Power Hungry. Advice please kind folks :)

[Oscarpop]

We are currently in the last stages of fitting out for our long term cruising lifestyle and hope ( sincerely) that we leave the UK next spring. Our plan is to spend one or two seasons cruising the med, then head across the atlantic for tropical cruising.
Hopefully this will turn into a circumnavigation.

My question asks about how long term cruisers receive their power while underway and also at anchor.

We took six weeks to cruise western france this summer and shake the boat down.

at present we have an electronic autopilot, 2 x 100 w solar panels zipped onto the bimini and an air breeze wind generator.

The yacht is a 40ft modern beast ( Southerly 38) and we do like our fridge/home comforts on board, so dont really want to compromise on those things.

The problem is that our ( new ) autopilot motor packed up mid biscay with clutch failure and I am questioning the efficiency of the solar panels after 6 months of use.

So what to do now? And on this I would love advice.

1 .we have discounted self steer until we are ready to cross the atlantic. this will give us a chance to see how the new clutch works. Is this the right thing to do or should we simply bite the bullet? We need a unit we can remove and also offset from centre as the design of the boat does not lend itself to centre mounting.

2. We could install a genset. But it would seem as if we are looking at about £10,000 all in with fitting and bits. However this would provide all our power.

3. We dont have the room to fit a 2nd alternator so thats out.

4. We are looking at watt and sea hydrogenerators but by now the stern is going to look crowded.

What do you use? and what would you suggest in our case?

many thanks.

 

[Tradewinds]

We are currently in the last stages of fitting out for our long term cruising lifestyle and hope ( sincerely) that we leave the UK next spring. Our plan is to spend one or two seasons cruising the med, then head across the atlantic for tropical cruising.
Hopefully this will turn into a circumnavigation.

My question asks about how long term cruisers receive their power while underway and also at anchor.

We took six weeks to cruise western france this summer and shake the boat down.

at present we have an electronic autopilot, 2 x 100 w solar panels zipped onto the bimini and an air breeze wind generator.

The yacht is a 40ft modern beast ( Southerly 38) and we do like our fridge/home comforts on board, so dont really want to compromise on those things.

The problem is that our ( new ) autopilot motor packed up mid biscay with clutch failure and I am questioning the efficiency of the solar panels after 6 months of use.

So what to do now? And on this I would love advice.

1 .we have discounted self steer until we are ready to cross the atlantic. this will give us a chance to see how the new clutch works. Is this the right thing to do or should we simply bite the bullet? We need a unit we can remove and also offset from centre as the design of the boat does not lend itself to centre mounting.

2. We could install a genset. But it would seem as if we are looking at about £10,000 all in with fitting and bits. However this would provide all our power.

3. We dont have the room to fit a 2nd alternator so thats out.

4. We are looking at watt and sea hydrogenerators but by now the stern is going to look crowded.

What do you use? and what would you suggest in our case?

many thanks.

Hydrovane units can be mounted off-centre - mine is. Works perfectly.

See examples here
http://www.hydrovane.com/galleries/off-center/

 

[rivonia]

Go and get a portable gennie. We have a Honda 2KW and use as and when.

Peter

 

[SeamanStaines]

I can only speak from my own experience but we 'solved' this problem a couple of years ago and we are very power hungry. I think you need more solar panels and they need an MPPT controller. We are on a Catamaran so have the space but use two 250w domestic panels with an MPPT controller. The panels are 50v nominal in series and will charge from first light pretty much till dusk producing up to 80v. The controller sorts this out and give us a sensible charge. I can see up to 30a at the height of the day and we can get about 200AH a day out of them (although in fact the batteries are usually fully charged by lunchtime so we dont need it). The wind generator gets nowhere near that.

Costs where about £200 each for the panels and £300 for the controller plus some steel work. We do have the space though.

We have a generator as well but seldom use it apart from when we do the washing, its not been working this year anyway and we have not really missed it.

 

[Oscarpop]

Many thanks.

Re the hydrovane. I think that I am steering towards this ( no pun intended ). Can anyone tell me if these things are easy to remove and stow so that just the flanges remain? I would only have the thing on for passage making as I find them unsightly.

Was thinking about a honda genny, however I was worried about having petrol on board.

 

[Mistroma]

We keep one petrol can in the gas locker (just fits on top of the bottles. Another can sit in a shelf in the chain locker (so fumes are also drained overboard).

Solar is def. best bang per buck. However, it drops dramatically in winter. I can send some details of a link I use to forecast solar output on a monthly basis at a given location. It works well for my setup.

e.g. Using 145W rigid panels in Galicia I can get an average of:
Approx. 60Ah/day Mid. summer
Approx. 13Ah/day Dec./Jan.

