Solar and Wind

How many have solar panels or wind generators?

What do you prefer?

How and where do you mount them and what size are they?

Allan

We have 2 x 80W monocrystalline panels mounted flat on the pilothouse roof.

On a sunny day, here in Auckland NZ, they will run two 24V fridges and a 24V freezer and still top up the batteries. They seem to max out at around 4 amps (wired in series to give 24V). On a heavily overcast day they still produce an amp or so. A good regulator is essential, we use a Steca controller.

In Queensland, you will get even better performance. I have seen charter powercats there with 4 x 80W panels producing huge amounts of power (relatively).

Don't know much about wind generators except that they are noisy!

Cheers,

Depending on what you want to do with it.
Solar is a dependable way to keep your batteries topped off, and in quantity can supply a lot of your daily needs, but needs a good controller, preferably a MPPT one. MPPT is a maximum power point tracking controller that looks at the incoming current and supplies the correct charge for you batteries. It can be more effective but also more expensive than a standard controller.
I have 2 100 watt panels on our boat, currently not hooked up as our controller died. I had planned on adding a additional 260 watts more. Solar is only effective for ~6 hours per day, less in the winter of course. It is quiet but takes up a lot of space and once installed will last for a long time. Costs are going down, but still to high imo.

Wind is a dilemma. It can be difficult to get a good output on a wind generator in most areas. You need a minimum of 10 knots of wind to get a output on them, although some will start at 7 knts. But to get a significant out put , you need over 15 knots of wind or more. So if you are going to depend on it at anchor lets say, you would need to anchor in windy places. Not the best place to anchor. It can also be noisy, and a hazard to your fingers, head and what ever else. In high wind conditions you much be able to shut it down or it can self destruct. Vibration can also be a issue.
The best wind generators are the four winds 2 and the KISS. They consistently have the best outputs at the lower wind speeds. Costs can be over 2K plus install.

On a sail boat, a combination on solar and wind is the best way IMO, but not sure about power. I suspect that a solar only would be best, if one had the space to install a few panels.
4 130 watt panels with a good MPPT controller should be able to supply 120 amphours/day.
But for a larger boat that has a genset... not sure if it would be a cost effective solution. Maybe I would put in one small panel to keep my start batteries happy.

Bob

Solar or Wind

In our experience, solar panels give a useful output for 9 hours per day in summer and about 6 in winter, This is at Lat. 37 deg South. Queensland is a lot further north so I reckon you would be getting 11 hours in summer and 9 in winter.

Our biggest load is refrigeration, and although the output is less in winter, so is the load with lower ambient air temp.

Steca is a MPPT controller, adjustable for wet, gel and AGM cells. We have 800ah of gel cells.
Jeff b

-- Edited by Bendit on Monday 24th of May 2010 02:55:04 PM

Solar or Wind

I use both.* As mentioned, here in Queensland we have an excess of sun, (which makes it obscene we are not further ahead than we are in the area of domestic solar power production.* Some European countries even shame us in that).* However out on the Bay, solar is good, and so is wind, as average daily winds out there are (seem to always be anyway), 15-20 knots, so the Airbreeze whiiishes away nicely most of the time.* Whereas once in an achorage I preferred not much wind, but got it anyway.....now I just smile, look at the ammeter, and say..."boy that was a 10 amp gust then....mmmmm, good, free power...blow your wee heart out baby".* Of course on the move there is the alternator too, so between the three, I remain 12 volt only, can run my frig and all, and the batts are always right up there, and we need no genny, or 'noisemaker' as FF likes to call them.* The 2 solar panels (30w) are up on the aft section of the flybridge, the turbine in such a place no-one can accidentally be 'clipped'.* Oh, and she can add a fair bit of wind as well, but don't tell her I said that, or I'm a deyad man.
PS Oh yeah, the day of the pic was one of the rare still days, looking at the prop......

