power for moored boat

[BarryL]

Hello,I am using a small solar panel to keep the battery charged on mymoored C22 (the outboard does not have an alternator). I hope tobuy a bigger boat in the near future. Should I continue to use thesolar panel on the new boat, or will the inboard engine w/alternatorprovide enough power? Most of my trips are day sails, where the engine will run for less than 10 minutes. Electric loads willbe small - depth meter, GPS, VHF, maybe a stereo.The solar panel on the C22 words great, the batt is always atfull charge.Thanks,Barry

 

[blewispunk]

Depends, but...

I have a 26 foot boat that we use mainly for day sails once a week and it doesn't have anything charging the battery's but the alternator on my 9.9 outboard and a 10w solar panel. I don't run the engine much so the solar panel gives it the majority of charge. It works great for day sails but this last weekend we took it out for three nights and by the last day the batteries were down around 11.8V in the morning so we had to motor-sail part way home to re-charge. I am amazed at how well these little solar panels work, you'd definitely need a lot more if using boat for cruising but for weekends or day cruises a little panel should be fine depending on what you've got on board. If you've got pressure water, refridgeration, or a lot of other electronics that will require more constant power than you may need to get shore power for when you're using the boat and able to get power while away (or get a generator), but for small electronics and lighting your panel should be fine. Sorry for the rambling.

 

[Roger5038]

Should be OK

My Hunter 37 is used mostly for day sailing as you propose. My only source of recharging is from the motor/alternator mostly while leaving my mooring, for the 5 minutes it takes me to get past our local channel into clear waters. That time (plus the return) has been more then enough to sufficiently recharge the batteries. If you notice them getting low then you can keep the motor on longer. Since you already have a solar panel, you can use that to trickle charges while not using the boat. For day sailing this arrangement should be more than sufficient for your needs. Also, you will probably have a 2 bank system so in case 1 goes , the other should at least be able to start your engine (if appropriatly hooked up).

 

[Trevor - SailboatOwners.c]

More power can't be a bad thing

Hi Barry -You might be fine with just the auxiliary engine's alternator, but if you already have the solar panel, you might as well keep it and put it on your next boat. On a side note, you should run an inboard diesel engine under load for longer periods of time on occasion; it's not good for them to only run at 5 minunte intervals all the time. Best,Trevor

 

[Stu Jackson]

Budget

BarryWhat you need to do is an energy budget.Figure out how much is going in compared to how much is going out.Then you'll know.Stu

 

[Brian5035]

Solar works fine

Barry,My boat is an Oday 272LE used mainly for day sailing a couple of times a week. I have one 6watt solar panel hooked up to both batteries through seperate blocking diodes and I leave the panel on a cockpit seat when the boat is moored. This set up keeps the batteries charged up just fine. Never had a worry and I run my motor for very short preiods. Brian

 

[Drew13440]

solar info...

Link below to Don Casey on solar panels and moored boats....http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=caseyd020It's worth a look. Drew