Weekend or vacationing sailors use their boats locally on weekends or for 2 to 8 weeks for trips to the Bahamas.  These sailors can use 30 to 50 amp hours per day, or AH/D, and with 12 VDC refrigeration it goes up to 100 AH/D.  If running the engine to charge batteries is your method, at least get a smart regulator.  Better yet, get a High Output Alternator and a smart regulator. 

Find out if you have a stock 30 to 60 amp alternator.  New cruisers find it takes 4 to 5 hours of engine running time to put back 100 amp hours into their batteries.  Cut the time in half with a Smart Regulator, and cut it again with a High Output Alternator. 

Typical Cruisers or voyagers can go offshore for many months to several years.  Cruisers spend 90% of their time at anchor.   Voyagers spend 75% of their time underway and use 50% more power.  They usually have DC refrigeration and use 150 AH/D.  Running downwind a Fourwinds water generator produces 130 to 190 AH/D at 5 to 6 knots boat speed. 

Cruisers with DC refrigeration use more power and should have the most efficient refrigeration boxes possible as the most power used is from refrigeration.  Water makers use a fair amount of power also.  Space age heat shield, the new marvel radiant barrier, the best insulation we have seen, can cut refrigeration by 30 to 50%.    It can be added inside or outside an existing box, a combination of inside-outside, or build a new box., Easy to install and not expensive.  All boaters can enjoy the heat shield cabin liner to keep the boat 10-15 F cooler. 

Wind and water generators combined with solar panels are a very good solution for the power consumed by the cruisers and voyagers.  Wind and water generators will provide the most amps for the money spent, followed by solar.

 Amp Hours per Day is the most important information needed.  Once you have defined your type of cruising and the amp hours per day used we can recommend the best system for you.  The table here will help determine your AH/D usage.  Please calculate your consumption and then call us as our recommendations are based on your AH/D usage.  Keep in mind you have to put back 15 to 20% more than you take out because batteries are only 80 to 85% efficient.

 How much is there?  Pilot charts contain wind information for 100 years were used to determine the winds available in four popular cruising areas: The SW North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Western Caribbean and the Eastern Caribbean.  Analyses of Pilot Charts for those areas reveal winds 98% of the time between 4 and 21 knots.  Winds 93% of the time between 4 and 16 knots.  The best wind generator for cruising sailboats produce the most amps at low wind speeds.  Only 2% of the winds are above 22 knots.  Two per cent of the time generating is minuscule.

 Why a Fourwinds II or Red Baron?  Fourwinds has been known for 20 years for producing the most output in low winds.  Second, they are very quiet.  Third, they are now brushless with a red anodized aluminum outer housing.  For the money spent, wind generators will keep your batteries fuller than anything you can buy.  The Fourwinds II and the Red Baron produce more AH/D at low wind speeds, 5 to 16 knots, than any other wind generator.  The Fourwinds II and Red Baron in 8 to 10 knots of wind will provide 95 to 140 AH/D.  In 15 knots they produce 240 AH/D.   

How much sun is there?  The total amount of sunlight per day depends upon location and the season of the year.  In latitudes between 45 degrees north and south the total hours of sun will vary between 10 and 14 hours.  The average yearly hours of sun which will produce full solar output is 4 for the upper united states and 6 near the equator.  These hours are called Peak Hours per Day, PH/D.  Multiplying the maximum amp output of a given solar panel times the PH/D in your location will provide the AH/D available for the panel as an average throughout the year.  Note our selection and competitive pricing for solar panels.  Let us help with your selection and placement.

 What an additional solar panel or two with a wind generator?  There are times and a place, like the west side of Panama and Mexico, where winds are light but the sun is strong.  Two 75 watt panels that remain horizontal will provide about 40 AH/D, but if they track the sun they can provide 60 AH/D.  In these cases a couple of solar panels on our Adjustable Solar Panel Brackets, ASPB, make a lot of sense.