge the bank. This system is the ultimate in flexibility and redundancy. For a newbuild, I would look at this type of setup.
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