Power Consumption

Living on a boat that's anchored out most of the time is like running your own small city. When we left we bought two 135 watt solar panels and a Honda 2000 generator.



I was apposed to the generator because of noise and it just seems anti sailing. Well, the combination of the two has been great. This week we are anchored in an estuary and there has been cloud cover for part of each day. The solar panels keep up with about 60 percent of the load and after 5 days we need to find power someplace else. Starting the motor is hot, loud and uses lots of fuel. Running the Honda is very efficient. I can run the Honda for 3 hours on just over ½ gallon of gas and charge the batteries, plus make water if need be. Solar panels and Honda generator go under the category of things that work. I would recommend both to anyone outfitting a boat.

Power consumption is a tricky thing. Some people choose to use very little power and some choose to use a lot. We have a separate freezer and refrigerator, plus we watch a movie 2 or 3 days per week, and we take hot showers each day. If it is cold in the morning, we turn on a heater. We make water so we can use it not save it. Our power consumption is about 120 amps per day. It could be less, but then it would be like we were camping. This is our home and we like the comforts of home.

Denny