-- Edited by Peter B on Tuesday 25th of May 2010 04:41:27 AM

-- Edited by Peter B on Tuesday 25th of May 2010 04:44:20 AM

Peter B said:

Of course on the move there is the alternator too, so between the three, I remain 12 volt only, can run my frig and all, and the batts are always right up there, and we need no genny, or 'noisemaker' as FF likes to call them.* The 2 solar panels (30w) are up on the aft section of the flybridge, the turbine in such a place no-one can accidentally be 'clipped'.*[/size]

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Hello Peter. I too have solar panels and a wind generator. Plus an alternator and am moving up from a three battery house bank to five Group27's.
Plus a separate Start Battery, Group 29

[The battery switch is always set to All. One is Start, and Two is the House bank.]

My question is in your hot leads from solar and wind. What have you done?

On Seaweed, House bank battery #1 goes to the Perko Switch, #2 gets Solar in, and #3 battery receives power from the wind generator.

Ground is to the engine block via a honking big 00 cable. It's a mite excessive on size however the price was perfection. A friend was upgrading and the length was too short for his new set-up so I was blessed with the old one.

All cable runs are 18" or less (it's a small boat)
I will be buying more wire as I have increased the number of batteries. Advice on size would be appreciated. Currently everything is 4-gauge or bigger.

And yes, I'll pull out Calder's in a little while. Figured I'd get all my Wind and Solar wiring questions out of the way at once.

From another thread (I've learned advanced search)

BruceK said:

Allan and Peter,
I used multistage regulators and an inline fuse in the + lead just before each battery.
I later installed a 25w panel via a simple regulator for the genset battery.
My lead acid (dinosaur) batteries love it. Boat lives on a swing mooring.
Panels put out immediately in sun. During install, or other work, put them to sleep by covering them.
Hope this is some help.

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Hello Bruce. I have been reading and listening to an EE friend who says he has a fuse or circuit breaker for each of his batteries on the positive side. He has two batteries and two solar panels, two controllers (each separate from the other)

I don't have that setup.
I've got five solar panels feeding two shunts, then to the solar controller then to one of my house bank batteries. Would One fuse be sufficient and what type?

Five 12 volt batteries, 109 amp hours (Standard deep cycle marine Group 27's from Walmart)

and one Group29 Start battery

The alternator is small (I've got a bigger one but that's mission creep -- not to be discussed or dealt with until the basic system is satisfactory)

My Air-Breeze also puts power into a different battery in my House Bank. Does it need a fuse ? I know there's a breaker in the switch from the wind genny so believe I've got that "covered"
What say you?

What type of economical fuse would work for me and is one enough? Thanks.

Hi Janice, I have two separate banks of 90w of panels. Each set serves an 8D battery via a regulator which has the "one way" diode.
From memory the idea of inserting a fuse just before the battery came from a Don Casey article I saw online. I used a marine version of a simple auto inline fuse holder with old fashioned glass fuse in the + line, sizing the fuse by the max theoretical amp output of the panels (watts divided by volts = amps), so 90 divided by 12 = 7.5 (I wish, in practice I never get that much).
If the the feed goes to one of 5 house batts connected in parallel, one fuse should be all you need, and all you can fit anyway.
As to the wind generator, the breaker may be enough but a fuse can`t hurt, and it protects the battery at the last opportunity. Peter B has an Air Breeze or similar, you could ask him or he may read this and respond.
Glad you have the wind and solar serving separate banks, I was afraid you`d ask about regulating the two connected to one bank. Peter might have the answer to that too. For my part I kept my set up as simple as I could.

BruceK said:

Glad you have the wind and solar serving separate banks, I was afraid you`d ask about regulating the two connected to one bank. Peter might have the answer to that too. For my part I kept my set up as simple as I could.

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Thanks Bruce... however the wind goes into Battery #3 of the house bank and the solar currently goes into Battery #2 of the house bank.

I have five Group 27's (one bank) and one Group 29 for my Starting bank.

