Solar without the panels:

Jul 13, 2015
893
Catalina 22 #2552 2252 Kennewick, WA
Thought I would share a positive experience with a few gadgets: I am planning our first overnight on S/V MaryAnn and electrical is not in the cards this season. No worries as nav lights will not be required but we would like some juice for cell phone charging and ambient light.
Not sure I will ever need a full solar panel installation, but this little bad boy from Goal Zero is really impressive. (no skin in the game, just saw it at REI and gave it a swing)

Ruggedized panel folds in two (magnetic clasps) and is about the size of an 8 1/2 x 11 inch piece of paper when closed. Open you see below and it directly charges the venture 30 storage bank -- (3.7V, 7800mAh) and has usb and micro usb outputs to charge whatever you need juice for.

Pretty dang slick for a portable rig that can go from boat to car to campsite and back.

goal zero.jpg
goal zero2.jpg
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,399
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
Neat. But with today's cheap parts, you could install 50 watts with a controller for the same $150 price. That's enough to actually run a small boat. About 2 hours labor, start to finish. Subscribe to Good Old Boat magazine and you'll see more projects like this.

As for camping, if I have the car I don't need it, and if I'm backpacking I don't want a phone. Really.

[50-watt panel on Corsair F-24. It was clean....]
 
May 24, 2004
7,129
CC 30 South Florida
You may need an anchor light and an LED lamp powered by AA batteries may do the trick.
 

w4swk

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Mar 23, 2015
185
1991 Catalina 22 Wing Keel 15202 Nocona
Thought I would share a positive experience with a few gadgets: I am planning our first overnight on S/V MaryAnn and electrical is not in the cards this season. No worries as nav lights will not be required but we would like some juice for cell phone charging and ambient light.
Not sure I will ever need a full solar panel installation, but this little bad boy from Goal Zero is really impressive. (no skin in the game, just saw it at REI and gave it a swing)

Ruggedized panel folds in two (magnetic clasps) and is about the size of an 8 1/2 x 11 inch piece of paper when closed. Open you see below and it directly charges the venture 30 storage bank -- (3.7V, 7800mAh) and has usb and micro usb outputs to charge whatever you need juice for.

Pretty dang slick for a portable rig that can go from boat to car to campsite and back.

View attachment 154889 View attachment 154891
Pretty neat! Until you get your electrical in, you can just run a light up the jib halyard to act as an anchor light. I like seeing ANY innovative ideas one comes up with! Have fun!!!
 
May 8, 2011
189
ODay 25 Cambridge
Better to get a battery pack from Amazon/Costco/et al and charge it at home, then take it on the boat for the night. The pack can be used to charge a cell phone, etc when not needed on the boat.
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,094
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
That's a good idea if you don't need a complete power setup. :D

Compared to "Goal Zero" hardware, there are lots of cheaper alternatives to do the exact same thing. (panel and small battery pack)

For spending $150, I can confirm what @thinwater says. My 40W panel and a controller cost me $130.
The solar controller has 2 USB ports.
We have 2 phones, a 9" waterproof tablet running navionics, a lowrance mark 4 gps/depth/chart unit, a VHF radio, and 2 e-ink readers, in addition to the normal lights onboard.
We just got back from a mostly sunny week on the boat and it kept the batteries full, even though we still have the original power hungry incandescent bulbs in the cabin.
(we didn't sail at night and we were tied to a dock each night so we didn't use our LED nav lights)
 
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Mar 2, 2018
232
Catalina Wing Keel San Diego
Hoping to revive this thread.
I have been using a Goalzero Nomad 13 to keep my 12v marine battery top up on longer trips. It has worked great so far. Everything on my boat is LED so that helps. We try and use Luci solar lights and headlamps at night to keep use down to a minimum. During the day we run a VHF radio and auto pilot if need be.
The Nomad 13 does not charge an iPhone 6 very well. So I am looking into something else that can charge the boat battery and 2 phones for the week.
I also have two care jumper batteries that are recharged and can keeps the phones charged for the week.

Thanks for the help
 
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
I’ve had a Goalzero for years now and find that it’s value is that I can just throw it in a go bag (it’s tuff, light and flexible) I’ve used it camping, sailing, skiing and at a soccer tournament because I had it with me. Portable battery banks and fixed systems have their value as well. If you are a bit of a gear junky you need mad battery management skills!
 
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Jul 13, 2015
893
Catalina 22 #2552 2252 Kennewick, WA
As others have mentioned-- the goal zero (or portable route) has it's disadvantages, but for what I need now, and before I rewire the boat: it's a fantastic alternative and even when I have legitimate power onboard-- a great backup. I have not had any issues with the Nomad 7 coupled with the venture 30 in charging my Iphone X and 8 models.

Luci lights equally cool-- but I have also enjoyed the individually solar chargable (and usb chargable) lights from GZ as well: I hung this from a halyard overnight as an anchor light and it was still beaming the next morning.

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