Those are two different regions. Definitely two opposite directions from Southern California.Thanks dj. Well i'd like to sail south from southern California in a few years when im done refitting and restoring my boat. I'm about 60% done at this point. Im really interested in Chile and Argentina, particularly the southern coast of Chile through the Strait of Magellan and that coastal area. Also, very interested in the Southern Alaska coast and parts of B.C.
Onboard systems im trying to design and refit with cold weather sailing in mind, mostly remote sailing so heavily self sufficient with redundancy where i can build it in. Unfortunately i have no real world experience except for local sailing along the southern california coast, so i'm mostly relying on a handful of youtube channels and forums to help me try and figure out what is working and what is not in cold weather areas. Starting mid next year i will be able to start sailing out to the outer channel islands here in southern california so will be able to start putting to the test what is working and what is not, but our weather is fairly mild here by comparison.
As for solar and energy generation, i'd like to have an all electric galley which is probably a pipe dream but am thinking about possibly adding a diesel powered stove/oven. I was not a fan of wind either up until recently i watched a video from 'refit and sail' and he goes into some detail on his Silent Wind wind generator that is giving me second thoughts. Marine - Silentwind I truly like the Watt and Sea generators and will either buy one or try and DIY my own. The Watt and Sea generators seem to be prone to a high maintenance/failure rate though which is a little worrying considering the price for one of them. As for solar, i really have no idea but figured it would be less useful than i might expect and need to have a primary source of energy generation that was failsafe ie...alternator/s.
I'm trying to design a system, or am trying to keep in the front of my mind while doing the refit, of creating a complete system that has as low an energy consumption per day as i can possibly manage. Im trying to divide things into a group of 'core' functions, heating, navigation, bilge pumps, autopilot/windvane, etc...that use as little energy as possible and have a second group of devices that are more of a luxury item when energy production allows. The core functions i would hope in extreme circumstances would use less than 80Ah of battery capacity per day give-or-take. with a 600+ ah battery bank that would give me a week or so of power, but i really have no idea how realistic this number is yet. It seems the best path forward to generate energy is with diesel and an alternator, so the more diesel i can carry the better. I will also have diesel heating (reflex stove and diesel forced air system). I dont even know if 100 gallons of tankage is enough but im not sure i can fit more aboard my 36ft boat.
I installed the Silent Air wind generator. Here's the problem: unless you are in fairly constant 25 to 30 knot winds, it is barely a trickle charger. The cost of the unit is notable higher than solar panels. The return in investment, in terms of energy out per dollar in, is very low. I don't even use mine at this point and will take it off the boat in the near future, and it's still on warranty... They don't even begin trickle charging until the wind gets to about 10 knots. A huge disappointment.
For the length of ocean passages you are talking about you really should get a wind vane. I put a hydrovane on my boat and it was fantastic! They are probably the most expensive wind vane there is, but as I was heading to Europe and with the issue of the Orcas, I wanted the auxiliary rudder option. You don't necessarily need that for where you are going. I also have plenty going on in my aft cockpit and did not want all the lines needed for a service pendulum type, although I've used them in the past and they are also excellent. I will add that the Hydrovane performed so well, I would highly recommend it. Your boat is a good size for it also.
I'm not as familiar with the Alaska route as the Southern route. For the Southern route you need really good ground tackle. And you need really long scope. You can't do it with all chain, you will need to run out sometimes 600 to 800 feet of scope due to the water depths for anchoring. You will want long shore ropes also, similar to what is needed in Norway.
Once you get down I to that region, you will want a lot of lines for tying off and lots of bumpers. It is actually probably one area where your wind generator might actually be somewhat useful. But you will have thousands of miles to travel before that, I still don't think it's worth it... But kinda up to you.
For passage making, is go with the Watts and Sea - do you really think you can build one? Again, up to you.
An electric stove/oven would definitely kick up your power needs. The modern diesel stoves are much better than the old ones. I used propane, if you don't like that, I'd probably go with diesel over electric given the size of your boat and all the various compromises. I used to have a boat with diesel stove, but it was a long time ago and they weren't what they are today...
Once down south, your 100 gallons of diesel will be pretty small. You will be cooking, heating and supplementing electric although this last will be much less than you think if you get your solar and Watts and Sea set up. The real consumption will be heating. At least you sure don't want to run out and not have heat....
Do you have a place to put a fuel bladder? I've seen people put them in the floor of their cockpit. Jerry cans everyone has seen strapped to like lifelines. There are two problems with that. One, is that you are going to be going through some knarly waves and wind to get there - they are often ripped off. Most folks I know now that head down there take their Jerry cans and make holders - strong ones - closer to the mast base. The second problem is the modern fuel cans mandatorily must have a vent. That means they don't completely seal - I have old cans that don't have that problem. Id be worried of sea water ingress....
I run 400 amp hours of LiFePo house bank - with my one 385 watt solar panel, at anchor I get between a week and a month depending upon sun before I need to run my engine. I'm running twin 120 amp alternators through a wakespeed 500 controller - I carry a ore-programed back up - I don't allow over about 75% total output from the alternators on order to not get them too hot. So I recharge running my engine at between 180 and 190 amps out os a system theoretically able to put out 240 amps. Makes for much happier alternators.
Hope this helps a bit and if you have more questions, ask.
dj