It's my understanding that the 29 cannot/should not/ be in the same bank with the 27s.

You should have a start batt separate from the house bank, just as you have. (IG does not do that, but somehow it seems to work).
It would make sense to send the wind charger output to the house bank after it fills the start batt, shame to waste that free charge. Then you need auto switching, and better advice. I think Blue Seas make a device to do that, others will know what and how.

Hi, Janice and Bruce. Actually, it is probably not necessary in the normal situation with reasonably regular running to put anything into the start batt other than when underway. The drain if used for just starting is fairly minimal as it is so brief, but I have a small 10w panel which does not need a controller just to trickle my start batt because we don't go out that often. The other large panel & wind genny are dedicated to the house bank, in my case just 2 x 100 AH AGMs in parallel, and like Bruce there is a blade type fuse in-line between the solar controller, which is just a simple PWM (pulse width modulation) type, and the batteries. The Airbreeze, in the marine set-up, actually has a 20Amp fusible link between the incoming positive feed and the battery anyway, (in line with disconnect switch, and ammeter, if fitted), so needs nothing else.

The only potential cause of a problem can be if there is a bit of a fight between the different sources of current, and that is best addressed by essentially doing what Janice has done, ie the connections are to different batts in the house bank, ie physically separated, although, if the batts are all in parallel, then they are also in parallel, and effectively topping up all the batts in the bank through the one they are connected to, unless each is kept separate and only connected by a selector switch when needed, which would be an unusual arrangement.

Over-regulation can also be managed by the voltage set point, so the Airbreeze is set usually at 14.1v, and likewise a similar figure for the solar regulator, so they will only stop charging if the voltage rises above that. Usually I find that the panels do most of the charging during the day, and the wind genny comes into real effect during the night.

In larger installations, where one has several large solar panels, then they do recommend using a multi-input MPPT (maximum power point tracking) type controller, and you can get those with a dedicated separate wind genny input connection as well.

Hope that helps add to the conversation. As a PS, I can now address a confession I made in my original post re us Queenslanders not taking up solar power generation as much as we should. That picture has changed dramatically since I put that up, and now one in 10 houses in Qld has solar, and we put up a 6kw array (that's 24 x 250w panels through a 5kw inverter) in April 2014, and the power savings are considerable. I love it..!

I have my 2 current panels mounted on hinges so they hang vertical when not in use.

An added bonus is because they are adjustible, often one is very efficient, the other still more efficient when tilted past horizontal from sun up to sunset.

Solar is quiet , and with a controller you can be gone for 6 months (we do)

Wind is noisy and a PIA to the entire anchorage.

Wind also needs to be secured in a high wind situation.

Wind can sometimes make lots of juice , but you (and the anchorage) pay a price.

I appreciate the advice and will get this wired/tied down when the rain stops later this week.

I've already got the wiring diagram laid out and have to do a count and see how many more short cable lengths I'll need. I will have someone else crimp on the ends and add the heat shrink, probably at an auto parts store. I'm buying my own wire probably from Marine Wiring, Boat Cable and Electrical Genuinedealz.com as recommended here. I had a good experience with them in the two previous orders, specifically good prices and shipped quickly.

P.S. - Did wonder if someone on the Site Team could change the title to Solar AND wind versus the "or" as is present. It might help someone down the waterway a bit. I'm not sure what site preference is so will leave that to the folks who are in the know.

In either event, thank you. I love that there's a place where I can get advice from folks who actually are out here doing it. I appreciate that more than y'all can ever know.

As for wind noise versus generator versus solar? Of course solar is quiet. I like that I've got options and the wind generator provides that. The newer ones are not nearly as obnoxious as the older ones. And too my hearing isn't perfect so they don't bother me.

Cloudy days are often in tandem with windy ones. In that regard lack of power provided by solar is compensated by the Air-Breeze. And if it were not windy I'd like a Yamaha 1000 too someday.

