There are some truths about modern living. One of them is that we’ve found ways to burn incredible amounts of energy. Fridges, freezers, TV’s, computers, digital cameras, iPads, etc – all add to an ever-growing list of things we’ve begun to think we can’t live without. Well, that trend has certainly crept into boating.
Although I wouldn’t say I have incredibly complex systems onboard – I do have some that require quite a bit of energy. The windlass, autopilot, fridge, freezer, navigation equipment, lights, and watermaker (among other things) all run off of 12V. I have to constantly feed energy to my battery bank to keep all of that stuff working.
My batteries were headed downhill pretty quickly. And my charging systems couldn’t keep up with demand. So I opted to take a whack at both problems, with an eye toward making myself less dependent on burning fossil fuels for energy. Gas/diesel is expensive. And there’s a sneaky cost-center n the other stuff that you run through: filters, oil, impellers, and general wear and tear on engines as you run them in a highly corrosive environment.
I had 4 x 75W (300W) of solar panels onboard when I purchased S/V NOMAD. That was barely enough to keep up on sunny days. And it often left me really low when I was sailing – with all of the gauges, the autopilot, etc. Which left me motorsailing too much for my taste. Part of the solution is a larger solar array. Part of the solution is a more efficient solar charger (MPPT). Part of the solution is a larger battery bank to house more power. I did all three.
Over the last few days we’ve dramatically improved the energy systems onboard. There is currently 4 x 140W of solar onboard (560W), being regulated by a MPPT controller/charger. There are 8 X new 220 amp/hour 6V batteries wired in, for a total of 880 amp/hours. We also rewired my alternators on both engines, to better make use of the engines charging capabilities. I’m adding a better marine house-bank battery charger shortly. The biggest time-suck was trying to figure out the wiring mess left by the previous owner. We had to trace and label almost every wire onboard. On Day 2, Josh actually said: “I hate the guy who owned this boat before you.” I think that’s a common emotion among sailors – a general sense of disgust for half-assed jobs completed by a previous owner. It seems like you spend a few months paying for the sins of the previous owner.
Here’s the new solar mounted on the arch. The panels were not the same size as my previous ones, so the process was a little complex. Hell, it took a full day to find stainless hardware to mount the panels. And it took another full day to cut the teak supports that we needed to mount the new panels. On the side of the side of S/V NOMAD, I’m mounting two more 85W solar panels to the lifelines. There will be a total of 730W of solar onboard. That’s a fair amount of solar.
While we’re talking about it – that arch is a nifty addition. I run two trolling rods off of it, it has a fish-cleaning table, it has lights mounted under it, it houses my solar, we hang gear and people in the hammock under it, and it has antennas for my AIS, VHF, WiFi, SSB. Super useful. By far one of my favorite things onboard.
Back to power: you can make wind into power as well, but for the cost and complexity of wind-power, you can buy and install quite a bit of no-maintenance solar. Solar doesn’t make noise. Solar doesn’t require maintenance. And solar doesn’t pose safety hazards in high wind. I’m sticking with solar.
We’ve also installed a new fridge to replace the old, non-working unit in the galley. It’s a large front-opening fridge, so it won’t be the most efficient unit – but it’ll be damn nice to grab cold water or cold beer from the galley without heading downstairs to my under-bunk freezer.
With all of this, we’re slowly chipping away at things that dramatically improve my ability to take my sailing house around the world. It’s taking time, but I’m getting there. It also appears that we’ll have a new crew member shortly, and if she can handle boat-life we’ll have all of the major roles filled: captain, cook, and mechanic.
Thinking back to my time before this adventure in the States, and I realize I’ve come pretty far already. And with the boat tightened down, we’ll be off sailing and diving around the world in no time. On a well-designed, well-equipped, and well-crewed boat. How’s that for changing your life?
New Batteries, More Solar
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