I want one (Electric)
I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. What
got me thinking was an article I read in Motorhome Magazine about
boondocking (Dry camping with no hookups) as well as my own
experience with a motorhome.
I was wondering if some of the same technology could not be used in a
boat. What I am considering is something similar to the Marina
cruiser or the single man's livaboard. With a 4.5 kw genset up front
and four 6 volt golf car batteries amidships - a good
converter/charger and one could live pretty well even without shore
power and all it's hassel and mooring expenses. A genset running
aproximately one hour in the morning and evening can supply all the
power one needs for cooking and taking the chill off or cooling
things down when it is hot. Various 110 volt appliances come to mind
such as a microwave, Hot plate, toaster oven, corn popper. I can run
a small roof a/c with a heat strip and/or heater and a small water
hearter during that period. The rest of the time one can live off the
batteries including a couple dialectric ice box units, lights,
computer and stereo, radio and phone.
Some of the newer gensets are marvels of power and efficiency and run
very quietly. The genset on my 1976 Barth motorhome is not quiet but
churns out a lot of reliable power after all these years. The secret
of their reliablility is that they run at a constant speed not much
over a fast idle. Diesel gensets practically run forever if they
have the oil and filters changed regularly. The new solid state
smartchargers and inverters are also much more efficent both for
charging and protecting appliances. Battery compartments can be
sealed and vented quite easily. I have worked for years with hydrogen
gas and found it disperses very quickly up a small stack. Of course
being so light it has to.
So that got me to thinking about using the battery power in
conjunction with the sails to move from one location to another.
(Helping me stay out irons;-) And even perhaps do some canal and
river cruising. One could have a 10 hp four stroke outboard as
additional power if needed to chug upstream or backup the electrics.
One scenario I envison is beating to weather in light airs and see a
state of the art suit of mylar coming up from abaft. And then as he
slides by - switch on the 12 volt wind machine and turn up the stereo
just enough to cover the hum - so that when he glances behind to see
how far back you are, you are still on his beam quarter. After the
man has checked all his lines and sheets and shiny sails give him a
wave and crack the "throttle". Okay so it's only a fantasy - back to
scheming. Including the barbeque and outside shower location in the
outboard well... wood stove in the cabin...Nels:-)
got me thinking was an article I read in Motorhome Magazine about
boondocking (Dry camping with no hookups) as well as my own
experience with a motorhome.
I was wondering if some of the same technology could not be used in a
boat. What I am considering is something similar to the Marina
cruiser or the single man's livaboard. With a 4.5 kw genset up front
and four 6 volt golf car batteries amidships - a good
converter/charger and one could live pretty well even without shore
power and all it's hassel and mooring expenses. A genset running
aproximately one hour in the morning and evening can supply all the
power one needs for cooking and taking the chill off or cooling
things down when it is hot. Various 110 volt appliances come to mind
such as a microwave, Hot plate, toaster oven, corn popper. I can run
a small roof a/c with a heat strip and/or heater and a small water
hearter during that period. The rest of the time one can live off the
batteries including a couple dialectric ice box units, lights,
computer and stereo, radio and phone.
Some of the newer gensets are marvels of power and efficiency and run
very quietly. The genset on my 1976 Barth motorhome is not quiet but
churns out a lot of reliable power after all these years. The secret
of their reliablility is that they run at a constant speed not much
over a fast idle. Diesel gensets practically run forever if they
have the oil and filters changed regularly. The new solid state
smartchargers and inverters are also much more efficent both for
charging and protecting appliances. Battery compartments can be
sealed and vented quite easily. I have worked for years with hydrogen
gas and found it disperses very quickly up a small stack. Of course
being so light it has to.
So that got me to thinking about using the battery power in
conjunction with the sails to move from one location to another.
(Helping me stay out irons;-) And even perhaps do some canal and
river cruising. One could have a 10 hp four stroke outboard as
additional power if needed to chug upstream or backup the electrics.
One scenario I envison is beating to weather in light airs and see a
state of the art suit of mylar coming up from abaft. And then as he
slides by - switch on the 12 volt wind machine and turn up the stereo
just enough to cover the hum - so that when he glances behind to see
how far back you are, you are still on his beam quarter. After the
man has checked all his lines and sheets and shiny sails give him a
wave and crack the "throttle". Okay so it's only a fantasy - back to
scheming. Including the barbeque and outside shower location in the
outboard well... wood stove in the cabin...Nels:-)