Wind and generators are the sound of power. How you generate power is all about freedom. Your choice is yours and I'm certain your reasoning is perfect for your situation and lifestyle. Aboard Seaweed I've lived for years (literally) without refrigeration and that is over for me. I want ice in my tea, cold fruit in the reefer, and frozen sausages in the freezer. Plus cheesecake. I love cheesecake too.

To have all that I initially had success in breezy harbors with a wind generator. It wasn't enough so I started adding solar panels and battery capacity. Now I believe I have the means to live life exactly the same regardless of where my Seaweed is.

I'll be testing that out when I wire the newest batteries into my house bank. From my figures I'm there with excess power too. My life of decadence will not require a shore power cord.

A while back I was chatting with S/V Dream anchored close to me. He asked if I was bothered by his generator. His galley was all electric. I replied that the first couple times I heard it I looked around trying to figure out where the noise came from. But after that it became background and almost unheard.

I did not ask about my Air-Breeze. We each need to generate power for our lives. I would not presume to say one way is the only way.

There was that time this guy pulled in with a Northern Tools or Harbor Fright generator. I moved Seaweed.

That's the beauty of having a boat. If the neighborhood goes to pot you can leave and there are always better spots around the bend.

Life on the hook is great. I love it and have spent a lot of thought, time and dollars making my home more comfortable off-the-grid than she would be tied to a dock with nosy neighbors.

Remote areas are amazing. That's not to say that I would not mind a cruising partner -- IF he had his own boat. In tandem might be decent. I'd love someone to share the moments with but he's got to have his own boat. And he cannot use a Northern Tools nor Harbor Freight generator. I do have my standards!

I have neither. If I were to add one, it would be solar, hands down. As a few folks have mentioned, wind generators make noise and only work if it's windy. Even if the noise didn't bother me, it would surely bother nearby boaters in an anchorage or marina. Solar makes no sound and is pretty much maintenance free.

For serious cruising without wanting to use a genset.....both are pretty handy or a healthy bank of batteries/low demand to store energy is required.


Generally, days on end of cloudy, shorter winter days are usually accompanied by wind. They complement each other much of the time...one more productive than the other due to weather.


But starting out...I chose solar over wind for all the reasons given so far...though noise is much less of a factor than older versions of wind power.

Wind versus solar. Bay Pelican has both and my general comment as to which is better depends on where you cruise. We are in the Windward Islands and a steady 15 kt+ breeze does wonders for the wind generator. We have a five year old Air Breeze and while we can hear it it is quiet enough that it doesn't bother our sleep. Over a 24 hour period it produces at least twice the power of our two 140 watt solar panels. While we have tropical sun, at 14 degrees north, we have sunlight for only 12.5 hours per day and the solar panels really kick in for only eight hours.

We are also in QLD, and I have a single 300w 12v panel on the hardtop of the fly bridge, and I use a voltronic 320W MPPT controller with a remote LCD display, the panel returns between 50-80 amps per day into the house batteries 3 x 220amp AGMs. We are power pigs and consume around 200 amps per day, running a huge fridge, 2 TV`s, stereo, underwater lights, chargers for iphones, tablets and so on. The solar works well for us. I have also had the alternator rebuilt, it gives us 60 amps at idle and 120 amps at 2000 rpm into a sterling power charging splitter, and the battery charger is a Victron Energy 60amp charger for when we either running our portable eu20i generator or plugged into shore power. The 60 amp Victron charger draws 1000w (240v) and I had to change the hot water element to 800w so I could run both from the honda generator. (next boat must have a inbuilt genset)

FF said:

Solar is quiet , and with a controller you can be gone for 6 months (we do)

Wind is noisy and a PIA to the entire anchorage.

Wind also needs to be secured in a high wind situation.

Wind can sometimes make lots of juice , but you (and the anchorage) pay a price.

Click to expand...