I thought it odd that you were questioning the performance of your panels after 6 months until I realised that you probably have flexible panels. I avoided these as they are expensive and many people say that they don't last. Rigid panels were so cheap the financial risk was minimal.

 

[Oscarpop]

I thought it odd that you were questioning the performance of your panels after 6 months until I realised that you probably have flexible panels. I avoided these as they are expensive and many people say that they don't last. Rigid panels were so cheap the financial risk was minimal.

The panels have a 5 year guarantee, so Ive called the seller and they are happy to replace them if there is a problem. However they said that they have never had one fail before. I guess I will keep an eye on them over the next couple of months to see if the output is down.

 

[rivonia]

You will need petrol for the outboard anyway?

Peter

 

[keithgdg]

It's got to be solar all the way. We've bought 2 100w rigid panels and suit our needs just fine but then we don't have some luxuries like washing machines. We also have a Honda 2kw generator that's brilliant

 

[RAI]

I would bite the bullet and get the Hydrovane (also works as an emergency rudder) and save some money by not buying a genset. More solar panels might be desirable if your existing MPPT controller can handle them.

 

[tri39]

You won't need the Hydrovane during your two years in the Med. I would delay fitting wind vane steering until you're sure you're crossing oceans.
Sounds like you don't have an arch! Make one now and fit more rigid panels on top of it. The flexible panels in the bimini are unlikely to be enough.
The Air breeze can go on the arch as well. Altho again it won't be very productive in the Med. They work all night in the Carib.

 

[Carmel2]

Maybe think: will I retro fit a watermaker and Aircon in the Carib? If so, the ball game changes.

 

[tri39]

I think aircon needs mains power on a yacht, so only practical in a marina. Carib is anchoring mostly.
Watermakers are surprisingly popular, but rather high maintenance and power hungry. They wouldn't be used in a marina, only in a clean anchorage or at sea.
Complicated, isn't it? I have neither!! But still use nearly 200wts solar which I find plenty for fridge and autohelm and chartplotter and lights and puters and DVD player and windlass and HF radio and playing rock music in the cockpit
In fact in the summer Med where you are often motoring mornings and have dangerous levels of UV all day,power isn't really a problem.
I don't have a blurry windmill either.

 

[oldvarnish]

Many thanks.

Re the hydrovane. I would only have the thing on for passage making as I find them unsightly.

You won't find it unsightly when you're in the middle of the ocean, the autopilot is bust because they always are, the diesel is low, the sun's not shining, and your forward speed in light airs is too slow to use a towed generator - and only 2000 miles to go.

Nor will you want to be getting it out of a locker and trying to fit it in an ocean swell.

 

[lenseman]

You won't find it unsightly when you're in the middle of the ocean, the autopilot is bust because they always are, . . . . .

Plus an auto-pilot makes no changes at all when the wind changes so you will be out on deck adjusting the sails the whole time, rain, fine, shït or shine.

Wind-steering, adjusts the yacht heading according to the wind and requires very little adjustment.



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[Mad Pad]

Go for an Aries if they still make them.The real muts nuts of self steering.

 

[Oscarpop]

Plus an auto-pilot makes no changes at all when the wind changes so you will be out on deck adjusting the sails the whole time, rain, fine, shït or shine.

Wind-steering, adjusts the yacht heading according to the wind and requires very little adjustment.







.

I agree totally. One of the main reasons for this post is because our very expensive autopilot motor packed up mid biscay after only 6 months of use from new. It made me consider the lifespan of even well built electronics. add to that our solar possibly being up the fritz and we need to consider alternatives.

 

[lenseman]

I agree totally. One of the main reasons for this post is because our very expensive autopilot motor packed up mid biscay after only 6 months of use from new. It made me consider the lifespan of even well built electronics. add to that our solar possibly being up the fritz and we need to consider alternatives.

It is very healthy to plan for alternatives as the RNLI is not an option when mid Atlantic !



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[RAI]

One of the main reasons for this post is because our very expensive autopilot motor packed up mid biscay after only 6 months of use from new. It made me consider the lifespan of even well built electronics. add to that our solar possibly being up the fritz and we need to consider alternatives.

What does the manufacturer of the autopilot motor say? Is is too small for your boat, or just badly made?

 

[Oscarpop]

What does the manufacturer of the autopilot motor say? Is is too small for your boat, or just badly made?

Not at all. The unit is a Lewmar mamba drive which is rated for yachts up to 50ft ( i think). We have never had the boat out in a blow. It was installed from new at the fit out of the boat by Northshore and looked "out of the box" when we removed it to send back to lewmar.

I have asked Lewmar to be honest about whether their units are fit for purpose, and await with baited breath. I have been advised that there is a history of these units failing. Apparently the clutches are the weak point.