Kaimusailing

The calculations of solar power, storage capacity, and actual use resulted in an estimate of 2400 watt-hours capacity fed by 60 watts of solar in the starboard hull where the inverter is located. Recommendations are for restricting actual use to about 1/3 capacity. In our case this would be 800 watt hours. It would take about 3 days of solar to replace that amount. Using a belt sander or angle grinder would reach that limit in only an hour or two of continuous use. Thus, I found myself out of juice after only one day of intensive grinding.
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The small generator I had used several years ago would not start. I decided to finish up the little bit of sanding left in the pilothouse using the inverter and then let the solar system recharge.
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The clear epoxy was put on in two coats. All the deck plates had been done, and the galley sole, now the pilothouse sole was epoxied. After the epoxy cured a coat of urethane varnish was put down. This made the area off limits until the varnish dried.
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The batteries had charged up to 12.6. 12.8 is considered a full charge, and it would probably take another day to completely charge the batteries. The additional “loose” solar panels that had been charging the engine battery were put onto the inverter's battery bank. That would add about 65 watts of charging. Another item that could help is the wind generator which had been removed after about a year of service. The electrical cabling had to be improved up to no. 8 or 10 wire. The mounting was also going to be changed to a shorter wind generator mast, more robust, but still out of the way.
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I was shocked to find the little green rowboat was gone from the dock. This was a geodesic aerolite design from Platt Monfort that I had built several years ago. These boats are very light and row very well, but they are fragile and the little green rowboat needed extensive repairs. I had mentioned to Kaptain Kris that I wasn't sure what I would do with it, maybe I would have to dispose of it. He later did just that, he disposed of it. I was angry, but perhaps it is for the better.
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I began digging out the proa plans that I had made the last couple of winters. It was time to build. Of course I had my big boat projects to complete, but the proa, or outrigger canoe, was planned to be built very quickly. First I would build the ama or outrigger float to see if the build technique was OK. Then I would build the main hull, then the crossbeams, etc.
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After the second coat of varnish I let it dry and let the panels continue to charge the batteries. They were now up to 12.8, normally this would mean fully charged, but when charging up from a low state, the batteries should be allowed to charge up to above 13.5 volts. The PWM solar charge controller does this automatically.
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I brought the little generator back to shore and lugged it up to the boat shed. Before pulling the spark plug or doing any other troubleshooting, I pulled the starter and it started right up. I loaded it down with a pair of flood lights and it continued to run like a top. It puts out 800W which is plenty for the sanders and shop vac.