FF you bring this up every time. Once again I will repeat, nearly all wind gens nowadays are much quieter than they used to be, but they do make some noise, and it is true many marinas, (ours included), discourage their use in the marina, especially if there are live-aboards there. However, this issue is simply addressed by leaving them in the braked position, where they rotate too slowly to make any noise, (achieved by feeding the current back to the head unit by a special two-way switch, where it has a braking effect, or by securing the blades so they don't rotate at all, especially if high winds expected, or one leaves the boat untended for lengthy periods. Also easily done, and it's what I normally do.

After all, in a marina it is simpler just to connect to a decent shore power type smart charger, so in-marina charging is seldom the only option, even on a sailboat.

Out on the pick, the noise from the wind gennys of today are quieter at the usual anchoring distance apart than most diesel or petrol gennys, certainly not going to "bother the whole anchorage"...
Frankly, to rely totally on solar, we would have to have double the panels, and double the batteries. No room for either, and we would have to have at least a 4 stroke Honda eu20i type generator as well, with their exhaust/noise issues.

At our old marina there was a catamaran that had a wind generator, a old noisy one. The guy who owned the catamaran use to leave it going all the time, even though he was plugged into shore power, annoying everybody. He only use to go to his boat once every two weeks sit on it and drink beer all weekend, he came down to his boat once to find a life jacket tangled up into it, I think someone got sick of it wurring away 24/7

Yobbo said:

At our old marina there was a catamaran that had a wind generator, a old noisy one. The guy who owned the catamaran use to leave it going all the time, even though he was plugged into shore power, annoying everybody. He only use to go to his boat once every two weeks sit on it and drink beer all weekend, he came down to his boat once to find a life jacket tangled up into it, I think someone got sick of it wurring away 24/7

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No real surprise there, as that was just being silly and inconsiderate, by any standards. Most marinas these days would take action on that before someone needed to get desperate.

How's the boat search going, by the way..? Sorry, tiny thread hi-jack.

Hi Peter, I have been really busy working, so apart from the interweb searches, it`s moving pretty slow, I need time to not only look, but to clean my Riv up and put it on the market, if the weather is good on the weekends I`m out in it.

"How you generate power is all about freedom."

Usually the huge demand that requires lots of power is the reefer.

It might actually be cheaper to install a Quality reefer ($$$) and need little to keep it happy , than spend big bucks on batts and multiple charging systems .

Engle is one brand , there are others that are not of marine or RV power requirements.

Of course Propane is the best at silence a 20# bottle is over a month with a big unit.

But the thought of propane panics some, as does the thought of a gasoline power plant.

The old option of Eutetic plates is fantastic , but requires a built in well insulated box , and a compressor mounted on the engine.

Out 90/90 does 3 or 4 days with the ice cream at 5F but it was expensive and a lot of detailed work.

The off grid folks always believe it is 3 times cheaper to NOT have to create/store energy than to operate an inefficient system.

The less power you require 24/7/365 the easier it is to live free.

If the noise from wind generators bothers you, you might avoid the Eastern Caribbean. Most boats have one or more and they run 24/7 including when in the marina. Of course our marinas charge a little more than ten times the rate I am charged at home. At more than $1.10 US per kilowatt, the wind generator at the dock is valuable.

We use the shore power, when it is on, for heating water, refrigeration and equalizing the batteries.

If you want noise, it is the clanging of the halyards from some of the sailboats and the partying of young folks on the charter boats.

Peter B said:

FF you bring this up every time. ....................

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And why should he not? If the same subject comes up again and again, why should anybody not express his/her opinion each time? I suspect nobody has convinced him to change his opinion.

Perhaps I am just lucky so far, I haven't spent much time in crowded anchorages, I've been able to stay away from other boats but I have been bothered by wind generators a couple times so I agree with FF on this issue.

Of course as others have mentioned, sailboat rigging, gensets and partying or loud stereos are other issues in anchorages.

