The advantage to solar
battery charging depends on how you use your boat. If you daysail, you could connect to shore power at the end of the day. However, where shorepower is not readily available a solar charger is an asset. There is the convenience of walking away with the assurance that a charge will be maintained without the trouble of rolling out a power cord to hook up to shore power. If you make overnight or longer trips and use 12v dc for onboard lights and systems, a 5W charger will bring the charge back up on a group 24 deep cycle battery the next day. I worry that a 110v ac charger might become the source of a fire somehow although I do use one. The solar charger offers piece of mind when I am going to be away from my boat for a week or more. It keeps a charge on my batteries safely and extends the life of the battery by doing so. You've got my two cents worth; so, my advice is do it. WM offers a solar charger that I use on my H30. It cost $80 and has already paid for itself. Since we sail at night, take extended cruises and prefer to use state docks (free without hook ups) or anchor out, it is good to have the free source of charging capacity. The model I have will provide a marginal charge even on cloudy days. Select a model that has overcharge and polarity protection through a blocking diode. I know this topic has been presented in depth on this site, or on Sailnet. On the latter, Don Casey might have an article.