FF said:

It might actually be cheaper to install a Quality reefer ($$$) and need little to keep it happy , than spend big bucks on batts and multiple charging systems .

Engle is one brand , there are others that are not of marine or RV power requirements.

Of course Propane is the best at silence a 20# bottle is over a month with a big unit.

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FF: I did look seriously at an Engel. The stats are wonderful and I'm sure that I could find a spot for one of the reefer-types. The cooler one (smallest) was seriously too small for me and my desires.

The next size up, again a cooler style with an opening top simply would not fit any place aboard Seaweed except in the dinette bench seat. I could not find a way to make that work for me -- not when an easy to open $120 3.1 cubic-foot two door Haier was available. Even that required a major reworking of the galley.

Propane like what we had on our 40'er was considered also. We had a Dometic AC/DC/propane unit. On Seaweed venting was nigh on to impossible.

Having a very small boat means some of my choices are limited. In refrigeration that is certainly true. A small cube Norcold would have been great, however at $700 it was too rich for my blood. It would still require power and AC reefers are becoming more efficient all the time.

The thing is, having been around boats since dinosaurs roamed the earth, I remember how things were and the changes wrought over the years. At one time the DC units (Norcold and the like) were the "cat's meow" and boats clamored for them.

We had one on our 40'er. Then we shifted to Dometic for a larger refrigerator with a freezer. We also had the ability to easily swap out propane tanks though mostly it ran on DC as that was easier to generate without being tied to a city infrastructure.

But I digress...
The new theory proposed seems to center on using plain old domestic reefers -- the throwaways from box stores. When they quit either fix them for a couple hundred bucks or toss them out and replace with a new, more efficient, cheaper unit that fits the same slot.

Sure an Engel that fits where my 3.1 Haier sits would be wonderful. However if the Haier croaks my purse won't shiver in dread.

Simple really is best and for me that means a cheap reefer, lots of solar panels and batteries to support same. Though I have a ten gallon propane tank, it is in reserve and I use the small green cans. They are easier to carry and one a week means I'm cooking at will.

My tank is one that the government outlawed (fiberglass) and so I won't be able to get it refilled here in the states. "We're from the government and we are here to help you..." but that's another subject.

Please know FF that I did carefully study and consider the alternatives you proposed. That they work for you is great. Simply because it will not fit into Seaweed does not make your choices poor. They just are not for me.

They do have merit for those with larger boats and/or larger budgets. Anyone thinking about replacing a refrigerator needs to consider all the alternatives.

I suspect that is one of the things I like best about boating. There is always something to learn. Things that were Fact ten years ago often have been superseded by new knowledge, inventions and ways of doing things. That's certainly true in things like steel boats (does anyone use cold tar epoxy anymore?)

Having a small boat means I make compromises based on what will fit into a limited amount of space. I'm getting there (condensing) and truly each thing aboard is there for some particular reason. Either it pleases me, serves me or keeps me safe.

Or I want it! All of us justify our choices. With much thought and deliberation I chose a cheap reefer and wind, plus solar and a battery bank that should keep me ticking for several days without either. I'm glad your options work so well for you on your boat.

It's also wonderful that you can get yourself in places without wind generators or generators. Around here you would be a very unhappy man.

Bay Pelican said:

If you want noise, it is the clanging of the halyards from some of the sailboats and the partying of young folks on the charter boats.

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Voices carry on the water and at anchorages I've learned far too much about strangers. It is definitely on a par with cell phone conversations with the added "benefit" of hearing both sides.

"$120 3.1 cubic-foot two door Haier was available. Even that required a major reworking of the galley."

Any price difference may be made up by the cost of solar , inverter, wind machine and larger batts that wear out with use.,

The power required may be 300% larger than the more efficient units , which is a DAILY challenge.

The Steve Dashew site sells temperature tell tale recording devices , that might be good insurance for food quality..

All boats , large and small are compromises , we all do the best we can at the time.

It is always best to minimize power needs before trying to increase the power available. You may end up having to add some source of additional power in the end, but perhaps not as much.

The obvious first step is to replace all the lighting with LEDs. A refrigerator is a power hog so that is a good thing to consider replacing. Older CO detectors draw as much as two or three amps while the latest model draw a fraction of that.

FF said:

The Steve Dashew site sells temperature tell tale recording devices , that might be good insurance for food quality.

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For that purpose I bought a weather station (Ambient brand) from Amazon for about $25. Mine comes with a second "outside" temperature and humidity gauge. I put that in my reefer and have an easy way to monitor how cold it is.

As for the freezer, I did what lots of folks have done. I have some ice cubes in a bag. If they melt bad things have happened. Thus far, all is well.

WesK said:

The obvious first step is to replace all the lighting with LEDs. A refrigerator is a power hog so that is a good thing to consider replacing. Older CO detectors draw as much as two or three amps while the latest model draw a fraction of that.

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You are quite correct WesK regarding the power drains. Aboard Seaweed all lights that are used are LED and I'm gradually swapping out the ones that are never on for LED too.

I've got a great anchor light -- the Owl by Bebi with minimal power draw. The anchor light in Algae (my dinghy) uses .01 or .03 (can't remember which bulb I've got in her at present) so Algae's solar panel easily keeps up with that.

My world is essentially 12-volts. An inverter provides AC.

I'm too old to live another summer without a working 24/7 refrigerator. Though I grew up on a boat until my teens without a reefer and lived on Seaweed for years doing the ice drill, this refrigeration thing is AMAZING.

Bringing ice via dinghy to the boat is just below hauling water. NOT fun.

Thanks to Larry I now have enough solar that I'll be able to run that reefer without concern. I did not have that previously so this is a huge step up. I'm so blessed.

Enjoying a life of decadence in 23' has been my goal since purchase. So far step by step I'm making progress. It's nearly been eight years since I made her my home.

I'm even going to start a new Log Book to celebrate! This truly is a momentous time for me. It seems I'm perpetually walking around with a smile on my face. Life is truly wonderful afloat.

For me, the combination of wind and solar means I've got the means to regenerate power. No one power source can provide that redundancy.

A while back, three miles off shore while hugging the coast south I met a sailboat. He'd run out of power and could not start his engine. It was a WestSail32. With a mild breeze on the nose he was going no place.

Hailed (what was that Kid doing waving at me?!?) I came over. He had no power so of course could not respond on the VHF. In any event, I came over and we spoke.

He needed power so I rafted up to him and used my power via an extension cord with a 15 to 30 adapter to charge his batteries. I also took his Kid on my boat for a movie and sent over my Calder's so he could try to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.

New to him boat, etc. You know the drill.

Having both energy sources was a benefit to him. He was unsuccessful that initial night so I drifted back and anchored nearby. It blew crazy hard during the night so I had plenty of power for him to try in the morning.

Though he was not successful it was good to be able to help another fellow. There are not too many battery chargers and power stations on the 3-mile line in the Gulf of Mexico.

Article here, if you're curious: Janice142 article

There is a place on boats for multiple power generation sources. I glad I do not have to rely on just one.

Thanks for your input WesK and FF.
Check out the spiffy battery powered (AA for main unit and AAA for "outdoor" sending unit) weather stations. It's a good way to inexpensively get the information required.

P.S. DO NOT BUY the Walmart ones. Those, you have to be dead-on ahead of or the numbers won't show. I returned mine and bought from Amazon. This is the one I bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ASIN=B003OSSH9G&linkCode=as2&tag=janice142-20

I'd pick a newer version from the same company were I you. And the outside gizmo is about 1" by 1/2" and maybe 4" tall. It tucks nicely in the corner of the refrigerator under the light.

"I put that in my reefer and have an easy way to monitor how cold it is."

How cold it IS is a big difference from how warm it got sometime when you were away.

What is the next lifestyle improving desirement ?